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Using Zoom Avatars to Weaken Zoom Fatigue in Tertiary Education

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.

Abstract:
As a result of the Corona pandemic, universities and other educational institutions were forced to switch completely to online teaching and distance learning, primarily using video conferencing systems such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. Due to the lack of personal participation and the limitations of video conferencing technology, students experienced fatigue and an increasingly declining motivation and ability to concentrate. The term "Zoom Fatigue" has become established for this phenomenon and has already been addressed in numerous studies at universities, dealing with several fatigue symptoms in online classes. This study examines the extent to which at least some of the factors that cause Zoom fatigue could be avoided or mitigated by using avatar-based virtual learning environments in higher education. As part of a module in the master's program "Integrated Innovation Management" at the University of Applied Sciences in Würzburg, various desktop-based teaching environments were used (face-to-face, Zoom with camera, Zoom with avatar) and then evaluated via a survey. When using the Zoom avatars, some of the known Zoom fatigue causes were specifically avoided. As predicted, the results show that the usage of Zoom avatar environment has significantly lower perceived fatigue than Zoom camera environment. Surprisingly, the value for general exhaustion was highest for the face-to-face program, what we call 'self-motivated fatigue' because face-to-face is clearly preferred by the students. Further analyses on the use of virtual environments with higher immersion (gather.town, framevr.io) are planned.

Pages: 13 to 19

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2025

Publication date: May 18, 2025

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4367

ISBN: 978-1-68558-271-5

Location: Nice, France

Dates: from May 18, 2025 to May 22, 2025