Presence and immersive tendencies increase interest when learning with immersive 360°-videos: Possibilities for testing and extending the CAMIL

Although several theories address learning in immersive virtual reality (IVR), the Cognitive and Affective Model of immersive learning (CAMIL) emerged as a major model for understanding learning processes with IVR. However, only few studies explicitly investigated the applicability of this framework. This particularly concerns practical school settings, as the model originally described a research synthesis rather than an applied framework. To test the applicability of selected variables from the CAMIL, we conducted a field study with 154 German high school students (grades 11 - 13), who watched 360°-videos on coral reefs either using a tablet or a head-mounted display (HMD). Consistent with the CAMIL predictions, HMD use significantly increased the reported presence and interest, but did not lead to higher cognitive learning gains. As another aim of the study, we investigated the connections between variables from the CAMIL and additional variables of gender, immersive tendencies, and prior knowledge. While gender affected presence, immersive tendencies predicted situational interest, and prior knowledge emerged as the only predictor of learning gain. Nonetheless, the overall structure of the CAMIL was supported by a path model, although an alternative model including the additional variables showed a superior fit to the data. Considering individual characteristics such as immersive tendencies and gender may therefore be crucial for refining theoretical approaches to immersive learning. However, the influence of these variables also raises questions concerning the educational equity of technologies such as IVR. These findings and their implications are discussed, even when the present study can only represent one step toward further developing comprehensive frameworks such as the CAMIL.