This very interesting, readable paper is just half a story. It ends with a promise to fully present the experimental design and the “results of the knowledge transfer trials and usability assessments” in a second paper. Nevertheless, what is presented deserves comment.

Virtual reality training is alive, well, and spreading to the military of many countries. An excellent review of the literature expounds on ways in which virtual reality simulators, based on video game technologies, were designed to enhance spatial awareness. Most reports are limited to proof of concept, an incomplete realization of an idea that verifies the probability of solving the problem with the fully functional product.

As the title explains, SubSafe is “a games-based training system for submarine safety and spatial awareness.” The interactive three-dimensional (i3D) graphics/game prototype was completed in 2007. The virtual submarine model contains 30 compartments and 500 objects. Following best practices in virtual interactivity, users may select and manipulate objects. The challenge is to incorporate the game into the classroom environment, with the hope of transferring mastery to real life. The authors hypothesize that the “real-time i3D training afforded by SubSafe will enhance students’ abilities to locate safety-critical items of equipment on board an actual ... submarine.” Data will be captured to gauge the students’ and instructors’ reactions to using the product as a training device. Specifics about the pilot study design are presented. The experimental trials were not finished at the time of publication.

A valuable lesson is shared:

[Despite] the pedagogy, the capability of an interactive 3D or games-based learning system to educate and train can be completely destroyed if content, fidelity, and interactive technologies are implemented inappropriately and without a sound human factors underpinning.

This lesson applies to all technology implementations across all areas of education.