Technology Acceptance and Authenticity in Interactive Simulation: Experimental Study

Abstract

Background: Remote and virtual simulations have gained prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic as institutions maintain social distancing measures. Because of the challenges of cost, flexibility, and feasibility in traditional mannequin simulation, many health care educators have used videos as a remote simulation modality; however, videos provide minimal interactivity. Objective: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of interactivity in students’ simulation experiences. We analyzed students’ perceptions of technology acceptance and authenticity in interactive and noninteractive simulations. Methods: Undergraduate nursing students participated in interactive and noninteractive simulations. The interactive simulation was conducted using interactive video simulation software that we developed, and the noninteractive simulation consisted of passively playing a video of the simulation. After each simulation, the students completed a 10-item technology acceptance questionnaire and 6-item authenticity questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. In addition, we performed an exploratory analysis to compare technology acceptance and authenticity in interactive local and remote simulations using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Data from 29 students were included in this study. Statistically significant differences were found between interactive and noninteractive simulations for overall technology acceptance (P