Can Immersive Virtual Reality Function as a Suitable Alternative to Conventional Anatomy Education Methods?

Efficacy of virtual reality and augmented reality in anatomy education: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Anatomy is the cornerstone of medical education. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies are becoming increasingly popular in the development of anatomy education. Various studies have evaluated VR and AR in anatomy education. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of VR and AR in anatomical education. The protocol was registered in Prospero. Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched. From the 4487 articles gathered, 24 randomized controlled trials were finally selected according to inclusion criteria. According to the results of the meta-analysis, VR had a moderate and significant effect on the improvement of knowledge scores in comparison with other methods (standardized mean difference = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.95; p < 0.01). Due to the high degree of heterogeneity (I2 = 87.44%), subgroup analyses and meta-regression were performed on eight variables. In enhancing the "attitude," VR was found to be more "useful" than other methods (p = 0.01); however, no significant difference was found for "enjoyable" and "easy to use" statements. Compared with other methods, the effect of AR on knowledge scores was non-significant (SMD = -0.02; 95% CI = -0.39, 0.34; p = 0.90); also, in subgroup analyses and meta-regression, the results were non-significant. The results indicate that, unlike AR, VR could be used as an effective tool for teaching anatomy in medical education. Given the observed heterogeneity across the included studies, further research is warranted to identify those variables that may impact the efficacy of VR and AR in anatomy education.

Innovative pedagogical principles and technological tools capabilities for immersive blended learning: a systematic literature review

Blended learning is widely known for its ability to improve learning, nevertheless little is still known about the best ways of designing effective blended learning environment which can support immersive learning such as greater learning experience and accessibility to education. In this respect, this study investigates the mapping of the principles of three Education 4.0 innovative pedagogies, namely, heutagogy, peeragogy, and cybergogy, with the capabilities of three technological learning tools, that is, Facebook (FB), Learning Management System (LMS), and Blog, via a systematic literature review technique. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used as the methodology, and the literature was further selected using Gough's Weight of Evidence criteria, resulting in 59 studies. The results show that cognitive factor is the most linked pedagogical principle to the four main capabilities of technological learning tools, that is, time, self-related, learning task, and learning community-related. This mapping is useful for instructors to plan learning and teaching by choosing the technological learning tools that match with appropriate Education 4.0 pedagogies for optimising the immersive blended learning practices.