Arts Professors’ Perception of the Didactic Use of Virtual Reality

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) technologies have proven to be effective teaching tools in
higher education, particularly in arts education. Likewise, the analysis of the
assessment that professors make of these technologies helps to understand their
reception and to design strategies for their implementation in universities. In this
work, quantitative research is carried out to analyze the perception of university
arts professors on different technical and didactic aspects of virtual reality (VR), as
well as its limitations and its future projection. Specifically, significant differences
are identified in these evaluations according to the tenure (private or public) of the
university where the professors teach. For this purpose, a validated questionnaire
is used, which was responded by 291 arts professors from 13 different Latin
American countries. The results show low levels of digital skills for the use of VR.
There is also a strong gap between private and public universities with respect to
the digital competence of arts professors and their assessment of VR. It is
suggested that universities increase the necessary equipment to integrate VR
technology in arts education, as well as carry out specific faculty training sessions
on the use of VR technologies and their integration into arts education.