This presentation summarizes the results of three experiments on how users behave in open virtual environments with varying degrees of guidance. The goal is to provide information about how to best keep users engaged with the instructional content, rather than the environment itself. The three studies summarized here used Grand Theft Auto games with modified graphics and/or rules, and measured subject reactions. The first study asked subjects to take the role of a firefighter to test adherence to research instructions against the temptation of virtual experimentation. The second study was similar, and tested adherence to an easier, yet tedious task. The third study had one group of subjects select tasks of varying difficulty on their own while a second group had their tasks selected by the experimenter. The results, framed in current learning theory, provide insight on techniques for getting learners to stay on task in virtual worlds.
- 1 view