Study on the Students’ Aptitude and Openness for the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Technologies in Education and Instruction

Abstract This paper is designed to quantitatively measure the level of aptitude and availability of the students from the “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy in Sibiu for the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies as teaching tools in the process of education and instruction. The paper is a first stage of a broader research topic, the results of which will be addressed to both teachers and researchers, as well as students and other categories of trainees. The introductory part of the paper analyses the importance of VR and AR technologies as learning environments for the military education system in particular and the advantages of using them for the cadets’ combat training. Also, the main characteristics of the three types of reality, environmental, virtual and augmented, are highlighted, which allow a better understanding of the structure and operation of AR and VR. The research methodology was then developed, establishing a survey by applying a questionnaire on a sample of 300 students from the academy and then processing and interpreting the results obtained. The conclusions of the paper show the general predisposition of students to understand and use the two technologies both as tools of learning in didactic teaching and as instruments of improving the skills of fighters in modelling and simulating military actions.