Linking technology usage to instructional quality: Immersive virtual reality increases presence, positive emotions, and cognitive activation
Alexander Georg Büssing, Dorian Thomsen, Nicole Braun · 2022
Technologies such as immersive virtual reality (IVR) pose new challenges to educators and researchers. While there are mixed results concerning the consequences of integrating IVR into education, the present study proposes a new direction in this field, by combining research on presence – the feeling of being in a specific environment – with instructional quality. In a controlled experimental study, we show how the integration of IVR in contrast to text and tablets increases presence, positive emotions (interest and enjoyment), and indirectly affects clarity as a dimension of cognitive activation. Given the results, studies on the effects of IVR should not only focus on direct reactions and learning outcomes, but also take other established educational paradigms (e.g., instructional quality) into account.