TY - GEN
T1 - Interaction Design and Divergent Paths in VR Learning
T2 - 9th International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications, CHIRA 2025
AU - Choi, Hee Sun
AU - Jiandong, Daniel Shen
AU - Yeonjoo, Kwon
AU - Mengoni, Paolo
AU - Lopez-Ozieblo, Renia
AU - Wong, Paulina Pui Yun
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
PY - 2026/5
Y1 - 2026/5
N2 - Immersive virtual reality (VR) has the potential to transform learning, but its success depends not only on technical design but on how learners experience value, agency, and discomfort. This study models how technical efficacy (TE), technology adoption (TAM), and embodied presence (PRES) interact with dizziness (DIZ) and task design to shape performance in VR. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), generalized additive models (GAM), and multivariate regression, we found that TAM fully mediated the impact of TE on PRES (betabetaβ = 0.542, p betaless than< 0.001), suggesting that technical fluency only enhances immersion when learners perceive the system as meaningful. Presence increased dizziness (betabetaβ = 0.36, p = 0.001), but only TAM—rather than TE—sustained immersion under strain. A nonlinear moderation effect showed that effort (EFFSYS) predicted performance (PERFSYS) more strongly under high DIZ—especially in exploratory designs, where learners retained behavioral flexibility. In contrast, linear paths suppressed this dynamic, flattening performance variance. Despite similar DIZ levels across conditions, only exploratory paths enabled “productive strain,” converting discomfort into engagement. Our findings suggest that immersive learning emerges from the alignment of effort, motivation, and interaction design—not from realism alone. Designing for persistence, not just presence, is critical: discomfort can fuel engagement if learners can act, adapt, and understand why it matters.
AB - Immersive virtual reality (VR) has the potential to transform learning, but its success depends not only on technical design but on how learners experience value, agency, and discomfort. This study models how technical efficacy (TE), technology adoption (TAM), and embodied presence (PRES) interact with dizziness (DIZ) and task design to shape performance in VR. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), generalized additive models (GAM), and multivariate regression, we found that TAM fully mediated the impact of TE on PRES (betabetaβ = 0.542, p betaless than< 0.001), suggesting that technical fluency only enhances immersion when learners perceive the system as meaningful. Presence increased dizziness (betabetaβ = 0.36, p = 0.001), but only TAM—rather than TE—sustained immersion under strain. A nonlinear moderation effect showed that effort (EFFSYS) predicted performance (PERFSYS) more strongly under high DIZ—especially in exploratory designs, where learners retained behavioral flexibility. In contrast, linear paths suppressed this dynamic, flattening performance variance. Despite similar DIZ levels across conditions, only exploratory paths enabled “productive strain,” converting discomfort into engagement. Our findings suggest that immersive learning emerges from the alignment of effort, motivation, and interaction design—not from realism alone. Designing for persistence, not just presence, is critical: discomfort can fuel engagement if learners can act, adapt, and understand why it matters.
KW - Embodied interaction
KW - Immersive learning
KW - Virtual reality
KW - Virtual reality in education
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105040548844
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-032-16448-3_2
DO - 10.1007/978-3-032-16448-3_2
M3 - Conference article published in proceeding or book
AN - SCOPUS:105040548844
SN - 9783032164476
T3 - Communications in Computer and Information Science
SP - 11
EP - 35
BT - Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications - 9th International Conference, CHIRA 2025, Proceedings
A2 - Krems, Josef F.
A2 - da Silva, Hugo Plácido
A2 - Cipresso, Pietro
PB - Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Y2 - 20 October 2025 through 21 October 2025
ER -