Abstract

With the increase in technology enhanced learning, student access and use of technology is becoming more pervasive in their learning. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the technology use and modality of use is having a positive impact on learning, especially with different style learners. This paper presents details of a study carried out to evaluate the use of an immersive learning environment on student engagement.

The University of Sunderland has a 6-metre immersive environment, which we have named the ‘Igloo’, equipped with 360-degree projectors and surround sound which is used by staff and students to develop bespoke content, materials and learning opportunities, with undergraduate students from the School of Computer Science having worked on groups projects utilising this technology. How this technology and the immersive nature of the space benefits student, communication, teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking were noted as key aspects of learning requiring further investigation to determine how this technology might impact these core competencies.

Building on previous work by the authors [1] the work presented in this paper investigates whether the use of an escape room, embedded within an immersive learning environment, would assist students in developing core competencies and whether they would perceive this as an engaging learning experience. Existing research in this area has raised questions around how students feel in these environments and whether feelings of stress or tension affect their learning experience. This study investigates student’s perceptions of the immersive environment through development of an escape room experience to determine whether this can positively engage learners.

The escape room was developed using a variety of tasks set within the immersive space including clues projected on to the inside of the environment. To determine the impact of the 'Igloo’ on student engagement, the escape room presented here was compared with a pre-existing commercial escape room situated within a non-educational immersive environment. The aim was to investigate the interaction and engagement of students whilst completing the escape rooms tasks whilst comparing two differing environments. Upon completion of the escape rooms the student were asked to complete a questionnaire relating to specific aspects of their experience. Results indicate that many of the students (n = 85) who participated in the study did not find the escape room a stressful experience and that over 65% were so engaged in the tasks that they said they were unaware of time and blocked out the physical world whilst taking part in the immersive environment. Nearly all the students also agreed that the activity made them feel part of a team and communicated well.

These findings demonstrate that the use of an escape room scenario within an immersive learning environment provides an engaging learning experience for students to develop core skills such as problem solving, communication and teamwork.