Understanding students’ learning of technology through interaction supported by virtual reality - research

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by OmBimo

Given technology’s profound influence on society, shaping behaviours, conversations, and decisions, this study investigates how a virtual reality (VR) learning environment supports young students’ understanding of technology’s nature. It uses supportive images in VR combined with verbal interactions for students aged eight and nine. Analysis of classroom activity findings shows students demonstrate knowledge across technology dimensions, while discursive analysis reveals added complexity in their perceptions of technology history. Results suggest VR images can support exploratory, history-related discussions, aiding teachers in primary technology education planning and delivery.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Aim and research questions

Findings and discussion

Conclusion

Understanding students’ learning of technology through interaction supported by virtual reality Johan Lind, Malmö University, Sweden Abstract Given the profound influence that technology has on society, shaping our behaviours, conversations, and decisions, it is essential to understand its development and nature. Obtaining a complete understanding of technology requires us to explore both the nature of technology and its historical aspects. This study examines how using supportive images in a virtual reality (VR) learning environment, combined with verbal interactions, supports students aged eight and nine in developing an understanding of the nature of technology. Data were collected during an ordinary technology teaching activity and the analysis highlighted that these students, through interactions and VR images, demonstrated knowledge of all dimensions of technology, as described by DiGironimo (2011) . The analysis of the findings indicated that the students’ knowledge could be categorized, but there seemed to be more complexity in their utterances than DiGironimo’s model could capture. Additionally, I employed a discursive analysis to achieve a deeper comprehension of the students’ perceptions of the history of technology. Here, the findings indicate that VR images can promote students’ interaction related to the history of technology, which often leads to exploratory conversations. The findings have the potential to support teachers in planning and conducting technology activities in primary schools, where images and verbal interactions could provide decisive support for developing an understanding of the nature of technology, especially the historical dimension of technology. Key Words DiGironimo, Discursive moves, Historical dimension of Technology Primary students, Technology Education, Virtual reality images, Virtual reality. Introduction It is essential to understand how technology develops and what it is, not only because most of our modern society depends on it but also because technology employs a significant presence and pressure in various aspects of our daily lives, shaping our behaviours, interactions, choicesand even our thought processes (Arthur, 2009) . Society and technology are determined and emerge in an intertwined sociotechnical activity (Bijker, 1999) . Therefore, knowledge of technology is too important to be left to a few specialists (Arthur, 2009) . In this regard, the Swedish curriculum states that teaching technology should enable students to think about technological change and historical perspectives on the development of technology (Hallström, 2023; Skolverket, 2022) . Learning about technology’s historical failures and successes could explain how an emerging technological society is shaped (cf. Condoor, 2004; Read & Alexander, 2019) . Latour (1990) argued that to be able to achieve an understanding of technological systems (such as infrastructures) and incorporate new narratives about them, one could follow the development of an invention. Technology and society are interrelated regarding the development of eachother (Franklin, 1999) . Eliasson et al. (2023b) stated that the historical dimension of technology, as part of the nature of technology, is important to be able to understand new emerging technologies and their advances and that technology is a central part of civilisation (see also Liou, 2015) . Therefore, becoming technologically literate involves knowledge in and about older and newer technology and is thus about becoming historically educated in technology to be prepared for readiness for action in the future (Hallström, 2023) . Consequently, if the historical dimension of technology isnot included in the general understanding of technology, it will not be easy to develop knowledge and understanding of the emerging modern technology’s impact on society, humans and the environment (cf. DiGironimo, 2011; Eliasson et al., 2023b; Liou, 2015) . Further, excluding

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study focuses on how primary students’ interactions, supported by images in a virtual reality learning environment, help them develop an understanding of the nature of technology, especially its historical dimension.

How was the VR learning environment used in the teaching activity?

A VR learning environment was designed to include classroom communicative situations where VR images support students’ verbal interactions, enabling idea exchange guided by teacher questions and peer interaction.

What did the analysis of students’ interactions show?

The analysis indicated that students demonstrated knowledge of all dimensions of technology described in prior work, while discursive analysis suggested their utterances contained more complexity than the earlier model could capture.

How can the findings support teachers in primary schools?

The findings suggest VR images can promote interaction related to the history of technology, often leading to exploratory conversations, which can provide decisive support for developing students’ understanding of technology’s nature.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by OmBimo