How do the experiences of virtual presence and flow differ? evidence from engineering and ICT online education

Virtual presence and flow are usually presented as two core facets of the individual’s immersion in online educationsettings, yet their delimitation is still unclear. We seek to address this issue by theoretically explaining, and empiricallyshowing, their different extents. From a sample of students of engineering and ICT programmes in a pure-online educationsetting, we have found that although virtual presence and flow are both triggered by focused attention (which in turn isprompted by a similar feeling of perceived control), virtual presence is directly activated by the challenges perceived in theonline environment—and its activation facilitates flow states. The findings also support the impact of challenge and skill onperceived control. These results shed light on the complexity of immersive experiences in virtual education environments,and offer implications for higher education institutions and instructors.