Immersive Technologies in Physical Education in Malaysia for Students with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Physical education (PE) is a compulsory subject in schools that is vital to ensure students stay healthy and fit. It is widely agreed that everyone should have access to education, regardless of physical limitations. However, there is an ongoing debate on how PE has been taught and used to benefit students with learning disabilities (SLD). SLDs may feel excluded from PE due to lack of support systems, low motivation, and unsuitable learning materials. This paper discusses the development of an app that applies immersive technologies to make PE accessible to SLDs. Virtual reality and augmented reality are immersive technologies in which the user can view virtual media to understand objects in the real world. With these technologies, students can freely control their learning progress and choose the content critical to them based on their circumstances, enabling instruction based on their ability. Optimal Motor Learning Theory and Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) were used to develop the app. The first phase of this two-stage research process involved creating a VR app and getting feedback from the students who used it. Interviews of students who used the VR trainer and secondary data were used to inform the development of an AR book. The authors found that by combining suitable immersive technologies with motor learning theory and multimedia learning principles, appropriate learning material could be created that facilitates the PE learning process.