Designing a Study to Evaluate the Impact of WebXR with GenAI on Student Engagement in Distance Education

This study aims to evaluate how immersive content can enhance student engagement, learning outcomes, and satisfaction in an open and distance learning context. The paper gives an overview of the background research and study design that investigates the impact of immersive virtual learning environments on distance education by integrating WebXR with GenAI into Moodle, a widely used virtual learning environment (VLE). The design considers two groups of learners, an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group will engage with WebXR having GenAI agents and the control group will experience the same course content delivered through conventional online teaching methods. Using Learning Analytics (LA) and the DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model as an evaluation framework, the research will assess a number of dimensions, including system quality, information quality, service quality, user satisfaction, intention to use, net benefit, engagement, and learning gain. A mixed methods approach will be employed to collect feedback from distance learners through an online survey. This data will be combined with log data from the VLE and WebXR after anonymization. The findings are expected to provide information on the effectiveness of WebXR in enhancing the online learning experience and will offer practical recommendations for integrating Extended Reality (XR) tools into existing LMS platforms to support innovative and engaging education in distance learning contexts.