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Authors:
Gerhard Hube
Nicholas Müller
Hakan Arda
Christian Möllmann
Keywords: Virtual Learning Environments; Online Teaching; Tertiary Education; 2D and 3D Avatar-Based Desktop Environments; Desktop virtual reality, Zoom Fatigue; gather.town; framevr.io
Abstract:
This paper builds directly on the last study, which showed that Zoom Fatigue in online higher education can be reduced by using Zoom avatars instead of the usual camera images. This case study examines whether Zoom Fatigue can be reduced by using desktop-based avatar-based virtual environments. For this purpose, we used gather.town (hereafter Gather) as a 2D desktop-based environment and framevr.io (hereafter Frame) as a 3D desktop-based environment. In addition, the representation of the avatars in Frame varied between a humanoid and a non-humanoid representation. The two virtual environments were used alternately in the course "scenario-based strategy development," a regular lecture of the master's study program "Integrated Innovation Management" at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, Germany. The same questionnaire was used for the evaluation as in the previous study, which used the Zoom video conferencing system. The result confirms, as in the previous study, an overall relatively low level of perceived Fatigue in both Gather and Frame. However, significant differences in emotional exhaustion were observed, specifically when using the non-humanoid avatar in Frame. Overall, the 2D desktop environment Gather performed better than the virtual environment Frame in all types of Fatigue. To better interpret the results, the findings from the qualitative interviews and possible correlations from the perceived immersive Ness will be considered in a next step.
Pages: 1 to 8
Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2025
Publication date: October 26, 2025
Published in: conference
ISBN: 978-1-68558-315-6
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Dates: from October 26, 2025 to October 30, 2025