Exploring College of Education Students’ Perceptions of the Educational Uses of Virtual Reality (VR) Technologies

Abstract

—Integrating Virtual Reality (VR) in education is widely acknowledged as a promising tool for enhancing learning outcomes. As future educators, it is crucial to understand and leverage these emerging technologies to advance education. However, there is a need to comprehensively understand the status of future educators’ perspectives on the educational applications of VR technologies. The current research paper aimed to examine college of education students’ perceptions of educational uses of VR technologies. The participants’ perceptions were measured using three dimensions: Awareness of VR technologies and their applications in education, motivations toward the educational uses of VR technologies, and obstacles for the educational uses of VR technologies. A descriptive research design was used in this study. A questionnaire instrument was used to collect data from the participants. The number of participants was 186 students. The findings indicated that students had a moderate level of awareness of VR technologies and their educational uses. However, the participants expressed high motivation toward the educational uses of VR technologies. In addition, the results indicated a moderate level of perceived obstacles to integrating VR technologies in education, among the examined perceived obstacles, the most significant barriers include the lack of training, lack of time for preparation, and the absence of technical assistance and facilities. Based on the results, a set of recommendations was provided.