Empowering Instructional Design Research: Open-Access Experimental Materials

Abstract

Educational technologies are increasingly used in education but it remains challenging to demonstrate their effectiveness by employing evidence-based research (EBR). This article presents an open-access experimental resource for Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) studies. The resource includes a Unity application in VR and desktop format with instructional content and tools to display it. It also provides assessment instruments to measure declarative and procedural knowledge. This material allows researchers to test various instructional design elements and explore multimedia learning principles. The content is based on an engineering theme and is suitable for higher education students, including those without a STEM background. This paper also details the co-design process and preliminary testing with ten participants. We encourage researchers to freely adapt the application, content and assessment tools to meet the needs of their study. This initiative invites research groups to share similar experimental resources for other fields to make IDT research more accessible.