Remote Learning with Virtual Reality Technologies: Student Mastery, Community and Agency

Abstract:
The affordances of virtual reality (VR), including a strong sense of spatial and social presence, could make it a useful tool to improve learning and social connection in remote learning, yet little research has examined its effectiveness in authentic learning environments. This mixed-methods case study of a remote Master’s in Education course asked how using VR repeatedly and with varying implementations impacted students’ learning, and how synchronized or shared experiences in VR impacted their sense of community. Students completed weekly surveys of their sense of presence in VR applications, sense of class community, and learning experience, and also participated in a post-course interview. Surveys revealed students’ sense of presence remained high over time, indicating little evidence of a “novelty effect,” but that it varied based on features of the VR applications. Interview results pointed to students’ increased mastery of the technology and its affordances for learning, and highlight how connecting with classmates via videoconference while using VR can create a shared experience. Students’ sense of agency in VR emerged as an important consideration for learning design. These findings suggest fruitful ways to use VR to increase educators’ mastery of immersive technology and provide remote students a sense of shared experience and raise questions about the impact of VR implementation and instructional design in authentic learning environments to promote exploration and community.