Title: Application of virtual reality technology in virology education: a cross comparison of VR's effectiveness to conventional video among students of different academic backgrounds

Authors: Jinlu Wu; Jia Wei Lee; Sylvie van der Werf; Pierre-Emmanuel Ceccaldi

Addresses: Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, 117558, Singapore ' Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, 117558, Singapore ' Institut Pasteur, Virology and Cell Biology, Université Paris Cité, Paris, 75015, France ' Institut Pasteur, Virology and Cell Biology, Université Paris Cité, Paris, 75015, France

Abstract: Virtual reality (VR) technology is increasingly used in education, but there remains a dearth of empirical research examining its effectiveness in different contexts and subjects. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of VR on students' motivation, attention and understanding in virology education. Our results showed that VR was effective in improving students' motivation and understanding, especially amongst students who had little to no prior interest or knowledge regarding the topic. However, there seemed to be varying effects on attention. Our survey further revealed the factors leading to improved attention and the factors associated with distraction. A cross-comparison between the use of VR and conventional video in different viewing order suggests it is more effective to use videos first when both VR and videos are implemented for teaching similar content. These findings provide direction towards improving the quality of VR and its implementation for educating people of different academic backgrounds.

Keywords: student attention; cognitive load; student motivation; video; virtual reality; VR; virology education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIE.2025.148427

International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2025 Vol.9 No.2, pp.61 - 83

Accepted: 18 Jan 2024
Published online: 04 Sep 2025 *

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