A Road Map for Language Teachers on How to Extract Accurate Data for Research From Inside a Quest 2 Virtual Reality Environment: The Case of The Social VR Application Altspacevr

Abstract

Virtual Reality has permeated our educational landscape in various forms and has unequivocally created new opportunities for language learning. As many VR devices became more accessible and mainstream, many educators have taken the opportunity to experiment with some kind of Virtual Reality. From simple smart phone-supported devices to more advanced and tethered VR systems that require extensive technical experience and a healthy budget in order to achieve the desired immersive experience that could be exploited for educational purposes. Nevertheless, as there are various VR systems and a myriad of applications constantly becoming available on various online platforms, a lot of research needs to be done by educators in order to establish the efficacy and impact of the chosen VR system or application. As language teachers, we might lack the technical experience and understanding of this tool. Furthermore, we might not have the required technical support in order to successfully capture and extract data that is necessary for research from inside the Virtual Reality world. These aforementioned aspects can be discouraging for language teachers when conducting VR-related research. This paper describes the challenges, technical steps, and technical requirements that were necessary to overcome the obstacles that I encountered in order to record and extract data for analysis of the virtual interactions from inside the virtual world of the social VR app AltspaceVR for a Virtual Exchange research project in 2022 with the VR headsets Oculus Quest 2.