Converting Lecture Slides to 3D Virtual World Illustrations Increases Student Engagement

Webinar use during the recent Covid-19 pandemic was followed by further webinar use in online courses and diminished student interest in virtual learning simulations. As an alternative to time-consuming logins to tour virtual learning simulations, webinar presentation slides can be replaced with 3D diorama illustrations (including interactive 3D elements). This session will showcase the types of 3D virtual world illustrations post-pandemic college students overwhelmingly found to be more engaging than flat presentation slides during webinar class meetings.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, approximately one in three of the students enrolled in my online business studies courses routinely elected to participate in the available avatar-based (or “walk-around-in”) virtual learning activities. In addition, the overwhelming majority of the students that self-selected the enhanced virtual learning activities found the experience made a positive contribution to their course-related learning outcomes. In contrast, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of webinar sessions (even in completely online/remote courses) became the norm and student interest in virtual learning activities dropped from 33 percent to less than 10 percent of the students enrolled in the same courses. The main reasons cited by students for their new disinterest in virtual learning activities included online learning fatigue, illness (either of self or other family members), work from home demands, and/or home schooling/childcare obligations.

While interest in avatar-based virtual learning simulations dropped during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, using webinars to demonstrate virtual learning simulations revealed a wider student audience for 3D course content. Specifically, pre-pandemic interest in avatar-based virtual learning activities was typically capped at a third of the students enrolled in each course, post pandemic interest in the use of 3D content in lecture presentations totaled more than two-thirds of the enrolled students in each course examined.

In addition to a significantly larger share of students expressing an interest in 3D virtual content illustrations (in comparison to avatar-based virtual learning activities), recent advances in virtual platform technology contribute to a more compelling use case. The present state of virtual platform technology provides a wide array of realistic content for the creation of dioramas that can be substituted for presentation slides.

The 3D virtual world illustrations to be demonstrated in this session were tested with both early and late undergraduate students enrolled in completely online business studies courses.