Drivers of Users’ Embracement of 3D Digital Educational Spaces in Higher Education: A Qualitative Approach

Virtual Focus Group (VFG) was one of the main methods of collecting the data for the study and was applied to obtain insights into factors impacting the acceptance of the technology by higher education students. VFG is an Internet-based research method utilising online environments to bring spatially dispersed participants together in a group discussion that is based on text communication (Adler & Zarchin, 2002; Turney & Pocknee, 2005). For the purpose of the study, VFGs were hosted within Second Life meeting sessions. The main reason for selecting Second Life for this purpose was based on all students being familiar with the technology and the environment and knowing how to use it. Communication was carried out through a chat messenger via Second Life. The chat tool is a public messenger, such that every participant can type messages and see others' messages in real-time. There was a possibility of recording the whole discussion as text log files. Altogether, 13 VFG sessions were held as students were grouped into 13 groups (depending on the tutorial class they were enrolled in), and altogether, 121 students who permitted the research team to incorporate their responses in the study data participated in the VFG. Each session took about one hour, and in each session, a maximum of 15 students participated in the VFG to describe their understanding and experiences of using 3DVW technology in their course. After completing each focus group session, the discussion, including all answers and comments stream, was recorded into a text log file by a facilitator and delivered to the research team.

The second method of data collection for the qualitative study was an open-ended question. The question was about how 3DVW can be accepted to use for higher education. Students were asked to discuss the topic from various perspectives and to describe how they will advise professionals in the higher education field to use 3DVW. They responded to the question by addressing various aspects of utilisation of 3DVWs by students and the factors influencing the technology's acceptance. Overall, 124 students agreed that their responses could be used in this study.

Two factors comprised the category 'Ease of Use': 'perceived ease of use' and 'user-friendliness'. According to Davis (1989), perceived ease of use was defined as 'the degree to which students believe that using the 3DVW in their education would be free of effort'. User-friendliness was defined for this study as ‘a characteristic of a 3DVW-based environment such that any student can use it without having extensive computer experience or training’. The majority of the participants believed that the 3DVW-based environment was user-friendly and easy to use and reported that they prefer to apply it in their education due to these characteristics.

Overall, 27 participants in the VFG and the open-ended question reported that the technology was easy to use. Similarly, three participants mentioned that the technology was user friendly. According to the results, the adoption of the 3DVW among students was favourably impacted by both 'user friendliness' and 'perceived ease of use'. Table 2 summarise all factors in this category.

Two factors comprised the category 'Accessibility': ease of access and flexible access. Miller and Khera (2010) defined 'ease of access' as 'the degree of ease experienced by a user in locating the TEEAL system'. In line with this definition, ease of access was defined for the purpose of this study as 'the degree of ease experienced by a student in having access to a 3DVW'. 3DVW is considered an easy to access technology for higher education students due to its accessibility requiring only a computer and an Internet connection. As home access to computers and the Internet has expanded dramatically over the last years, students, especially higher education students, are able to have easy access to this technology both on the university campus and at home. Overall, 20 participants in the qualitative study stated that 3DVWs are easy to access, and therefore, they would like to apply this technology in their educational programmes. This factor will have a positive impact on the technology's acceptance in higher education.

Access flexibility is defined as ‘the user's ability to run 3DVW technology on various digital devices’. Based on the specification of 3DVWs, the technology can be easily accessed and run through desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets and other smart devices, increasing the flexibility of the technology. Due to a wide range of users of this technology, the developers have provided the possibility of running it on various operating system platforms and different hardware configurations. Fourteen participants reported the technology was flexible regarding accessibility through different types of digital devices. This factor has a positive effect on the technology's consumer acceptance. Table 3 shows the summary of factors in this category.

When a hardware configuration of a computer system is established, the system reliability is mainly dependent on the software (Shatz et al., 1992). Lyu (1996) defined software reliability as 'the probability of failure-free software operation in a specified environment for a specified period of time'. In the current study, 3DVW reliability was defined as 'the probability of failure-free operation of the software for a duration of a normal class'. Software bugs, technical difficulties, operation speed, and glitches are considered the major issues that decrease the reliability of 3DVWs. According to the participants, the reliability of the technology in such an application should relate positively to use for distance learning.

Thirty participants in the qualitative study believed that the system lacked reliability. They reported that if the technology was more reliable, they would more likely intend to use it. Thus, 3DVW reliability is considered to affect the acceptance of 3DVWs in higher education positively.

Jing et al. (2007) defined data security as 'the protection of data from accidental or intentional disclosure to unauthorised persons and from unauthorised modification or destruction'. Data security should be an important area of concern for everyone, especially in educational systems, and personal information should not be made available or may be made available only to those specifically authorised by the owner. 3DVW, as a multipurpose technology, has not been exclusively designed for educational purposes; therefore, the data security of this technology needs to be one criterion considered in its application. There should be a higher level of security measures taken by the developers of the technology in comparison with other distance learning tools such as Blackboard. In line with Jing et al. (2007), data security is defined for the current study as ‘the protection of student data from accidental or intentional disclosure to unauthorised persons and from unauthorised modification or destruction’. Six participants listed data security as a key antecedent in the acceptance of technology. They believed that the system lacked data security, and if it was more secure, they would likely intend to accept and use it. It is believed that having data security in a 3DVW-based learning environment affects its user acceptance positively.

Communication flexibility was defined as 'the degree to which students are able to communicate with others by using 3DVWs'. Communication is the biggest asset within the new technological world in which 3DVW is a leading technology communication-wise. Communication via text, voice and online video is simply just a click of a button to talk to anyone who is on the same platform. It is great for education due to the unique collaboration tool, where students are able to make connections with those who share the same interests from not only the university but around the world. Having no geographical and technical boundaries makes it easier to work with peers and teachers, which essentially supply a better source of education to all students. Students can easily link real-world operations to real-world information resources. Fifty-nine participants pointed out that the communication flexibility of 3DVWs is a very important factor contributing to the user acceptance of this technology. The summary of factors in the 'Infrastructure' category is shown in Table 4.

Perceived usefulness was defined in the study of Davis (1989) as 'the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance'. Based on the above definition, perceived usefulness was defined for the purpose of the current study as 'the degree to which a student believes that using a 3DVW would enhance his or her performance in education'. Upon encountering a 3DVW, students attempt to assess the match between their study goals and the outcome of applying the technology. Overall, 27 participants found this technology a very useful means for their educational programme, which positively impacted its acceptance. Table 5 summarises this category.

Perceived visual attractiveness of a website is defined as 'the degree to which a person believes that the website is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. And that aesthetics plays a role in the decision to use an information system and an especially important role in the decision to use a website' by Van der Heijden (2003). In line with the definition, visual attractiveness was defined as 'the degree to which a person believes that a virtual environment is aesthetically pleasing to the eye' (Ghanbarzadeh & Ghapanchi, 2020). This factor pertains to the virtual world's visual effects and elements, as well as its graphical structure, colours, patterns, and general appearance. It is believed to have a significant part in the adoption of this technology. Nineteen participants reported the environment to be attractive. According to the students, the visual attractiveness of the 3DVW encouraged them to spend more time with various parts of the environment and focus more. They claim that this aspect influenced their adoption of the technology in a positive way. Table 6 presents a summary of this category.

Three factors comprised the category 'Enjoyment': perceived enjoyment, perceived playfulness, and perceived distraction. Venkatesh (2000) adapted perceived enjoyment from Davis et al. (1992), which defined it as 'the extent to which the activity of using a specific system is perceived to be enjoyable in its own right, aside from any performance consequences resulting from system use'. Based on the above definition, and according to Ghanbarzadeh and Ghapanchi (2020), perceived enjoyment was defined as 'the extent to which the activity of using 3DVW technology is perceived to be enjoyable for students'. Due to the attractiveness of the virtual environment as well as the variety of activities within this environment, users find it to be a kind of entertaining and exciting tool. When the 3DVWs are considered a fun and pleasing technology by students, they are intrinsically motivated to use it. Sixty participants mentioned that they found the technology fun and pleasing. This factor positively impacts user acceptance.

Fang et al. (2005) defined perceived playfulness as 'the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would make him or her joyful'. Perceived playfulness was also defined by Han and Windsor (2013) as 'the degree to which a smartphone user believes that he or she could get intrinsic enjoyment when playing mobile games on the smartphone'. Based on the above definitions, perceived playfulness was defined as 'the degree to which students believe that they could get intrinsic enjoyment while navigating their avatar in the virtual environment'. A virtual environment is designed in a way that resembles online computer games. Although a 3DVW has most of the characteristics of a three-dimensional game, it is not a game. Nineteen students found the technology to be more playful than other learning and teaching tools. This factor positively influences the acceptance of 3DVW.

Perceived distraction was defined as 'the degree to which a student's attention is being diverted away from the study'. Working with 3DVWs, due to the entertaining characteristics of this technology, can be distracting for students in educational settings. Students who are interested in computer games or habitual game players, in general, are more likely to concentrate on the environment and be involved in entertaining activities within the virtual environment while they study. Distractions are a key element that needs to be discussed when considering implementing this technology in education. Twenty-eight participants considered the technology distracting. This factor can negatively impact the 3DVW's user acceptance. Table 7 shows the factors in the category 'enjoyment' along with some sample quotes from the data.

Athanassopoulos et al. (1999) defined cost efficiency as 'the minimum level of economic resources which must be consumed to produce a desired level of output'. On the basis of this definition, cost efficiency was defined as ‘the minimum level of economic resources that must be consumed to provide the desired level of educational service using 3DVW technology’. Using 3DVW technology for educational purposes decreases a wide range of costs for both the institution and students. Costs of establishing and maintenance of a 3DVW-based learning and teaching programme are very low compared to a real-life in-person classroom programme. As an online distance learning technology, 3DVW can be considered a cost-effective tool for communication, collaboration, and teaching and learning as the institution would generate long term savings in resources such as labour, energy, regular classroom maintenance, educational material such as computers and so on. The budget cuts and rising costs force educators to creatively do more with less by using this technology for teaching, learning, communication and collaboration to accommodate economic constraints.

As for students, costs such as travel costs will be reduced as well. Overall, 98 participants in the VFG and the open-ended question reported this technology to be cost-efficient and considered this characteristic as a factor contributing to the use of technology. Therefore, this factor is considered to affect user acceptance of 3DVWs positively. The 'Cost efficiency' category is summarised in Table 8.

Adapted from the study of Bystrom et al. (1999), the sense of presence was defined by Kim (2005) as 'the degree to which participants subjectively feel that they are somewhere other than their actual physical location because of the effects of a computer-generated simulation'. In accordance with this definition, the sense of presence was defined as 'the degree to which students feel that they are on campus while they are in their actual physical location because of the effects of 3DVW'. Visual realism is one of the basic characteristics of the virtual environment. Many studies proved a direct relationship between visual realism and the sense of presence. For instance, Barfield and Hendrix (1995) and Hendrix and Barfield (1996) found that visual realism is linked to a greater sense of presence. According to the findings, two major characteristics of a virtual campus create a sense of presence among higher education students: being realistic and resembling a physical campus. Within the virtual campus, when students encounter a realistic environment, buildings, classrooms, and objects, they usually feel there. Similarly, when the virtual environment resembles their real campus, and they find replicated objects of their campus, as they already are familiar with the buildings, rooms and overall campus area, they feel as though they are on the real campus. In total, 51 participants cited a sense of presence in the virtual classroom as a factor in their own adoption of 3DVW technology. Therefore, this factor positively impacts the user acceptance of technology. Table 9 presents a summary of the sense of presence.

Technology savviness comprised the category 'self-efficacy'. Adapted from AAUW (2000), Lewis (2008) defined technology savviness as 'the ability to apply information technology in sophisticated, innovative ways to solve problems across disciplines and subject areas; to interpret vast amounts of information with analytic skill; to understand basic principles of programming and computer science fundamentals; and to continually adapt and learn new technologies as they emerge in the future'. The current study used the same definition for the ‘Technology Savviness’ construct. Technology savviness affects the way young people utilise and adopt new technologies. Currently, the majority of university students tend to consider themselves as technology savvy, and this universal use of technology seems to encourage the young generation to practise new technological innovation, and 3DVW is no exception in this regard. Having the basic knowledge of using a new technological tool can increase the intention to use that. Overall, nine students stated that the majority of the students are technology savvy and should be able to use the technology with no major problems. This element, they claimed, may impact accepting this technology in higher education significantly. The summary of factors in the category 'Self-efficacy' is shown in Table 10.

Banff et al. (2006) defined perceived schedule flexibility as 'the amount of flexibility respondents perceive they have over their work hours and their work location'. Based on this definition, perceived schedule flexibility was defined as 'the amount of flexibility students perceive they have over their education programme time schedule'. The ability to access the course material and educational resources through the virtual environment anywhere and anytime contribute to a flexible time schedule for students. They break down the constructs of a typical classroom environment, where users can access the application any day at any time. Thirty-three participants reported that using this technology brings them flexibility in their daily study routine; therefore, they would prefer to use it. This factor also has a positive impact on higher education users' acceptance of this technology.

Perceived convenience was defined as 'the degree to which students believe that application of a 3DVW technology in their educational programme would give them flexibility and efficiency in location, effort and accessing the classroom and material remotely'. 3DVWs such as Second Life help to provide a unique experience where a student has the opportunity to learn in their own personal location, whether it be on campus, in a computer lab, or in the comfort of their own home. It provides students with an autonomous environment where they can access the content, and it will stimulate group activities without having to be physically present. For the traditional classroom setting, students have to travel to the campus to attend lectures, tutorials, workshops and computer laboratories, whereas by using this technology, we can take most of this travelling out. Students can attend their classes within the virtual environment from the comfort of wherever they are. Remote access to educational material also helps students to multi-task while they are doing their studies. One hundred ninety-five participants in both the VFG and the open-ended question considered this technology as a very convenient way of learning and teaching and mentioned that for this reason, they highly prefer to use it in their educational programme. This factor affects the user acceptance of this technology positively. Table 11 shows the summary of factors in the category 'convenience'.

Three factors comprise the category named 'Interactions': self-confidence, interaction difficulty, and social isolation. Sander and Sanders (2006) defined academic self-confidence as 'the extent to which [students] have a strong belief, firm trust, or sure expectation in their ability to respond to the demands of studying at the university'. Inspired by this definition, self-confidence was defined as 'the degree to which students believe in their own ability to interact with the instructor and other students by using 3DVW technology'. As the technology creates a virtual barrier between students and instructors and reinforces through user anonymity, it assists and encourages introverted and shy students to participate in class activities and discussions and socially interact with others. Therefore, this provides benefits to the individual and the class as a whole, as students who may normally lack the confidence to express valuable ideas in the physical classroom can perform better. Students who usually do not prefer to be at the centre of attention, who are shy and do not like to speak up in front of the class, can now participate as much as the others without feeling ashamed. This technology will help them increase their self-confidence, reduce anxiety in a traditional classroom, and express criticism, especially for isolated students. The arena that 3DVW provides as a platform for learning that eliminates the element of judgement enables students to interact freely and without inhibition in regard to class content. The virtual world could be more effective at facilitating interactions during tutorials, as students will be more confident to ask questions and participate in discussions than they would be when physically in a room. Fifty-eight participants in the qualitative study reported 3DVW could increase students' self-confidence and increase student involvement in the course. Thus, this factor positively impacts 3DVWs' user acceptance.

Adapted from Dean (1960, 1961), Tomeh and Petrasek (1978) defined social isolation as 'the degree to which the individual feels alone, anonymous, and detached from others in society'. In accordance with the preceding definition, social isolation was defined as 'the degree to which a student feels alone, anonymous, and detached from classmates and other students of the university'. Many students believe that 3DVW technology can break down their personal communication skills. They believe that by having virtual communication, they lose a realistic conversation with someone standing right in front of them; therefore, it can lead to social isolation and loss of communication skills. Sixty-six students believe that by implementing 3DVW-based learning, they will become socially impaired unable to converse and interact face to face.

Interaction difficulty was defined as 'the barriers arising in communication when the interaction is not face-to-face'. 3DVW-based classes eliminate the human interaction that a traditional classroom environment provides. Unlike a face-to-face classroom, within the virtual classroom, educators are not able to gauge students' mood, involvement and engagement in the course, and they mostly cannot adapt the course material and presentations based on students' reactions. On the other hand, instructors in face-to-face classrooms usually use body language to build rapport and create relationships and communication with students. This can contribute to feeling safe and supported in the classroom, and at the same time, they transfer presentations and course material in the best way possible. This is lost in a virtual class setting. Avatars do not have human feelings, facial expressions, or the real-life appearance of a person; therefore, although students and instructors interact virtually, the interaction is limited. Additionally, certain courses cannot be supported by a virtual class setting. Transferring material that depends on the physical interaction between instructor and students is impossible for a virtual classroom to replicate. Instead of being able to form study groups face to face, students in virtual classrooms rely primarily on video, voice, text, and avatar expressions to interact with others. Overall, 20 students reported the interaction difficulty as a factor negatively impacting the user acceptance of 3DVWs. Table 12 shows the summary of factors in the category 'Interaction' with selected sample quotes extracted from the qualitative data.

Three factors comprise the category 'Virtual environment': multi-functionality, customisability, and interactive learning material. Adapted from Hoehle and Scornavacca (2008), Chang Lee et al. (2013) defined multi-functionality for a mobile device as 'the diversity of functionalities performed by a mobile device'. Based on the above definition, multi-functionality was defined as 'the diversity of functionalities provided by a 3DVW technology in a higher education setting'. Within a virtual learning environment, it is possible to design a variety of functions integrated into one place that students can virtually access. As an immersive and multipurpose technology, a 3DVW offers excellent opportunities for students to participate in distance learning programmes. Online courses, tutorials, workshops, consultations, seminars, labs, meetings, and discussion boards can all be conducted with ease, and students and educators from all over the world can visit the virtual venue. Additionally, activities such as field trips, simulation, gaming, course material, curricular services, and a wide range of other student activities could be embedded inside a single virtual learning environment contributing to a multi-functional, educational and recreational experience for both learners and educators. 18 participants in the study stated that this multi-functionality of the 3DVWs is a positive antecedent of its user acceptance.

Sharma et al. (2009) defined software customisability as 'the ability to modify a component as per the application requirement'. Based on this definition, for the current study, customisability was defined as 'the ability to modify a component in a virtual environment as per the application requirements'. As a customisable technology, 3DVWs allow designers to specify a set of extensions or changes to the core capabilities of the educational environment based on the requirements of the students and teaching course. Various aspects of the virtual space and activities can be easily extended, changed, modified, and re-organised. This technology is very versatile regarding how it can be used and can suit any learning requirements, and it allows even students to customise different parts of the environment and develop new features for themselves. The customisability of the 3DVWs has a positive impact on its acceptance, according to 26 participants in the study.

Interactive learning material was defined as 'the digital learning material that requires the student to complete a series of related activities to learn a specific concept'. Provided course material for students can be designed and offered within 3DVWs in an interactive manner so that they will work through the content at their own speed and on their own terms. For instance, the material can be designed in a way that the next step in learning resources becomes available for the students only if they successfully answer a question or pass the previous step. Similarly, the designed material can use some intelligent methods and algorithms to determine students' knowledge and learning level to present various pieces of resources to better suit the student's needs. The three-dimensional graphic design possibility in 3DVWs has created the opportunity for instructors to provide another means of accessing material other than traditional hard copies or plain text files, or two-dimensional image files. Sixty-three students mentioned that accessing the interactive learning material within 3DVWs will positively impact its acceptance. Table 13 shows the summary of factors in the category 'virtual Environment' with selected sample quotes extracted from the qualitative data.

Table 14 summarises the identified categories, and factors in each category, and represents a quantitative elaboration of the data and the frequency of themes in each sample group: the data collected from the virtual focus groups, and the data collected through the open-ended question.

Theoretically, the current study introduces the factors and constructs that influence higher education students toward adopting three-dimensional virtual worlds as a distance learning and teaching platform. The findings offer insight by highlighting constructs that can help higher education better understand how 3DVWs can be designed, implemented, adopted, and used to deliver effective teaching and learning. The findings also provide an in-depth understanding of various aspects of 3DVW and its advantages, limitations, and efficiency in higher education. The introduced factors can be employed by educational institutions to evaluate higher students’ perception of 3DVWs and can be used to drive pedagogical development decisions. The finding emphasises the importance of the design aspect of virtual learning environment toward the acceptance of 3DVWs, showing that ease of use, usefulness, attractiveness, and enjoyment of the virtual content, as well as the sense of presence within a 3D virtual learning environment, significantly impact the adoption of this technology in higher education. The findings indicate this technology's essential infrastructural and accessibility requirements and their relationship with the adoption of 3DVWs in the higher education setting. Besides, this study indicates that there are factors associated with higher education students' personal and social capabilities that can influence their perception towards acceptance of this technology. The findings also emphasised the economic impact of the use of 3DVWs in higher education. The study provides theoretical support to determine the relationship between the constructs and the acceptance of 3DVWs. It also provides a taxonomy of antecedents of technology adoption in the higher education context.

Some of the identified constructs have already been examined by other theories, and the current study's findings are consistent with them. As an example, the relationship between ‘Perceived ease of use’ and ‘Perceived usefulness.’ and acceptance is in accordance with Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) and TAM2 (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000). Similarly, the relationship between ‘Perceived enjoyment’, which is an additional motivational determinant of acceptance, and acceptance is also consistent with the findings of Davis et al. (1992). Overall, the study provides support for the Technology Acceptance Model. The study's findings as well as the provided big picture of effective factors will help future researchers understand various elements impacting the user acceptance of 3DVW technology in education. This can also assist scholars in the educational technology and information systems fields in developing new theories. The new factors discovered in the study can be investigated further in future studies using different or similar technologies in various virtual teaching and learning environments. Similarly, the relationships between user acceptance and positive outcomes can be measured by considering these factors.

In this study, the application of 3DVW technology can be seen as empirical evidence about the role of immersive virtual environments in the implementation of distance learning programs for higher education. Future studies could explore the relationship between user acceptance and personal parameters such as age, gender, exposure to technology, familiarity with technology, cultural and psychological factors, etc. Future studies will be able to accurately examine the newly identified factors by using statistical research methods to determine the significance of each factor. Many studies in the literature, including the current study, implemented limited and short-term instructional programmes on 3DVW-based environments, which were a part of a course or, at most, one-term courses. New research could expand the duration of the educational programme to a longer-term, such as more than one term, if not more than one year. Researchers can better study how students' and educators' impressions of this technology change during long-term studies.

Although there are some studies in the literature on the social aspects of 3DVWs, future research is expected to delve deeper into the various social and cultural factors that influence the use of these technologies by higher education students, particularly by studying the application of the technology within various cultural contexts. Studies are required to investigate the issues and barriers associated with employing the technology in higher education. Since the current study encountered several unsatisfactory experiences and limitations in using Second Life for educational purposes, improvements are required for Second Life to become an effective means for distance learning. The majority of the studies in this area have mostly focused on the benefits and positive elements of 3DVWs in higher education. Thus, these technologies must be investigated in terms of application, and implementation complexity, efficiency, compatibility, students behaviour, data security, implementation cost, and so on. This study looked at the adoption of 3DVW only from the students’ perspective. New studies can also examine adoption from other users’ points of view, e.g. instructors, lecturers, tutors, and so on.

The current study has a number of contributions to pedagogical practice. The higher education community, which is considerably active in the use of virtual learning environments, can use the approach, outcome and findings of the current study in order to implement and offer effective virtual distance learning programs. This section provides some practical implications and informed directions for scholars who are interested in learning more about the pedagogical possibilities of 3DVW technologies and are willing to offer more engaging virtual learning experiences for higher education learners. Some of the potential capabilities of the technology in the context of higher education are discussed as follows.