The birth of the PhD research title

After months of thrashing ideas, reading hundreds of journals/articles and cracking melons ... finally the research title is ready to meet the world. Couldn't have done it without my professor's ingenious advice and guidance.

TITLE

The Efficacy of Learning about Australian Megafauna Using A Custom-Built Virtual Reality Program compared to Learning from an Analogue Australian Megafauna Museum Exhibit

INTRODUCTION

The proposed research project will explore the effectiveness of using virtual reality (VR) to learn about Australian Megafauna in a free-choice learning environment located in the Museum and Art Gallery, Northern Territory (MAGNT)[1]. While VR is still in its infancy in relation to use in museum contexts, VR technology is quickly gaining momentum in terms of commercial products aimed at the consumer market (‘Five Virtual Reality products to watch out for | nbn - Australia’s new broadband network’, n.d.)[2]. Presently, VR and augmented reality (AR) are considered attractive interactive technologies for use in the museum environment to support achievement of teaching, learning and entertainment objectives. With the accelerated development of consumer grade virtual technologies and the argument for its applicability in the museum context, the aim of the proposed research project is to explore and evaluate the suitability of deploying an interactive VR resource to support achievement of MAGNT’s socio-educational objectives.

In the discussion that follows, this research proposal will detail the background and context of the case study site which the proposed research project will investigate in relation to the development and testing of a virtual reality exhibit. It will discuss the significance of the research and present the research problem and the research questions. Discussion will also explore what comprises digital technology, knowledge and information, and it will review the relationship between VR technology and education. Discussion will outline the education theory that will guide the research project; namely free-choice learning, and drawing upon the work of Jean Baudrillard, it will present the social theory framework that will frame the project’s understanding of the contextual dimensions of using VR technology for education in a museum context. Discussion will review the literature around the use of VR technologies in education and detail the project’s proposed research methodology; namely a qualitative case study that will use interviews and observation as the main data collection strategies.

Discussion in the following section will present the background, context and scope of the proposed research project. This discussion is focused upon the nature of exhibits in museums, current challenges facing museums and the emergence of the digital paradigm and its implications for the future viability of museums.

[1] This is the case study site.

[2] The five products are: HTC Vive, Google Cardboard Device, Samsung Gear VR, Nokio Ozo and Oculus Rift.

Image above taken from Museum and Art Gallery, Northern Territory (MAGNT) website