Development of Design Guidelines for Virtual Learning Environments in Online VR Platforms

Abstract

Background: The transition from physical classrooms to virtual environments requires rethinking learning spaces in both spatial and pedagogical terms. This shift involves not only a change in setting but also a reconfiguration of learning experiences and habits. Despite shared goals of effective learning, physical and virtual classrooms differ significantly in qualitative aspects. The absence of legal regulations and the dominance of non-architect professionals in designing virtual environments highlight a major gap in achieving standardized and high-quality educational spaces. Objectives: This study aims to develop a comprehensive design guide for virtual learning environments within online virtual reality (VR) platforms, with the objectives of enhancing e-learning quality, fostering interactive educational experiences, and establishing criteria for how virtual environments should be designed to support effective learning. Methodology: Four virtual reality (VR) platforms—Mozilla Hubs, Engage, Meta Horizon, and MeetinVR—were selected as experimental settings. On each platform, participants attended as listeners a 30 -minute theoretical lecture on architecture, material use, and the Industrial Revolution, ensuring consistent educational content across all environments. The study involved 20 participants—10 interior architecture students and 10 faculty members from the Istanbul Gelişim University Interior Architecture Department. A two-hour orientation session was conducted to familiarize participants with the VR headsets and controllers before the experiment. Afterwards, each participant completed a total of 120 minutes of immersive virtual education. Following the sessions, participants filled out structured questionnaires and open-ended feedback forms assessing material, texture, lighting, form, color, size, and scale. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS and MAXQDA to evaluate spatial perception and user experience. Findings: Results show that design elements of VR-based learning spaces directly affect user perception and satisfaction. Material, lighting, and scale notably enhance realism and educational effectiveness. The study provides practical recommendations for user-centered design in VR-supported learning environments, contributing to the development of virtual educational spaces in interior architecture education.