An evaluation of headset vs desktop use for accessing virtual worlds in a Higher Education context

Virtual worlds can provide university students with engaging socially oriented learning experiences that would be dangerous, impossible, counter-productive and/or expensive/rare in the real-world. Nevertheless, there is little understanding of how best to implement such worlds in teaching practice to maximise students’ experiences, and ultimately learning benefits. A fundamental research question concerns the role of immersion itself – should students wear virtual reality headsets for full benefits to be realised, or will traditional desktop/laptop computers suffice? In a university module that concerned Virtual Reality (VR) in engineering design, students were able to engage with teaching staff and sessions within a fantastical virtual world – of which 20 of the 122 students (16%) registered were given access to VR headsets, potentially for all teaching sessions (lectures and seminars). These 20 students were surveyed at the end of the module (100% response rate). Moreover, all teaching sessions were videoed, and the engagement-related behaviour of headset-wearing avatars were compared with those on desktop/laptop computers. Students overwhelmingly preferred using a headset to access interactive seminars, citing advantages of enhanced focus, confidence, and engagement. Nevertheless, sickness was a considerable problem for a minority of students. Moreover, students felt impaired by an inability to make/refer to notes or other material - of most significance in traditional lectures. Video observations revealed greater engagement in the seminars for headset versus desktop users, as measured by the number of distinct contributions to class discussions. Conclusions are drawn related to the implications of different modes of VR interaction for the student learning experience.