Eva Mårell-Olsson, Thomas Mejtoft and Jenny Kinert
Pupils with concentration disorders need an education that is adapted for them for fulfilling the goals of their education. They often need an adjustable learning environment with fewer distractions. Unfortunately, the public education system often fails in providing such pupils the aid and the support they need. This paper presents a study regarding how virtual reality (VR) can be used as a learning support for pupils aged 16–18 years with diagnosed concentration disorders and how this technology can support them in accomplishing their educational goals. This study was performed as a case study with three sources of data – (1) observations during a key task test, (2) qualitative interviews with the participants, and (3) a survey. The findings are presented in three themes; 1) increasing the ability to concentrate, 2) the suitability of using VR technology in learning, and 3) developing knowledge acquisition with the support of VR technology. The findings indicate that the level of concentration can be increased while using VR technology due to a controlled environment and that VR technology can be suitable as a complement in education for pupils with concentration disorders and can support pupils in developing their own knowledge according to their specific needs.
This is the abstract of a book chapter. The full chapter is available here. Citation: Eva Mårell-Olsson, Thomas Mejtoft and Jenny Kinert (2019): Virtual reality as an environment for learning: Facilitating a controlled environment for pupils with diagnosed concentration disorders, In: Buchem, Klamma, Wild (Eds.): Perspectives on Wearable Enhanced Learning (WELL): Current Trends, Research, and Practice, Springer.
