Abstract:

The widespread adoption of Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) is an undeniable reality. Currently, major tech companies like Meta, HP, Microsoft, and Apple are engaged in fierce competition to capture a significant share of the market by developing high-quality, affordable VR devices.
One area where VR holds great potential is education. Numerous projects, studies, and papers have explored the applications and benefits of utilizing VR in teaching. Some even predict that VR will become a defining technology in future education.
One of these projects is e-DIPLOMA: Electronic, Didactic and Innovative Platform based On Multimedia Assets; a Horizon Europe multidisciplinary project coordinated by the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón. This project aims to develop an innovative e-learning platform that integrates different innovative technologies, such as VR, Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), taking into account a deep pedagogical approach and full compliance with ethical standards.
However, the use of VR in the classroom, particularly with minors and vulnerable people, raises many ethical concerns. To draw accurate conclusions, it is essential to conduct further research and field studies that provide valuable insights.
Field studies often involve directly testing and piloting VR products with students, which necessitates careful consideration of various implications. Obtaining consent forms from students or their parents/legal guardians, depending on the students' age or decision-making capacity, is one crucial implication. Consent forms must be fully informative and unambiguous, detailing the possible consequences, both physical and psychological.
The objective of this paper is to establish specific requirements for consent forms when conducting research involving VR devices, particularly in educational settings. Exposure time to VR content, simple protocols for dizziness or any other health problem, data capture by sensors included in VR devices or Accessibility, inclusivity and exclusion are some of the key aspects that a proper consent form should include. By addressing these requisites, we aim to ensure ethical and responsible use of VR technology in education, particularly to the e-DIPLOMA project.
To accomplish this objective, we conducted a desktop research on popular VR devices and a literature review using databases such as SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed, spanning the past 10 years and over 25 relevant works were selected, including research papers, conference presentations, didactic books, and publications from the general press.

Keywords:

Virtual Reality, Ethics, Consent Forms, e-DIPLOMA, Education.