Digital Avatar use and its impact on students from underrepresented groups

 

Photo by Minh Pham on Unsplash

 Introduction to VR, embodiment and the proteus effect

Technological advancements over the past few decades have blurred the line between the digital and physical, creating new inroads in the deployment of engaging learning experiences for students globally. An example of such advancement is virtual reality (VR), “a computer-generated immersive three-dimensional visualization with which users can interact” (Rospigliosi, 2022, p. 2). VRs are avatar-based systems where an avatar serves as a proxy for a human user within a virtual world (Freeman & Maloney, 2020). Studies have shown that avatars often change the behavior of the user both online and in face-to-face situations (known as the proteus effect) (Yee & Bailenson, 2007; Yee et al., 2009). Applied to educational settings, scholars like Bailenson et al., (2008) and Deuchar & Nodder, (2003) have argued that the use of avatars in virtual environments can increase students’ learning.

Freeman and Maloney (2020) provide three broad qualitative distinction among avatar-based systems.

  1. Social media and online forms) where users adopt text, images, and videos to create online representations.

  2. 3D avatar based systems that mainly support avatar-mediated communication on screen

  3. Social VR which offers full-body tracked avatars that allow for real-time and more embodied interaction including both verbal and non-verbal interactions.

In contrast to other medium, Social VR affords full body movements and gestures in real time, supports vivid experiences and emotional and mediates both verbal and non-verbal communication through embodied social interaction. Thus, social VR induces more powerful immersion and embodied self-presentation practices and experiences for users.

Photo by Julien Tromeur on Unsplash

In a time of health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a new wave of adoption of technology enhanced learning (TEL), where technology is increasingly incorporated to deliver learning. The power of VR to simulate reality is praised by popular media, educators and technologists as possessing the potential to revolutionise learning. Indeed, studies have shown that self-presentation in virtual environments through embodiment results in proteus effects. The proteus effect describes the change in the behavior and perception of users, both virtually and in the physical world, effected due to the mental makeup of a digital avatar. For instance, users may adopt new behaviours from their avatars. This due to several reasons, such as self-indentifcation and emotional attachment. First, Self-identification refers to “the cognitive connection between an individual and an avatar, with the result being that the individual regards the avatar as a substitute self or has such an illusion” (Suh et al., 2011, p. 715). Second, emotional attachment describes “an emotion-laden, target-specific bond between a person and an avatar” (Thomson et al., 2005, p. 77). Thus, customisability of avatars where avatars appears like the user leads to stronger sense of self-identification and emotional attachment between user and avatar.

Activity

 Activity 1: In this TEDx speech, Thong Nguyen demonstrates the power of VR technology to simulate reality and cause change through embodiment and presence. As you engage, notice the power of VR technology to simulate reality through embodiment, presence, and immersion. Also reflect on the visceral effects it creates for the user in physical reality.

“Can virtual reality change your mind?” C-by Thong Nguyen | TED Talks (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

 Evidently, the powerful effects of digital avatars present an opportunity for education. Scholars like Bailenson et al., (2008) and Deuchar & Nodder, (2003) have argued that the use of avatars in virtual environments can increase students’ learning. Through the use of age-progressed avatars, Sims et al., (2020), has demonstrated the improvement of long-term financial planning and confidence of young people. However, others warn against a deterministic discourse which underpins the development and adoption of VR. This discourse often conceives technology as a neutral force shaping social outcomes, such as learning. Consequently, placing the effects of technologies, like VR, outside the interrogation and responsibility of human actors. To counter this narrative, scholars draw our attention to ways in which new technologies reshape and perpetuate inequities (Selwyn 2021; Philip, 2021). This includes the stigmatisation and exclusion of underrepresented groups like students of African descent.  

Therefore, the purpose of this OER is to offer critical reflections on the use of digital avatars and VR in education. It is an invitation to readers and participants to explore the ways power relations and racial differences are embedded within VR technology, and a call to rethink the future of digital avatars in education contexts.

Reflection

  1. How far do you agree or disagree with the statement that “ technology can enhance some kinds of political power and suppress others (Philips, 2021)”?

  2. What potential dangers might an avatar-mediated virtual world present to historically underrepresented communities? 

 Digital Avatar use and its impact on students from underrepresented groups by Henry Anumudu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.