Gaining adequate on-farm experience can be difficult for students due to limited resources, time, and strict biosecurity protocols. This study assessed university student perceptions of the usability of a virtual reality (VR) farm tour focused on swine or dairy farming. Seventy-one participants experienced a VR farm tour. After completing the tour, students were asked about their enjoyment and the usability of the VR farm experience. Students with prior VR experience found the tours to be more enjoyable (P = 0.01), felt the tour was a good supplement to a real farm visit (P = 0.01), and were more likely to gain new knowledge after undergoing the tour (P = 0.01) compared to students with only previous augmented realilty (AR) experience. Thematic analysis identified themes in student responses including recommendations for farm welfare improvements and the potential benefits of VR for various audiences. Fifty-one students could suggest an opportunity to improve farm welfare after completing a VR tour. Most users (43 responses) recommended VR tours for student use. Overall, previous experience with VR matters when considering implementation in the classroom. Additionally, students found the VR tours to be moderately useful in teaching animal welfare. Further research is needed to address technological issues and explore the implementation of VR in classrooms.
Underwood et al. (Tue,) studied this question.