Table 9 Qualitative analysis of students’ comments on 360º VR video teaching method (N = 26)

Immersiveness and Realism

(Positive)

- The immersiveness and close to reality of the demonstration was appreciated by the students. A total of 11 students believed it was very realistic and this could be leveraged as an alternative to face-to-face demonstration. The students represented this with positive reviews like “up close and personal” “sense of realism” “immersive experience is high”.

Direct Quotes:

“It was nice to have a sense of realism.”

“The head set was heavy. But it was very realistic. It was more up close and personal than actually seeing a faculty member’s demonstration.”

“In person, it was difficult to see the procedure of the teacher at the front of the classroom in a large group, but in VR it was easier to see the procedure up close.”

Ready to Use and Pacing

(Positive)

- The teaching method offers the opportunity to reuse the video to review procedures at convenience. Four students considered the reusability as an effective strategy to teach procedures. This appeared in the texts as “review exercises” and “watch over and over”.

Direct Quotes:

“It was very realistic. I liked the fact that I could go back and look at the parts I didn’t understand over and over again.”

“I think if you think about when to use VR, it can be used effectively. (e.g. reviewing exercises in VR at home)”

“I wasn’t sure if it needed to be in VR. But I do think being able to watch it over and over again is effective for learning.”

Production Limitation

(Improvement)

- The technical issue and limitations associated with the production like inability to look down, audiovisual problem, and uncomfortable positioning were some of the concerns of the students. Students (N = 13) represented this as but not limited to “hard to hear distant sounds”, “angle above patient”, and “difficult to look down”.

Direct Quotes:

“Because the angle was from above the patient, I had to look all the way down to the left to see the nurse’s procedure, which was a little uncomfortable. Also, the saturation monitor was behind the patient, so I had to turn around to see it.”

“I thought it would be better if the angle could be changed to a position that is easier to see. It would be better if the video could be viewed from the perspective of the person actually performing the procedure, so that the understanding could be deepened.”

“It would be easier to understand if the camera position could be set at the same height as when it is implemented. It would be easier to review if you could make the rewind interval a little shorter, say 5 s.”

Symptoms and Discomfort

(Improvement)

- The VR sickness symptoms and discomfort experienced during the demonstration was reported by the students. Students (N = 15) recounted this as but not limited to “easily intoxicated”, “a bit sick”, “head is heavy”, and “eye strain and headaches”.

Direct Quotes:

“I feel that I was a little easily intoxicated. It was easy to feel a bit sick.”

“It was immersive and realistic, and I could feel what was going on firsthand, but the distortion of the screen and the eye strain and headaches associated with it made it difficult for me to use it on a daily basis”

“The camera’s viewpoint was directly above the patient, so it was easy to see the procedure, but it was difficult to turn around between the doctor and the monitor. The head set was heavy, so there was a burden on the face, and I felt sick”

Burdensomeness

(Improvement)

- The difficulty in navigation through the activity-oriented demonstration was a source of concern to the students. Students (N = 9) expressed this as phrases like “little uncomfortable”, “difficult perspective”, “had to turn around”, “hassle to put it on”, and “image too large”.

Direct Quotes:

“I need to turn my head around and I’m tired, so I think it would be good to improve that”

“I had to move my head to see some parts of the procedure, so it was more difficult to understand than a live lecture”

“It was a hassle to have to put it on and watch the video every time there was a question”

“It was hard to tell where things were”