A Dual Edged Sword for Advancing Education for the youth with Double Diagnoses

Mohamoud, Nasir

4. term

Medialogy, Master

2023

2023-12-20

In today's educational settings, youths grappling with dual diagnosis encounter a multitude of challenges when attempting to navigate ordinary educational environments. These obstacles were revealed in an interview with a teacher from a residential school for teenagers with dual diagnoses. The teacher described the difficulties these students confront in their pursuit of education, emphasizing the complexities that come with Cognitive difficulties, low attendance rates, low motivation, mental health issues, and exam anxiety are just a few of the obstacles limiting these youths' educational development. These youths must have a feeling of purpose and something to aim for after finishing therapy. Therefore, this study aims to provide an immersive learning environment for youths confronting learning issues due to dual diagnosis using Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The goal of combining VR and AI is to improve educational experiences and assist youths in English and math topics by encouraging them, fostering knowledge, and preparing them for national examinations. A classroom setting was developed using Unity to create a pleasant familiar environment to provide an engaging learning experience. The purpose of the AI is to replicate teacher-like communication, assist youths in learning English, and establish an authentic and immersive interaction with a teacher in a virtual reality context. The thesis delves into how the experimental environment is designed and the idea behind it, especially the integration of Mimic3 (TTS), which this thesis explains in detailed information. However, before getting into the details of Mimic3 integration, a review of the hardware, software, scripts, and environment is described in Chapter 3. Throughout the testing phase, the youths followed the same structure every day for a week to preserve consistency and simplicity. The testing phase primarily involved the use of a VR Valve Index headset and 2 controllers. These tools connected the youth with the learning exercises within the immersive classroom, designed using software such as Unity, Blender, Fuse, Max 3D, and Photoshop. Furthermore, an important design decision was made regarding the need for an emergency button. Additionally, it was noted that the well-being of the users was a top priority, allowing them to exit the experience if distressed. Initially, the data sample consisted of 21 youths, and the level of engagement fluctuated. Ultimately, only four individuals completed all the specified steps of the experiment. The youths were given three math tasks to complete inside the VR learning environment. The first math task was a math triangle puzzle game aimed at improving spatial thinking and geometric knowledge. Following that, the youth engaged in a square-shaping game that focused on improving visual-spatial abilities and geometric knowledge. Finally, a puzzle game involving equations encouraged problem-solving skills and number understanding. To evaluate learning outcomes, pre-and post-tests aligned with the VR learning content were used, along with a questionnaire. The test was designed to assess youths' knowledge and understanding of the VR content for each subject area. To understand the statistical test selection and evaluate the impact of VR and AI on youths' academic achievement, specific statistical tests were chosen to align with the nature of the collected data and the study's objectives. The JASP program was used for Bayesian T-tests, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Chapter 4.4 revealed a statistically significant difference in Pre and Post score, Math and English scores (0.049 < 0.05), supporting the alternative hypotheses (H11,H21, H41). This outcome highlights that the VR learning experience positively impacted youths' performance in both Math and English subjects, leading to improved scores after the 5 days of using the VR experience.

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