Esti Schwartz, Ina Blau E81 Proceedings of the 21st Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Digital Era I. Blau, A. Caspi, Y. Eshet-Alkalai, N. Geri, Y. Kalman, D. Olenik-Shemesh, Y. Sidi, & N. Brandel (Eds.), Ra'anana, Israel: The Open University of Israel How Immersive Should Learning Be? Educational VR Immersion Level and Perceived Learning in Schools (Short paper) Esti Schwartz The Open University of Israel estischwartz@gmail.com Ina Blau The Open University of Israel inabl@openu.ac.il עד כמה למידה צריכה להיות אימרסיבית? רמת האימרסיביות ותפיסת הלמידה במציאות מדומה בבתי ספר )מאמר קצר( אינה בלאו האוניברסיטה הפתוחה inabl@openu.ac.il אסתי שוורץ האוניברסיטה הפתוחה estischwartz@gmail.com Abstract Immersive technologies enable experiential learning by allowing students to engage with digitally simulated environments that support presence, interactivity, and emotional involvement. These systems vary widely in immersion level, from Desktop VR (DVR) displayed on a computer screen, to Immersive Rooms (IR) with 360° classroom projections, to fully immersive VR headsets that envelop learners' senses. Although increasingly used in K–12 contexts, little is known about how different immersion levels influence students' perceived learning given that this effects their motivation and interest to learn in these environments. This study examined how DVR, IR, and fully immersive VR affect students' perceived immersion and perceived learning, and whether these effects vary by student age and teacher experience. Participants were 252 students aged 9–16 from Israeli schools. Immersion was assessed with items adapted from Selzer and Castro (2022), and perceived learning with the Perceived Learning Questionnaire (Blau & Caspi, 2010). A two-way MANCOVA tested effects of technology and age, controlling for teacher experience. Findings showed that technology type significantly influenced immersion and all dimensions of perceived learning. DVR consistently yielded the highest perceived immersion and learning, IR the lowest, and fully immersive VR intermediate. Significant Technology × Age interactions indicated stronger benefits of immersive technologies for younger students, with differences declining among older learners. Overall, the results that moderate-immersion formats, such as DVR, offer an effective balance of engagement, cognitive clarity, and usability. Aligning immersion level with
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