SAVR – Design and Evaluation of an Immersive Virtual Reality Serious Game on Hazard Perception in Technical and Vocational Education

Abstract

Technical and vocational secondary school students take internships in enterprises as part of their training. As such, they are often confronted with hazardous situations, such as contact with chemical substances, operating specialist machinery or in potentially dangerous working conditions. Students therefore need to be prepared in the school setting, prior to their internship experience. To address this challenge an immersive virtual reality serious game was developed. Students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the game were assessed using a survey. Targeted variables were presence, design, interest and usefulness. Students positively evaluated all measures, suggesting an immersive virtual reality serious game is a useful instrument in teaching hazard perception in technical and vocational secondary education.