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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a pivotal technology in the field of education, offering immersive and interactive experiences that have the potential to significantly enhance teaching and learning processes. However, for educational designers, teachers, and lecturers who lack advanced information technology skills, identifying and evaluating suitable VR applications can be a complex and labour-intensive endeavour. This article provides a non-technical, action-oriented overview of commercially available VR solutions designed for social skills training in education. To identify relevant providers, we conducted a four-phase snowball search from April to October 2024, combining academic literature reviews, expert interviews, web searches, and demo testing. This process led to the identification of ten VR providers suitable for social and communication skills development. The selected applications were analyzed across ten key criteria, including communication style, avatar design and customization, technological requirements, language support, and the availability of content libraries and authoring tools. The results reveal significant variation among providers in terms of pedagogical flexibility, technical accessibility, and degrees of user customization. By mapping these differences, the article offers a practical starting point for educational stakeholders seeking VR solutions that align with their instructional goals. Rather than offering an exhaustive review, the study presents a structured orientation to facilitate informed decision-making in selecting and implementing VR tools for social skills training.

Details

Title
An Overview of Commercial Virtual Reality Providers in Education: Mapping the Current Market Landscape
Author
Evangelou, Dominik  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mulders, Miriam  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sekerci, Bünyamin
First page
3906
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20763417
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3188783985
Copyright
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.