Social Presence and User Experience: The Influence of the Immersive Virtual Classroom in Synchronous Distance Learning

Previous research has examined student preferences for specific video styles in asynchronous and synchronous courses and social presence in online virtual courses. However, only some works have examined the social presence and user experience in synchronous distance learning courses delivered in an immersive or augmented reality classroom. This case study, using a sample of 198 students examines the design of video style used in a synchronous distance learning course mediated by an immersive virtual classroom (IVC) on the professor’s social presence perceived by students, including other factors such as usability, communication, and reliability. The results showed that the immersive video style of the IVC used in streaming a synchronous remote classroom strongly and reciprocally conditioned students’ perceptions of the professor’s social presence. The results also established that the social presence in the IVC, enhanced by a video style that allows the communication of non-verbal immediacy responses, has an important influence on the perception of reliability and communication, while usability has a significant positive influence on the perception of communication, video style design and social presence. On the other hand, the professors’ experience using IVC suggests that the visual design provides a sense of immersion but that there is still a need to improve the instructor-student interaction in its audio aspect.