The Use of Virtual Reality Roleplay to Improve Communicative and Digital Skills in a Transnational Collaborative Learning Environment: Implications for Teaching and Learning in Social Work Management Education

Virtual collaborative learning and teaching benefits from using immersive technologies to develop key competences, such as collaboration, virtual communication, and problem-solving skills, as well as social and digital skills. Based on the formative evaluation of the skills in the Hotel Academy project, which aimed at the development and implementation of a transnational desktop/VR-based roleplay, this chapter will draw attention to both the potential of virtual reality and the learners’ experiences of presence and immersion during its experimentation. Additionally, findings from the summative validation of the underlying didactical framework to develop transnational and cross-institutional blueprints for the implementation of this specific VR environment in higher education institutions will be presented. Finally, conclusions will be drawn regarding the future use of such roleplaying in social work management education.