The impact of sound immersion on a user’s ability to complete a task in a virtual learning environment

Abstract

Immersion, through a rich audiovisual experience, is generally regarded as a strong catalyst for digital learning. As such, researchers often place a strong emphasis on sound when designing digital game-based learning (DGBL) solutions. However, some sounds can disrupt the learning process. This thesis analyzes how sound immersion in a DGBL context can have negative consequences on a user’s ability to complete tasks in a virtual learning environment (VLE). Two groups were subjected to two VLEs, a silent one and an audio-immersive one. The VLE required participants to complete a sorting task that collected in-app quantitative data. After the experiment, participants answered a questionnaire about their experience. The results show that the audio-immersive environment had a negative effect on participant performance in that the number of errors was significantly higher under sound stress (p = 0.03754). The completion time, however, was not significantly different. The questionnaire showed that men and women experienced stress differently. These results highlight the importance of careful consideration when selecting sounds for an engaging digital learning experience without inducing stress.