Virtual Reality: An Immersive Tool for Social Work Students to Interact with Community Environments

Abstract

Research supports various benefits of using virtual reality (VR) within social work education. As a pilot study, this paper describes the impact of a 360 VR simulation designed to immerse students at a New York school of social work in a typical New York City neighborhood, with the goal of helping them learn about how its history, resources, demographics, and physical space impacts its inhabitants. This, in turn, is intended to support novice students in gaining familiarity with new social contexts and communities, and in connecting macro and micro nuances with practice. An overview of the role of VR in social work education is provided, followed by a description of the pilot 360 VR simulation developed by the authors of this paper, including the rationale for that development and the theoretical framework for its design. Using a mobile device and Google Daydream headset, students are guided through a panoramic urban environment by a pre-recorded voiceover that promotes reflective and analytical thinking as they observe the community through the lens of a social worker. Independent sample t-tests showed statistically significant changes in average scores between pre-and-post tests. Results of the pilot as indicated by pre-and post-survey of student perceptions and test of their knowledge are provided. Pedagogical and clinical practice implications for the 360 VR simulation are identified and discussed.

Immersive 360° videos in health and social care education: a scoping review

“…The collective number of participants are included in this review was n = 640 [ 58 , 59 , 61 – 63 , 66 – 71 , 73 – 75 ] , sample sizes ranged from n = 7-169. Studies generally did not provide an extensive profile of the research participants, such as information on gender or previous technology use.…”

“…However, is was evident that almost the entire sample (92%, n = 616) were university students; eight of fourteen studies ( n = 8/14) used a student cohort except for Bernard, et al [ 69 ]; Pulijala et al [ 67 ], Huber et al [ 63 ] and Sullivan et al [ 74 ]. Disciplines varied and samples included professionals and students training in medicine/surgery ( n = 10; 71%) [ 58 , 61 – 63 , 66 , 67 , 69 , 71 , 73 , 74 ], Public Health/ Health Care ( n = 2; 14%) [ 68 , 70 ], Physiotherapy ( n = 1; 7%) [ 59 ] and Social work ( n = 1; 7%) [ 75 ]. The majority of the studies ( n = 5, 45%) were conducted in UK [ 58 , 66 , 67 , 71 , 69 ;], followed by USA ( n = 3; 21%), Ireland (n = 2; 14%), Germany ( n = 1; 7%), France (n = 1; 7%), Denmark (n = 1; 7%), and Saudi Arabia ( n = 1; 7%).…”

“…The 14 studies included a range of methodological designs. A randomised controlled trial ( n = 1; 7%) [ 58 ], experimental studies ( n = 3; 21%) [ 59 , 61 , 73 ], a randomised cross-over study (n = 1; 7%) [ 62 ]; cross-sectional observational study (n = 1; 7%) [ 74 ], a feasibility study (n = 1; 7%) [ 63 ], and a pilot study (n = 1; 14%) [ 66 , 75 ]. The remaining studies ( n = 5, 35%) used exploratory approaches [ 67 – 71 ].…”

“…Learning theories were identifiable in three studies ( n = 3; 21%) [ 59 , 68 , 75 ]. Ulrich et al [ 59 ] introduces learning effectiveness theory [ 60 ] and focuses on three core factors – academic performance, learning satisfaction, and learning climate.…”

“… 14. Lanzieri et al, 2021 [ 75 ] Virtual Reality: An Immersive Tool for Social Work Students to Interact with Community Environments Pilot study N = 30 first-year Masters in Social Work (MSW) Students The 360 VR simulation takes place in the Lower East Side (LES) of Manhattan, New York. The 360 VR simulation was developed by an internal media design and development team who used a Nikon KeyMission™ 360 camera and standard tripod and stitched together using Adobe Premiere software and Wonda VRTM, was used to edit the footage, an actor provided a recorded voice-over audio.…”