Remote Instruction in Virtual Reality: A Study of Students Attending Class Remotely from Home with VR Headsets

Abstract

Although video-conferencing tools are generally accepted for remote instruction, they may lack the interactivity and quality of in-person classes. As an alternative, we studied a VR classroom with students and teachers using VR headsets and Mozilla Hubs, a social VR platform. Results show that while attending remote lectures in VR can be a good experience overall, it is important to reduce technical problems and simulator sickness. Users at home may encounter more problems than those in controlled conditions due to the less consistent settings. Nonetheless, students believe prospects for remote VR classes are good. Students who reported little or no sickness gave especially high ratings of several aspects. We also provide teacher suggestions for tool requirements.