Investigating The Influence of Virtual Reality Technology in Teaching and Learning: From Perception of Nigerian Junior High School Students

Abstract

It was relevant to investigate integrating virtual reality technology and education teaching, claiming that VR technologies are essential for teaching and learning. Therefore, the study was conducted in Abuja, Nigeria, to assess how much VR technologies could be practical tools to improve teaching and learning at the junior high school level from learners' perspective. Fifty-six students were randomly selected from 5 public junior high schools to use VR goggles to play games, watch videos, and see photograph contents based on virtual environments. As a result, it was discovered that the participants expressed a high level of appreciation of VR applications which could be attributed to the fact that more than three-quarters of the participants had never previously tried them either for educational or entertainment purpose. Moreover, based on their experience, an overwhelming majority of the participants ultimately agreed that VR technologies as instructional tools would be very effective in visualizing abstract concepts for practical understanding, making learning more interactive, encouraging active participation rather than passivity, and making learning more exciting and fun.