Work-in-Progress—WebXR to Support Student Wellbeing and Anxiety

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic social distancing measures had immense evidenced impact on student life in higher education affecting their mental health in many ways. In addition, remote working measures taken by Higher Education organizations to protect students and staff created an additional barrier for students seeking support at a stage they feel the most vulnerable. This paper presents a work-in-progress study that focuses on investigating ways of designing an online system for self-assessment symptoms of anxiety based on which available support is provided in a personalized and emotionally engaging manner. The project builds and compares three prototypes: a conventional web site; a VR immersive environment with a single virtual human playing the role of a student life advisor; and an immersive environment with more than one virtual humans interacting with the user aiming to study which system engages and assists vulnerable students more effectively, contributing to a better user experience. The paper presents that project motivations, its aims and objectives, the proposed research methodology and the expected contributions to knowledge.