Using 360 VR Videos in Presentation Rehearsals: Comparing Anxiety Levels

Oral presentations are a common way for college students to demonstrate their knowledge in front of the class. However, many people experience public speaking anxiety, which can lower presentation quality. Previous studies have suggested that using technology can help alleviate this anxiety. For replicating the realistic context, recorded 360 VR videos demonstrate the potential as an instructional aid for creating immersive presentation rehearsals in pre-service teacher programs. We conducted a quasi-experimental study to explore the effectiveness of using 360 VR videos in presentation rehearsal training. We recruited participants (n = 52), college juniors who were education majors at a four-year public university in southern China. They were randomly assigned to two groups. The experimental group (EG) received the 360 VR video training, while the control group (CG) received traditional instruction. The results showed that the EG students had significantly lower presentation anxiety scale scores than the CG students. Furthermore, the EG students reported positive emotions and speech content mastery in their reflections on presentation delivery. These findings suggest that 360 VR videos can effectively reduce public speaking anxiety and improve presentation quality in pre-service teacher programs. Future research should explore the potential of this technology for other contexts and populations.