Time matters in VR: Students benefit from longer VR class duration, but certain outcomes decline after 45 minutes, with large individual variance

Virtual reality (VR) is becoming increasingly feasible to replace or complement videoconferencing in remote education, but there is a gap in knowledge about how to structure these pedagogical experiences, especially in consideration of relevant theoretical factors, such as social presence and virtual meeting fatigue. The present research addresses this overarching question: How does integrating VR technology into remote education enhance student outcomes and what are the optimal pedagogical approaches to determining duration in VR? We conducted a longitudinal 15-week study with 30 students who completed 377 surveys across 22 meetings of a university class taught via a combination of videoconferencing and VR. Compared to videoconferencing, VR duration provided more social presence with instructors and peers, both of which were associated with subjective benefits of the class (e.g., perceived learning, competence, enjoyment). However, the benefits for peer social presence and perceived competence began to decline after about 45 min of VR duration (with large variability between students), potentially because VR duration increased meeting fatigue. Further, peer social presence was related more strongly to VR duration than instructor social presence, while instructor social presence was related more strongly to perceived learning than peer social presence. These findings suggest a nuanced theoretical and pedagogical understanding of how to integrate VR technology into remote education. Class time spent in VR likely leads to a net benefit despite meeting fatigue, but instructors should keep VR duration low (∼45 min) until students gain familiarity, offer alternative modes of access to classes in virtual worlds, and utilize socially engaging pedagogies.