The Research and Education Center "Digital Technologies in Education" (REC DTE) of the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University, in cooperation with Master program students of the School of Advanced Studies (SAS) of Tyumen State University, conducted an experiment that allows you to objectively evaluate the benefits of using immersive technologies in teaching presentation skills and working with a large audience.

About 60 freshmen of the SAS Bachelor course completed a questionnaire and assessed their skill in presenting information. In addition, the level of excitement during public speaking was measured. The students were divided into three groups in such a way that each group included both confident and novice speakers. Then the groups spent two weeks preparing for an important performance in English in front of an expert commission on an individual program: some rehearsed in front of virtual listeners in VR glasses, others participated in face-to-face training, and the third part worked independently. During training and VR practice, students learned to maintain eye contact with the audience and avoid parasitic words in their speech. Before and after training, the pulse of each participant was measured again. The second stage of the experiment was carried out directly during the speech of the participants: before and after the reports, the speaker's pulse was measured, the experts assessed the quality of speech, in addition, a second questionnaire was conducted among the participants in order to assess changes in their assessment of presentation skills. Now a team of experimenters has begun processing the data in order to present the results in the form of a research publication by the end of summer. 

Rostislav Speransky, Head of New Practice Formats at the Research and Education Center "Digital Technologies in Education" at GSOM SPbU: "This is a unique experiment for Russian higher education. I am sincerely glad that it was implemented in close cooperation between GSOM SPbU and SAS. The fact of conducting research directly within the educational process is especially valuable. This was made possible thanks to the flexibility and professionalism of the SAS Master students who participated in the preparation and conduct of the experiment.”

Specialists of the Research and Educational Center "Digital Technologies in Education" (REC DTE) believe that new technologies, for example, VR simulators, can expand the educational experience of students and improve the quality of education without increasing the number of work for professors. The public presentation skill can be improved by practice. This means that the more the student trains on his own, the greater part of the lessons the professor will be able to devote to the content of the speech, its academic component, and not to working out the techniques of convincing presentation of information and the rules of public speaking. In addition, immersive technologies can become the basis for creating new additional education programs.