USING IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY IN CLASSROOM TO IGNITE STUDENT INTERACTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE

There has been an increase in the introduction of new technology in education such as persuasive, immersive and assistive technology. This is an extension of current technology in the use of 3D technology, virtual reality, gesture control and motion capture in the classroom. This paper describes a study on how immersive technology was used to ignite student interactivity and performance in the classroom. This new technology is often familiar with Generation Z. A generation that grew up with a highly-evolved media and computer environment thus expected to be competent in using internet services and applications.
In the era of globalization, classroom syllabus, teaching and learning processes keep changing in order to align with the challenges of educating a very highly digitalized young population. The current education system has slowly moved from using a conventional manner of teaching and learning and moving towards the use of new more advance digital technology such as the above mentioned.
In this study, a group of primary students learned about mathematics by using Kinect. Students used hand gestures and physical movements within Kinect to select answers and do quizzes. Learning session was fun and more interactive in comparison to their conventional way. Students were more focused and attentive to their learning. Learning was no longer passive as students were physically and mentally challenged and engaged during the class session.
Through this study, Kinect may be a new option of technology to be offered as a teaching and learning alternative and maybe even included in the classroom. Many researchers claimed that Kinect can become an interactive technology that can facilitate and enhance teaching and learning process [7]. Therefore, interactive activities during learning and teaching processes will help the student increase their interactivity and allow to boost their performance. The teacher could also pair their students with different cognitive abilities together and allow them to learn from each other using Kinect.