Introduction

Social presence is an important element of online education. Social presence has been defined as a  “sense of being with another in a mediated environment” (Biocca & Harms, 2002, p.10). The community of inquiry model’s conception of social presence focuses on group cohesion, affective expression, and open communication (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007). Research suggests achieving a sense of community can be a challenge in online learning (Sun & Chen, 2016). This study considered social presence regarding group cohesion and cognitive effect as well as interpersonal interactions in an online environment (Arbaugh et al.,  2008). To what extent social presence should refer to factors besides the salience of another individual and their interaction in a mediated environment has been discussed in the literature (Kreijns et al., 2014). Previous scholarship has discussed virtual reality within the context of Shakespeare (Wittek & McInnis, 2021). Although past research has been conducted on virtual reality and education, there is a gap in the literature relating to virtual reality being used as the medium for students participating in online learning (Kavanagh et al., 2017).  This study examines an intervention using virtual reality for remote education. 

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to implement and evaluate the impact of a virtual reality  book club on the social presence of students. This research examined participant responses using virtual reality  headsets to study the works of William Shakespeare. Students participated in a virtual reality book club focused  on four different plays. Social presence and academic growth were evaluated. This study examined two research questions: 1) How does the implementation of a virtual reality technological innovation affect students’  knowledge of Shakespearean works? 2) How does the implementation of a virtual reality technological  innovation affect social presence in students? 

Methodology 

Nine students used Quest 2 virtual reality headsets to participate in the virtual reality book club.  Students came from a variety of educational backgrounds. Some students attended a traditional public school  district in rural South Carolina while others had charter school backgrounds. Several were homeschooled. Four  different plays by William Shakespeare were studied in the virtual reality book club: The Tragedy of Julius  Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, and Richard III. VRChat was used to take students to various virtual worlds related  to the content being studied? Bigscreen was used to show students visual art based on the plays, Shakespearean passages, and animated scenes of the works. A live actor provided Shakespearean performances within virtual  reality. 

The virtual sessions were held during the evening hours for eight consecutive weeks. Students used  VRChat to meet up on a farm for the first virtual reality session. The teacher put down a portal, and students  walked through to visit the Pantheon. The teacher led a discussion on Julius and Augustus Caesar next to a statue in the virtual world. The students and the teacher walked to the amphitheater. The live actor joined and  recited lines from the work. After the actor’s performance, the teacher asked about the content of the  Shakespearean performance. The next week students used Bigscreen to view animated scenes, watch the live  actor perform, and engage in discussion. On the third week, the actor performed a portion of Macbeth while in a  throne room in VRChat. In the fourth week, students used Bigscreen to watch animated scenes of Shakespeare and discuss the text. In order to study Hamlet, students visited the Temple of Herod, a cemetery, and a Victorian  house. Students watched the actor recite portions of the work in both the cemetery and the Victorian house. The  last two sessions focused on Richard III. Students learned about the era of the Renaissance by visiting a  cathedral and examining various paintings. Students also visited the throne room and discussed a quote from the  play. In the last session, students watched animated scenes of Richard III and discussed choice and destiny  within the context of Shakespearean works. 

Students were assessed on social presence using three different measures: the Social Presence measure  on the Community of Inquiry Survey, the Adapted Networked Minds Social Presence Measure, and the Social  Presence Survey. The Shakespeare Knowledge Assessment was used to assess student knowledge of the works.  Students were provided with the Shakespeare Knowledge Assessment early in the intervention as well as after  the final virtual reality session. The website myShakespeare.com was used by the researcher to create most of  the Shakespeare Knowledge Assessment questions. Multiple-choice questions and writing prompts were also  provided after each session to evaluate knowledge of Shakespeare. The Community of Inquiry survey  (Stenbom, 2018), a social presence survey based on previous research (Nowak and Biocca, 2003), and an  adapted version of the Networked Minds Measure of Social Presence (Harms & Biocca, 2004) were used to  assess social presence. Modifications were made to various assessment questions. Interview questions were also  used in this research.  

Results 

Descriptive statistics and nonparametric statistics were used to examine the results of the Shakespeare  Knowledge Assessment. Students showed an average growth of 16.04% in their knowledge of Shakespeare.  Though the average amount of student knowledge did increase, the results were not statistically significant (p <  .07, W= 4.50). Numerous students also correctly answered multiple-choice questions about Shakespearean  works. The Community of Inquiry survey showed that students tended to agree that they experienced social  presence while participating in the virtual reality book club (M = 4.12 out of 5, SD = 0.83). Results from the  Community of Inquiry survey showed that students tended to agree that they experienced a sense of belonging  and felt other participants acknowledged their perspective. Students also tended to feel comfortable participating  in conversation. The Adapted Networked Minds Social Presence Measure also provided evidence students  experienced social presence (M = 4.84 out of 7, SD = 1.55). The Social Presence Survey showed that students  tended to feel as if they were together with other virtual reality book club participants in the same room (M =  0.32, SD = 0.31). Students also tended to believe they could get to know an individual they met solely in the  virtual reality book club (M = 0.36, SD = 0.22). 

Five students participated in interviews about their experiences in the virtual reality book club.  Structural Coding, Emotion Coding, In Vivo Coding, and Process Coding were used to analyze writing prompts  and interview data. These methods of coding have been discussed in previous scholarship (Saldaña, 2021).  Twelve categories were created which were used to support the emergence of three themes: 1. Students enjoyed  sharing a common virtual reality experience while developing a sense of social cohesion, 2. Virtual reality  played a powerful role in creating social connections among students, and 3. The immersive nature of virtual  reality furthered students’ knowledge about Shakespeare. Student interviews provided insight related to the use  of virtual reality technological innovation. For example, one student noted that “it’s very straightforward and to  the point, how you’re teaching.” A student noted in their interview response, “I just...I feel like it helped in a lot  of ways, including just making it easier to talk about how you felt and talk about your opinions.” The majority  of the students interviewed stated they found making friends in virtual reality to be easier than in an in-person  setting.  

The interview data of students demonstrated the power of using virtual reality to teach Shakespeare.  One participant stated “It’s kind of like a field trip at your house. And you don’t have to, like, go anywhere. 

And it’s much easier than flying somewhere, which made it really fun and felt like real life.” Another student noted that they “thought of Shakespeare as boring or reading books, but, like, when I can see everything…that made it much better.” Both qualitative and quantitative data supported that virtual reality can be used to create an engaging experience for students learning about Shakespearean texts. 

Discussion 

This research has important implications for how virtual reality could be used to help introverted students participate in remote education. The findings of this study suggest virtual reality could help introverted students improve their social skills. As one student noted, “In real life, a lot of times people respond to you they, like, say, like, something, like, really jerky and mean. But, like, they would respond nicely in VR, and it made  me feel happy and accepted.” Another student noted “a change of confidence” in relation to a student who was shy in real life but outspoken in virtual reality. The small sample size of this study is one limitation. Past scholarship has discussed how a limited sample size leads to a lack of validity (Faber & Fonseca, 2014). Future research could conduct similar research on virtual reality and education on a larger scale. Another limitation is that students who participated in the study might have had an interest in virtual reality before the research began. Additional research is recommended on both the social and academic elements of using virtual reality for online education.

References

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