A Framework for Participatory Creation of Digital Futures: A Longitudinal Study on Enhancing Media Literacy and Inclusion in K-12 Through Virtual Reality

Abstract

The present study explores the affordances of virtual reality (VR) technologies to enhance digital and media literacy skills within an interdisciplinary and inclusive K-12 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning context. Addressing gaps in research on the design and impact of VR experiences in secondary education, the study investigates VR affordances not only as a learning tool, but also as a medium for knowledge co-creation through learning by doing, with students acting as the agents within digital social contexts. The study was conducted for two years, with 59 participants aged 13–14 years old, following a structured five-phase intervention model with the intent to comply with DigComp 2.2 guidelines for digital citizenship and the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for inclusive educational practices. The phases involved (a) training on the technological level to leverage digital tools; (b) media and information literacy (MIL) instruction in VR; (c) collaborative VR artifact creation; (d) peer evaluation; and (e) dissemination with peers from other sociocultural contexts for an iterative process of continuous content improvement and social discourse. Mixed methods data collection included pre/post-course surveys, pre/post-tests, observation journals, and student-generated VR artifact evaluations. The findings indicate consistent learning gains across both years, with an average pre–post gain of 18 points (Cohen’s d = −2.25; t = −17.3, p < 0.001). The VR-supported intervention fostered complex skillset building within a VR-supported dynamic learning environment that caters to diverse needs. Students’ reflections informed a framework for designing inclusive media literacy in VR, structured around three main pillars: Narrative Structure, Strategic Design, and Representation Awareness. These themes encapsulate the practical, cognitive, and ethical dimensions of VR design. Sub-themes with examples contribute to understanding the key design elements of VR in promoting participatory engagement, digital and media literacy, critical discourse, and inclusive education. The sub-themes per pillar are signaling and multisensory cues, storyline, and artful thinking; schema formation, multimedia encoding, and optimal cognitive load; and bias-free, respect for emotional impact, and language and symbols. Complementary quantitative findings confirmed the themes of the proposed framework, revealing a positive correlation between the perceived ease of use (PEoU) with digital skills development and a negative correlation between perceived usefulness (PU) and cognitive load. The study concludes with recommendations for pedagogy, curriculum design, and future research to empower learners in shaping sustainable digital futures.

1. Introduction

Learning environments play a crucial role in enhancing involvement in the learning process. Olszewski and Crompton [1] discuss the opportunities of utilizing contemporary digital resources to foster learners’ transition to independent learners. Digitalized learning promotes personalization, autonomy, and collaborative learning, transforming conventional teaching modes and promoting network education in the information age. In response to evolving educational demands, researchers advocate for flexible instructional design that supports learner diversity [2]. Fischer et al. [3] contend that the challenge of our era is that the digital age requires transforming education by developing new frameworks and socio-technical environments, beyond just creating digital infrastructures, to make learning an integral part of life. The advancement of technologies integrating virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI) can create dynamic, interactive learning environments engaging students in multimodal interactions and immersive scenarios that facilitate deeper learning and skill development.

The emergence of the concept of the Edu-Metaverse as a transformative shift in educational paradigms not only supports traditional learning goals but also introduces novel pedagogical approaches that foster creativity, critical thinking, and social interaction. Metaverse involves transcendence that enables barrier-free connections among users dispersely located to interact and collaborate in diverse activities, within a collection of networked virtual worlds for learning [4,5,6,7]. Compared to conventional video conferencing, the communication and collaboration among avatars, the digital representations of the users, can convey more social cues and co-presence, while liberating more reserved and introverted students to practice interpersonal skills [8,9,10,11]. Kye et al.’s [5] study suggests that teachers should investigate how students understand the metaverse and design VR classes for students to solve problems or perform projects cooperatively and creatively.

The literature suggests that the primary attributes that improve user experience (UX) are the interactive affordances, the level of immersion, and the content’s information density [6,12,13,14], rendering immersive technologies particularly appropriate for contemporary education. Nevertheless, today’s Generation Z and Generation Alpha learners’ traits and behavioral patterns are shaped by ubiquitous access to information in digital spaces that may be user-generated, not always curated, and may lead to a misleading understanding of the world. In light of this, their consumption and production of digital content within social media contexts with representations of an ideal, unrealistic lifestyle and identity [11,15,16], media literacy and critical discourse skills enhancement should be part of the educational practices across disciplines. In addition, addressing the constantly increasing need for bridging the digital divide for inclusive educational practices, portable devices and mobile learning [17,18,19] play an important role and can tackle the difficulties for tailored learning possibilities, information overload management, collaboration, communication, creation, and problem solving. As such, we need to explore Edu-metaverse affordances and functionalities across learning platforms and devices, and whether they offer a sound solution to increase students’ purposeful multisensory interaction, autonomy, and creativity within collaborative spaces.

Collaboration and co-creation respond to the demands of the contemporary, ever-evolving complex digital ecosystem and create the prospects for effective integration in the workforce [20]. Ramaila and Molwele [21] posit that innovative technologies can promote 21st-century skills building as they create smart learning environments offering “resourceful and student-centered learning opportunities that make learning more contextualized, social, reflective, and active” (p. 10). Johnson-Glenberg [22] references [23]’s list of top four uses of VR, namely, when content is impossible in real life, too expensive, too dangerous, or counterproductive, while adding two profound affordances, namely, “the sensation of presence, which designers must learn to support, while not overwhelming learners, and the embodiment and agency associated with manipulating content in 3D” (p. 238). In terms of overwhelming immersive spaces, the Critical Immersive-Triggered Literacy (CITL) [24] is defined as a skills development framework that triggers learners’ attention to specific learning objects and facilitates digital well-being for meaningful learning instances via immersive technologies. This paradigm aligns with inquiry-based learning, as open-ended questions in the VR exploratory educational setting challenge students to engage with the subject matter and enable them to construct new knowledge, building on prior experiences [25]. As such, students focus on their learning objectives and learn in a collaborative space, with and from their peers, through observation, imitation, and reflection, thus refining their cognitive structures. This knowledge construction process fosters a pedagogical approach that promotes active learning and empowers students to assume responsibility for their educational path in an innovative learning environment.

Nevertheless, virtual reality is often viewed as an individually oriented resource, and most of the studies have focused on how individual users gain knowledge or change their attitudes as a consequence of being exposed to VR environments [26,27]. Silseth et al. [28] note that VR studies that focus on individual learning are designed for experimental research to measure learning and behavioral outcomes and do not take the socially and culturally situated nature of teaching and learning practices into account, with collaborative activities employing VR being underexplored [29,30]. In addition, existing studies explore VR affordances mainly in higher education and training, with a limited number of studies in K-12 education [13,31]. Van de Meer et al.’s [31] review identified that out of 139 studies investigating virtual reality collaborative learning (VRCL) in education, most articles focused on tertiary education (64.0%). Primary education accounted for 10.8%, while 5.0% discussed VRCL in secondary education and in specific fields. Multidisciplinary studies covered only 8.6% of the articles. In light of this, further studies are needed to explore the incorporation of novel learning environments in the least-explored secondary authentic learning settings, to identify how students, through dialogue, reflect and co-create VR experiences. Learners’ practices and reflections can address the need to identify the key elements for effective design patterns that promote deep learning opportunities in a holistic approach, across disciplines, in collaborative learning settings for transversal skills building [32]. Based on what previous studies suggest and on the premise that the implementation of metaverse-based collaborative educational scenarios for content co-creation in K-12 is still in its infancy, the findings of the study may inform an inclusive design of VR spaces that fosters holistic approaches in mainstream education. To this end, our study focuses on research questions, which were informed by preliminary results of the first year of the implementation of the study [33] as follows:

RQ1: How can virtual reality in K-12 education improve learning outcomes through an interdisciplinary approach?

RQ2: How does participatory culture in content co-creation help bridge the digital skills divide?

RQ3: What are the key design elements of virtual reality interventions that enhance digital and media literacy skills?

RQ4: What are the key design elements of virtual reality interventions that promote inclusive learning practices?

Responding to the need to explore the affordances of VR-based learning within the broader educational scenarios based on the research questions set, the review of related work will provide insights into the design of the present study. More specifically, the review focuses on (a) how VR-supported education can foster holistic learning through an interdisciplinary approach; (b) the instructional design key elements to foster inclusive VR learning that align with the UDL guidelines [34]; and (c) how the participatory culture and critical discourse link to the DigComp framework [35] to foster media content co-creation in VR learning environments.

2. Review of Related Work

2.1. Interdisciplinary Approach in K-12 Virtual Environments for Holistic Education

New trends in education, as dictated for a complex skillset building in a holistic learning environment, call for an interdisciplinary approach that facilitates the development of transversal competencies and values, moving beyond traditional academic disciplines to offer sustainable and efficient learning outcomes [36]. Didham et al. [37] support that “interdisciplinary education could be applied to strengthen transformative learning processes and actively engage learners as actors for change in the pursuit of sustainable development” (p. 1). Fischer et al.’s [3] study on teacher education for sustainable development identified two areas of further inquiry that could help advance the field, namely, action research for broader systemic changes and “inter- and transdisciplinary research modes with their focus on experimentation and utilization of diverse knowledges” [3] (p. 518). Fischer et al. contend that these areas provide promising research opportunities that explore interconnections in sustainable educational development among actors, processes, approaches, and outcomes, explaining changes at individual and structural levels. Pellas et al. ’s [13] systematic review notes that most cases of VR interventions do not align with the curriculum and refer to specific disciplines while highlighting the need for further research in the field to lead effective instructional design based on pedagogical frameworks. Christopoulos et al.’s [38] study reveals that the interdisciplinary approach in language and science courses had a positive impact, as there is a need for a sociolinguistic context to promote scientific knowledge. Accordingly, Imamyartha et al.’s [39] study supports that the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) [40] pedagogy can be broadened and benefited from the STEAM pedagogy in the second/foreign language (L2) acquisition framework. Recent research on teacher interdisciplinary professional development underscores that VR technologies have the potential to enhance learning experiences and outcomes across a variety of subject areas [41], especially in the context of micro-teaching and pilot-testing sessions based on quality criteria that allow for refinement of the VR prototypes design [32] and a better understanding of community dynamics. VR environment multimodality offers the opportunity for multiple practices, including interdisciplinary collaborations.

2.2. Instructional Design Key Elements for Inclusive Learning in Multi-User Virtual Spaces

Teachers and instructional designers’ priority in designing, developing, and implementing learning scenarios is to analyze learners’ needs, evaluate them, and respond by providing sound pedagogical solutions. The socio-cultural context within which each generation explores what this world has to offer substantially affects how they seek answers to their questions and experience learning instances. As this context evolves, so do learners’ ways of exploring and reaching satisfaction, which is the most prevalent factor that necessitates change in educational practices responding to the characteristic features of the different student generations [42,43]. Immersive technologies, due to their multimodality, interactivity, and innovative nature, can support deep, meaningful learning [44] as they foster multiple means of representation, engagement, and action and expression, according to the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles [34].

Oje et al. [45] posit that VR fosters schema formation through embodied interactions, real-time feedback, and contextualized learning. Sweller [46] underscores the importance of educational technology and instructional design to limit cognitive load, while [47] investigate the redundancy effects for contextual understanding in VR environments. E-Inclusion [48] does not only focus on learners with disabilities in its narrow interpretation, but also diverse forms of heterogeneity [49], needs and preferences, prior knowledge and starting point, sociolinguistic barriers due to population mobility [18], the right to equitable education, social justice, active participation [50], and interactions with all aspects of education [51], unlocking opportunities for education for all. Technology and connectivity play a vital role in fostering inclusive digital learning to promote accessibility by tailoring the experience to individual needs. The literature suggests that emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality can address today’s educational landscape gaps for fairness and equal access to bridge the digital and cognitive divide, utilizing a rich toolkit of media [52,53], while highlighting the effectiveness of generative strategies in VR environments that deepen understanding and enhance retention. These strategies include self-explanation, summarization, critical thinking, and comprehension by active processing of information [47,54]. Nevertheless, multimodal representations and inputs should align with learners’ cognitive processes [55], investigating how learners can process these inputs in sensory-rich VR learning settings [56]. Studies suggest that the strategic combination of multimodal signals that combine text, visual, and auditory cues can reduce distraction in VR environments, thus triggering learners’ attention to specific learning objects [57,58]. Wehrmann and Zender’s [59] review focuses on the relevance of UDL to designing inclusive VR learning environments. The researchers stress the limited insights from K-12 studies and identify the need for future research to investigate the impact of audio-visual and locomotion systems, participatory and user-generated content, scaffolding, and automated assessment on student attitudes and self-perception. The review additionally underscores the need for inclusive embodied learning, collaboration guidelines, metacognitive support elements, and learning transfer.

2.3. DigComp Framework and Participatory Creation of Media in VR Contexts

According to the European Commission DigComp 2.2 framework [35], digital competence involves the “confident, critical and responsible use of, and engagement with, digital technologies for learning, at work, and for participation in society”. It is defined as a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in five main areas: (1) information management; (2) collaboration and communication; (3) digital content creation; (4) safety; and (5) problem solving. New media interfaces and the interactivity their features provide allow for the active participation, interpretation, and generation of new content, allowing students to have a voice in their learning process. In the traditional one-way transmission of information, the receivers of media content are passive consumers of information, while emerging media bear participatory features that extend consumers’ involvement to active participation in media co-construction, namely, the produsage processes [60,61]. Produsage refers to the collaborative and participatory process where users are both producers and consumers of content. In the context of media creation within the DigComp guidelines for digital proficiency, produsage involves interpreting existing content, remixing or recontextualizing it, and creating new, original materials based on shared meanings and community contributions. This process encourages critical thinking, creativity, and active engagement, as users do not passively consume media but interact with it, challenge it, create new content, and, thus, contribute to its evolution.

Research suggests that VR learning contexts can be utilized for knowledge synthesis, discussion, articulation, cooperation, and reflection [42,62,63]. Annamalai et al.’s [64] study revealed that the application of immersive technologies in educational contexts improves critical thinking, peer cooperation, and creativity [65,66] in a student-centered pedagogical approach, reducing anxiety and promoting authentic digital discourse experiences [67]. Additionally, incorporating opportunities for participatory content creation in collaborative learning environments, such as shared VR spaces where students can work together virtually, enhances engagement and learning outcomes [68]. Students can use immersive technologies to create and modify virtual prototypes, enhancing their creativity and learning autonomy [69]. Cooperation and creativity strategies in the VR multi-user spaces involve the critical analysis and synthesis of concepts and the critical discourse among collaborators for the design and co-creation of new digital artifacts. As [70] contends, reconceptualizing critical digital literacy involves the analysis of specific multimodal features that we consume in digital texts that may lead to a new framework for literacy, that of critical digital design related to the production of digital forms. This multidimensional notion of literacy and critical discourse and its interdependence involves the transformational power of cooperatively conveying new meaning through the use of effective linguistic patterns. Langlois [71] highlights the techno-cultural aspect of the participatory processes, that is, the critical implications of the software mediation and interpretation of communicative features at the technical level into cultural values, ideals, and practice in the media environment. As [72] supports, the role of digital immersive collaboration is to achieve sustainable education and critical thinking by fostering collaboration, diverse perspectives, and problem solving, ultimately empowering students to engage more deeply with the content, the language, and the learning process.

Despite the growing body of theoretical and conceptual work on the role of VR in education, there remains a lack of empirical studies that explore how these frameworks are interpreted into practice within real-world classroom settings. This study fills that gap by applying and empirically evaluating a longitudinal, interdisciplinary VR intervention grounded in DigComp 2.2, UDL, and Critical Immersive-Triggered Literacy.

3. Materials and Methods

This longitudinal study was designed to respond to the research gap by examining its practical impact on students’ inclusive digital and media literacy education through generative activities in VR spaces. Active participation in knowledge construction involves developing skills and attitudes within social contexts. To this end, the intervention focused on content co-creation within VR environments employed in the least-explored K-12 education context. Responding to what the literature suggests, the intervention was conducted in a secondary formal education setting and was replicated for a second academic year, each lasting for 14 weeks within the school curriculum. The study was designed in alignment with the updated guidelines (version 3) of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) [34] that focuses on the “who” of learning, the importance of identity as an agency of the process within the collective efforts of knowledge building. The tools selected for the intervention were cost-free, open resources, user-friendly, and in compliance with UDL. Pedagogical implications in the technology-enhanced approach involve inquiry-based learning that puts the learners at the center of the learning process, while developing skills according to the DigComp 2.2 guidelines. This interdisciplinary design allowed holistic analysis, incorporating pedagogical, technological, and socio-cultural perspectives.

3.1. Participants

There was a recruitment of 59 students over two years who participated in all stages of the intervention, 31 male and 28 female, with 30 students recruited in year 1 and 29 students in year 2, respectively. The sample consists of a mixed-ability classes population, reflecting the norm in public K-12 education, with diverse demographics and socio-cultural contexts due to population mobility. The number of participants was kept manageable, as informed by the early findings of year 1 [33], to allow in-depth exploration of participatory content creation in multi-user VR spaces. The study was conducted in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting, in an interdisciplinary inquiry-based learning approach, responding to Christopoulos et al.’s [38] study for a sociolinguistic context to promote scientific knowledge.

Prior language proficiency was tested and aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) [73] indicators: 10.2% A2, 54.2% B1, 25.4% B2, and 5.1% at C1 and C2 levels (

Table 1. Participants’ demographics.

Participants’ Demographics
Variable	Category	Number	Frequency
Age	13–14	59	100%
Gender	Male	31	52.5%
	Female	28	47.5%
	A2	6	10.2%
Level of English (CEFR)	B1	32	54.2%
	B2	15	25.4%
	C1	3	5.1%
	C2	3	5.1%
Prior VR Experience	For entertainment	5	8.5%
	For learning purposes	11	18.6%
	No prior VR experience	43	72.9%

). This range reflects the linguistic diversity typical of the broader school population. The specific school location is in a semi-urban area, and its population (approx. 200 students) includes students from five villages and the local town. The student population includes both native residents and immigrant families, with a wide range of parental education and professional backgrounds. The immigrant families communicate mainly in their native languages within their contexts, keeping traditions and customs of their countries alive. This socio-cultural diversity, coupled with limited prior experiences with VR technologies (72.9% had none), created a rich context for inclusive learning.

Sample size representativeness was informed by the preliminary test that is administered at the beginning of each school year, as well as from the previous year’s summative assessment performance. English as a working language was fully employed in all stages of the intervention and co-creation of VR content. The last stage involved the dissemination of the new artifacts with their eTwinning peers on the European School Educational Platform (ESEP) [74]. This scenario created the conditions to put the learners in a frame of work that relates to solving real-world problems, with VR content co-creation targeted to diverse audiences, thus creating expectations for purposeful learning.

Ethical and privacy considerations on the students’ participation were clarified and approved by the school’s Institutional Review Board. Informed consent was obtained from all parents and guardians, and no students opted out of participation. Data were anonymized and handled in accordance with institutional privacy policies.

3.2. Research Design and the Stages of the Intervention

There was a strategic design of the research stages that was informed by early findings exploring the students’ profile, their prior experiences, and their digital and media literacy habits [16,24] in order to educate them and prepare them for a more advanced understanding of the world and collective contributions in the ever-evolving complex digital ecosystem. This reality involves the incorporation of innovative methodologies in the curricula in an interdisciplinary approach, such as STEAM inquiry-based learning in the EFL context, that enhances knowledge and skills building, bridging arts and media design for scientific inquiry, technological fluency, engineering practices, linguistic enhancement, and artistic creativity.

The study design involved five stages, responding to the European Commission’s DigComp 2.2 [35] framework and, additionally, synthesizing Reynolds’ [75] concept of social constructivist task-driven practices for digital literacy. More specifically, the phases of the study design and implementation process involved the following:

• Phase I: Training on the technological level
• Phase II: Training in media and information literacy (MIL)
• Phase III: Post-training co-creation stage—VR collaborative authoring
• Phase IV: Evaluation
• Phase V: Dissemination

Figure 1 displays the five phases of the study for collaborative content creation in VR spaces.

In the digital platforms training stage, the students were introduced to the technologies they would use, exploring their features and affordances, compatibility with devices, and with advice on how to check privacy and security issues. This familiarization with the technologies was an essential step that enabled students to learn how to navigate, explore, and make use of digital spaces’ affordances, thereby creating the conditions for seamless, focused learning during the next technology-enhanced learning phases. For the VR-based instruction phase, which focused on the critical digital and media literacy skills, the VR space was designed based on an instructional and pedagogical framework that fosters socio-constructivism, differentiated instruction, and inclusive learning practices. The ArtSteps VR platform [76] was employed, based on its affordances as a free and open source in its basic use that is user-friendly, appropriate for educational purposes, and has functionalities that accommodate media such as texts, visuals, 3D models, audio, video, and features such as guided navigation with overlaying text and audio. The VR authoring tool allows for the construction of a VR space from scratch if students opt for this tool in the creation stage. In the co-creation stage, the students were additionally introduced to the FrameVR platform [77] and authoring tool that facilitates a more advanced participatory process of VR spaces content co-creation by inviting collaborators. VR spaces created on both platforms can be accessed via computers, mobile devices, and headsets.

As part of the training on media and information literacy, students were introduced to verification techniques for identifying fake or manipulated digital content. The activities included cross-checking information from multiple sources and reverse image searches. These practices were integrated into their VR artifact development process, fostering critical evaluation of digital evidence. The design of the VR prototype involved a critical analysis and understanding of historical events through media, mainly black and white historical photographs depicting mid-19th to mid-20th-century technological inventions, cultural elements from various countries, the impact of war, and the birth of sports [33]. The VR space was enriched with auditory messages, texts, videos, visual cues, legends, and guide points, while there were QR codes added that led to context-related games, interactive videos, and quizzes for further practice. A collaborative, interactive digital space (wall) was added as a reflection corner, welcoming multimodal messages, simulating the museum visitors’ book. The concept of content presentation was based on differentiated instruction, as there were options to work on various levels, including two-step access to information, in a joyful and playful manner, with thought-provoking questions to infer the information that the visuals conveyed, play games, and interact with peers. The culmination of the collaborative contributions of reflection within the space involved two steps, the first being the reflections corner of the VR space, simulating the visitors’ book in museums and exhibitions, and the second, each team’s decision on choosing a thematic area to work for the creation of their own VR artifact. The design is based on sound pedagogical framework, namely, Gagne’s nine events of instruction [78] and Bloom’s revised Taxonomy [79], while taking into account Kolb’s Triple E Framework [80] (Engage, Enhance, and Extend) for scaffolding opportunities, seeking some “evidence of leveling up in difficulty with time or mastery” with the addition of components that enhance learning at an appropriate pace. At the Engage stage, the prototype design provided themed VR entry, interactive tasks, and real-world relevance. At the Enhance stage, layered content including interactive quizzes, videos, and games enhanced deep learning opportunities. At the Extend stage, learning applies in content creation, transferring new knowledge to digital platforms. The VR prototype activities align with Bloom’s Taxonomy and Gagne’s events as follows:

-

Introducing and Defining:

An entrance with a space theme and a welcome message introducing the users to the main concept of the VR exhibition, what to expect, and options to navigate according to preferences. This aligns with Gagne’s events of (1) gaining attention and (2) informing the learner of the objectives.

-

Understanding:

Introduction to the history of photography with multisensory elements stimulating connection with prior knowledge (3).

-

Categorizing and Applying:

Thematic exhibition of historical photographs with interactive elements, presenting information/stimulus (4), with visual and audio cues, providing guidance (5), and opportunities to practice via interactive videos, quizzes, and games, eliciting performance (6) and providing feedback (7).

-

Analyzing and Critically Evaluating:

Embedded questions on the guide points in text and audio that appeal to visual prompts that the students have to collaborate, critically evaluate, and respond to, assessing performance (8).

-

Reflecting, Synthesizing, and Creating:

Users evaluate their learning experience and create new content, which they disseminate on the interactive digital wall, enhancing retention and transfer (9).

3.3. Research Instruments

The stages of the study involved the collection of data from multiple sources, thus enabling an in-depth understanding of students’ learning experiences and social interactions in the intervention that was replicated for two years. This triangulation, facilitated by complementary methods, may lead to converging conclusions, thus enhancing the validity and reliability of the study [81,82]. The study included the following aspects:

(a)

Surveys with closed and open-ended questions related to

-

(Pre-course): demographics;

-

Digital and media habits;

-

Prior experiences using technologies;

-

Checklist of digital devices owned or shared with family;

-

(Post-course): the perceived usefulness of specific elements of VR experience;

-

Survey items related to students’ perceptions of social skills building and critical thinking skills development;

-

Willingness to use VR for learning in other contexts;

-

Nine items regarding digital skills enhancement through collaboration and content co-creation in a VR learning context;

-

Ten items assessing the student’s perceptions of usefulness and ease of use of the VR technology based on the Technology Acceptance Model [83];

-

Five questions related to the perceived cognitive load in the VR setting;

-

Reflective open-ended questions.

(b)

Pre-tests and post-tests to measure individual academic performance.

(c)

A journal kept by the instructor, who was also the researcher of the study, to write down observations of reactions and attitudes, and foster objectivity and consistency throughout the study.

(d)

Alternative (project-based) assessment based on the creation of artifacts.

(e)

Presentation of artifacts, evaluation, and dissemination.

The surveys were conducted using Google Forms. Pre-tests and post-tests were analyzed with the IBM SPSS version 30.0 software tool. The VR artifacts were collected in a digital portfolio so that all participants had access to each group’s work to exchange feedback and suggest refinement. The instructor’s journal was used as a complementary tool to record students’ comments and reactions and identify problematic areas and their frequency. The qualitative data were analyzed based on grounded theory [84], in three phases, namely, open, axial, and selective coding, utilizing the NVivo 15 tool.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted to check the nine items assessing digital skills enhancement through collaboration in a VR learning context. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure confirmed sampling adequacy (KMO = 0.925) and Barlett’s test of sphericity, which was significant (χ² 656.14, p < 0.001). One component was extracted with an eigenvalue > 1, which explains 79.0% of the total variance. All item loadings exceeded the commonly accepted threshold of 0.70. The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 97), indicating that all items measure a single underlying construct. Responses were collected on a five-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree—5 = Strongly Agree).

Table 2. Component loadings for digital skills enhancement through collaboration in VR (Principal Component Analysis).

Item Code	Survey Item	Component Loading
DS1	I improved my skills for future content creation	0.962
DS4	I engaged in interdisciplinary sharing of knowledge that enhanced my skills	0.938
DS2	Collaboration with peers led to better outcomes in the project	0.937
DS6	Collaboration helped me make wiser choices about media types and formats	0.933
DS3	I had opportunities to develop my skills through peer tutoring	0.903
DS5	Collaborative brainstorming helped me select the most appropriate digital tools and technologies	0.903
DS9	I actively contributed to the design and creation of digital content, which helped me improve my skills	0.895
DS7	I had some a-ha moments that helped me reflect and enhance my digital skills	0.751
DS8	Collaborative decision making played an important role in enhancing my digital skills	0.749
Explained Variance		79.005%
Cronbach’s α		0.97

displays the item codes and survey items and their corresponding component loadings.

The internal consistency of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) items in the context of VR learning was conducted using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The TAM scale consisted of 10 items assessing perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEoU). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using PCA with Varimax rotation was performed. The KMO measure of sampling adequacy was 0.850, and Barlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ²(45) = 285.84, p < 0.001), indicating that the data were suitable for factor analysis. Two components with eigenvalues > 1 were extracted, explaining a total of 63.34% of the variance (PU = 51.9%, PeoU = 11.44%). The rotated component matrix revealed a clear distinction between perceived usefulness (TAM6, TAM4, TAM5, TAM8, and TAM10) and perceived ease of use (TAM1, TAM9, TAM7, and TAM3). To evaluate the internal consistency of the identified subscales, Cronbach’s α was calculated separately for each component. The PU subscale showed reliability with α = 0.87, and the PeoU subscale with α = 0.79. When all 10 items were considered as a single scale, Cronbach’s alpha was α = 0.90, indicating strong internal consistency for the overall TAM construct in the VR learning context.

Table 3. Rotated component matrix for the Technology Acceptance Model in VR learning.

Item Code	Survey Item	Perceived Usefulness (PU)	Perceived Ease of Use (PeoU)
TAM6	The VR intervention improved my learning experience	0.922
TAM4	The VR intervention helped me improve my English	0.778
TAM5	The VR intervention helped me improve my digital skills	0.700
TAM2	I enjoyed the VR activity on my PC	0.618
TAM8	The VR environment is useful for learning	0.562
TAM10	I would like to use the VR environment in the future	0.552
TAM1	I found it easy to use the VR environment		0.858
TAM9	I am confident in my ability to use the VR environment		0.800
TAM7	I felt actively engaged in the VR environment		0.669
TAM3	I am satisfied with the VR intervention		0.588
Explained Variance		51.91%	11.44%
Cronbach’s α		0.87	0.79

displays the item codes, survey items, and factor loadings based on the rotated component matrix.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted on five items assessing cognitive load in the VR learning environment. The KMO measure was 0.750, and Barlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ² (10) = 72.12, p < 0.001), confirming sampling adequacy. One component was extracted, accounting for 52.80% of the total variance. All items loaded strongly on this single factor, with loadings ranging from 0.700 to 0.762, indicating a coherent unidimensional construct. To assess internal consistency, a reliability analysis was conducted using Cronbach’s alpha. The scale consisted of five items, measuring students’ perceived cognitive load while interacting within the VR space. The analysis yielded a Cronbach’s α = 0.77, indicating acceptable internal consistency for the scale. This suggests that the items reliably measure a single latent construct.

Table 4. Component loadings for cognitive load in the VR learning environment (Principal Component Analysis).

Item Code	Survey Item	Component Loading
CL3	I felt isolated while using the VR environment	0.762
CL2	The VR environment was too complex to navigate	0.734
CL4	There are elements in the VR environment that distracted me from my learning tasks	0.722
CL1	I felt overwhelmed in the VR environment	0.715
CL5	I encountered technical issues that distracted me from my VR experience	0.700
Explained Variance		52.80%
Cronbach’s α		0.77

displays the item codes and survey items and their corresponding loadings.

The researcher’s journal protocol served as a complementary tool for documenting observations, students’ reactions, insights, and challenges. Keeping a record of real-time reactions contributes to reflective thinking, addresses challenges, and allows for making adjustments. The journal was in printed form, allowing for note taking after the intervention sessions. Confidentiality was secured by using participant codes to protect their identities, and the journals were securely stored with only the research team having access. The journals were reviewed every three weeks. The journal entry structure included

• Dates;
• Activity summary;
• Observations, i.e., what stood out in terms of students’ reactions, learning experience, progress in either digital or linguistic competencies, talents, and challenges or differences across individuals or groups (group dynamics, inclusion or exclusion observed, moments of struggle, collaboration, creativity, and opportunities for equal contribution);
• Reflections, insights, and unexpected surprises/misunderstandings;
• Methodological adaptations on addressing challenges in the study procedures/on-the-spot adjustments;
• Emerging ideas that led to the creation of a checklist for recurring themes and patterns;
• Follow-up steps for the next sessions (what worked well/what would I do differently next time).

The qualitative data consisted of the students’ comments and reflections posted on the visitors’ e-book (VR Reflections Corner), comments from the peer review process, open-ended survey responses, and entries from the supplementary observation journal. Early themes emerged during observations, leading to the creation of a checklist for the researcher to identify repetitiveness. To mitigate researcher bias, priority was given to students’ written reflections, through verbal reactions, emotional expressions, and non-verbal communication. The qualitative data files were organized and uploaded into NVivo 15 software. The data went through two rounds of the open coding process, which generated 307 codes. The extensive set of codes created the codebook. The numerous labels that overlapped and had not yet been connected went through another round, generating 18 themes (parent codes) in the axial coding process with accompanying definitions. At this stage, the researcher shared with the second author a portion of the data, approximately one-third, and the codebook to check for consistency, unify terminology, and jointly refine categories under one transparent record of how codes may be defined, merged, or discarded. Collaboration and critical discourse provided insights. There was another perspective on many occasions, as although assigning meaning to the codes, there were many subtle nuances from each researcher’s lens. For instance, the Student 1 (S1) excerpt may have many references with different approaches: “We asked our eTwinning peers (Language Skills, Communication or Collaboration) to send us some pictures (Digital Literacy) of the most visited places of their countries (Cultural or Representation Awareness) to add to the collection of the language trekking through Europe VR space (Advanced Digital or Interdisciplinary learning, Inclusion or Sociocultural Awareness)… We think they will be happy to see them in the space and will appreciate it (Emotional Impact or Collaboration)”. To reach a consensus, there were scheduled meetings. This helped the reordering and accommodation of large numbers of codes under hierarchical codes that started framing concepts related to the research questions posed. The next round of selective coding led to the generation of main categories, as presented in the findings section, while representative themes provide the dimensions and concrete examples of the proposed framework.

4. Results

The complementary mixed methods of the research design provided rich data to respond to the research questions posed. Though the richness of data, especially in the qualitative methods, yielded interwoven results that respond to more than one research question, there will be an effort to present findings per question posed. The complementary and overlapping responses should be regarded as an advantage rather than an obstacle, as they ensure reliability.

4.1. RQ1: How Can Virtual Reality in K-12 Education Improve Learning Outcomes Through an Interdisciplinary Approach?

The students’ pre-tests and post-tests were administered to measure academic achievement, which examined both content and linguistic competencies. Regarding knowledge retention, the questions were related to thematic areas of the VR space that encompassed knowledge across disciplines as they explored multisensory media in history, geography, science, technology, physical education, social sciences, engineering, arts, culture, and english. The measurable results were analyzed per year and in total to verify credibility. The normality test (Shapiro–Wilk) yielded a W value of 0.979 and a p-value of 0.374, indicating that the data sample came from a normally distributed population. The reliability analysis yielded a very high Cronbach’s α value of 0.91. The paired t-test measured change over time within individuals and revealed a considerable improvement in students’ performance. There is a statistically significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores (t = −17.3, p < 0.001), and the 95% confidence interval for the mean difference [−20.12, −15.95] confirms the reliability of the improvement. The results demonstrated a substantial average learning gain of 18 points. The SD decreased from 16 to 11.3, and the SE decreased from 2.08 to 1.48, indicating that students’ performance not only improved but also became more homogeneous, which reflects the VR intervention opportunities for effective scaffolding and differentiated instruction. Cohen’s d effect size was −2.25, with a 95% confidence interval [−2.73, −1.77], indicating a strong, consistent effect and high impact of the intervention on students’ learning outcomes.

Table 5. Paired sample statistics.

	N	Mean	Median	SD	SE
Pre-test	59	67.5	70	16	2.08
Post-test	59	85.5	88	11.3	1.48

illustrates the paired sample statistics of the pre-test and post-test of the sample, while

Table 6. Paired samples t-test.

	Mean	SD	Std. Error Mean	95% Confidence Interval		t	Df	p	Effect Size	95% Confidence Interval
				Lower	Upper					Lower	Upper
Pre-test/Post-test	−18.0	8.0	1.04	−20.12	−15.95	−17.3	58	<0.001	Cohen’s d −2.25	−2.73	−1.77

displays the paired samples t-test.

Figure 2 illustrates the individual student performance before and after the VR-based intervention, visualizing the narrowing of the cognitive gap among peers and their opportunities to maximize their potential. The x-axis indicates students’ ID (N = 59) and the y-axis the percentage of students’ scores.

Regarding students’ learning experience within the VR context, participants reported that they improved their writing and listening skills, as the environment provided opportunities to interact with multimedia content, listen to audio messages, and compose concise written texts appropriate for digital communication. These self-reported skill gains were further reported by significant correlations: Listening skills were strongly correlated with digital skills enhancement (r(57) = 0.54, p < 0.001, and so were writing skills (r(57) = 0.43, p = 0.001). A notable correlation was also found between perceived usefulness and the usefulness of pop-up texts as a learning support tool (r(57) = 0.37, p = 0.004).

4.2. RQ2: How Does Participatory Culture in Content Co-Creation Help Bridge the Digital Skills Divide?

Digital skills advancement through collaboration was assessed using targeted survey items, elements of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which measured students’ perceived ease of use (PEoU) and perceived usefulness (PU). Correlation analysis using Pearson’s r revealed that collaborative interactions for content co-creation were strongly related to participants’ perceptions of their digital skills enhancement (r(57) = 0.60, p < 0.001) and their critical thinking skills development (r(57) = 0.53, p < 0.001). These constructs helped capture students’ readiness to adopt VR technologies in future learning contexts. Responses were collected on a five-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree—5 = Strongly Agree). As illustrated in Figure 3, the participatory nature of the VR learning environment for content creation had a strong influence on students’ perceptions of their digital skills growth (DS1). Specifically, 50 out of 59 respondents indicated “agree” or “strongly agree” on the survey item related to skills enhancement through collaborative decision making, while no respondents selected negative responses for this item (DS8). The highest levels of agreement were reported for statements expressing confidence in designing and creating digital content, with 52 respondents endorsing it positively (DS9). In relation to collaborative decision making, students highlighted collaborative brainstorming and peer tutoring (DS3). A total of 46 respondents agreed that these practices enhanced their ability to make informed decisions on media types and content formats (DS6). Similarly, 40 students expressed confidence in their skills for future content creation. While the item on the interdisciplinary knowledge shared received lower endorsement (SD4), it was still generally positive, with 33 respondents who agreed or strongly agreed, 19 neutral, and 7 who disagreed.

Correlation analysis using Pearson’s r revealed that the inclusion of welcome messages had a statistically positive relationship with participants’ perceived ease of navigation (r(57) = 0.30, p = 0.023). Furthermore, the guided tour with embedded questions, as part of the VR technology affordances, was significantly associated with purposeful teleport (r(57) = 0.33, p = 0.013). In contrast, teleport without guidance was negatively correlated with purposeful teleport (r(57) = −0.26, p = 0.046), suggesting that unstructured movement within a VR environment may hinder intentional exploration. Additionally, perceived ease of use (PEoU) was significantly associated with critical digital skills development (r(57) = 0.36, p = 0.005), suggesting the importance of user-friendly VR environments in decoding digital media.

Students’ perceptions of technology acceptance in the VR learning environment were overall highly positive. As illustrated in Figure 4, the majority of participants expressed strong agreement across key terms that derived from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), including perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEoU). Specifically, 36 out of the 59 respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would like to use the VR environment in the future (TAM10), while 41 students felt confident in their ability to use it (TAM9). Similarly, 42 students agreed that the VR environment is useful for learning (TAM8), and 34 students felt actively engaged (TAM7). The VR intervention was also perceived as being strongly related to students’ learning experience (TAM6), digital skills (TAM5), and English language development (TAM4). A high level of satisfaction regarding the usefulness of VR was reflected with n = 37 students reporting “agree” or “strongly agree” (TAM3), while 38 students enjoyed completing their activities from their PC (TAM2). Regarding Ease of Use, 31 respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they found the technology easy to use. Negative responses were minimal, while there were neutral responses that did not outweigh positive ones. Figure 4 illustrates the participants’ responses.

4.3. RQ3: What Are the Key Elements of Virtual Reality Interventions That Enhance Digital and Media Literacy Skills?

Students engaged in the collaborative design and development of their virtual environments, reflecting on their experiences within the VR spaces used during their sessions. This reflective, hands-on process empowered them to make decisions, design, and co-create meaningful learning experiences. The outcome of their work as active participants in the learning process was the co-creation of 13 VR spaces. The participants worked collaboratively in teams of four students and three teams of five. The students’ reactions and reflections regarding the digital skills they advanced were documented throughout the content creation process. Seven teams opted for FrameVR, while six teams worked on ArtSteps, after exploring the features and affordances of each platform. The students selected the software that best aligned with their vision for a collaborative VR experience.

Collaboration and critical thinking emerged as recurring themes in the correlation analysis using Pearson’s r, with a strong and statistically significant relationship between the two (r(57) = 0.53, p < 0.001). Even stronger was the correlation between critical thinking and critical digital skills (r(57) = 0.61, p < 0.001), underscoring the importance of cultivating students’ skills to critically deconstruct and reconstruct media in the digital age. Furthermore, critical thinking was significantly correlated with several other key competencies, including active listening skills (r(57) = 0.39, p = 0.002), interpretation of audio messages (r(57) = 0.38, p < 0.003), and writing skills (r(57) = 0.35, p = 0.006), suggesting that the multisensory nature of VR environments combined with informed media choices has a substantial role in fostering critical thinking and broader communicative abilities. These results align with media literacy frameworks that emphasize the interplay between critical analysis and interpretation as reflective and expressive skills in digital environments.

As thoroughly presented in the methodology section, qualitative data were organized, analyzed, and trained, until the creation of a robust framework of key components for inclusive media literacy design in VR learning environments. In order to create a robust framework for inclusive media literacy design in VR environments, there was a strategic incorporation of parent codes into the final selective coding process that included honing elements of inclusive, ethical, interdisciplinary, and collaborative learning with sociolinguistic contexts awareness and respectful global communication under the broader inclusive digital and media literacy VR framework.

As

Table 7. Key elements identified for digital and media literacy enhancement in VR content co-creation.

Category	Codes	Frequency	Participants’ Excerpts
Digital Skills	Selection of technologies	23	(S3): “We had to check the features of the VR space to collaborate effectively. For the creation of activities, not all tools were collaborative and we decided to use those that were…” (FrameVR platform)
	Safety and data protection	9	(S28): “We found a VR platform with very advanced features, but the terms of use indicated that it was only for adult users.”
	Checking licenses	18	(S12): I didn’t know that I had to check licenses before the course. I am more confident in creating content now, giving credits to the original creators”.
	Digital content storage	14	(S51): “Creating folders and subfolders helped me organize my content, share it with my peers, keep notes, and make decisions.”
	VR navigation design	18	(S40): “It was not easy to decide how to create a guide for the users, so we created a welcome and introductory message and decided to build the space into thematic areas, one room for each artist and school of art.”
	Skills and confidence by supporting others	10	(S17): “I was very proud of myself that I helped my peers to solve technical problems, upload and rearrange digital content and explain them architecture, engineering, geometry…. We built our space from scratch, so we had to decide on dimensions, interior spaces, walls, texture, calculate x, y, and z axes… ” (ArtSteps platform)
Media Literacy Skills	Suitability of media types	27	(S5): “We added a lot of 3D models for the vintage car exhibition, but then we removed some of them because our peers told us that they couldn’t move freely! So we created an infographic to present them”
	Synthesis of sources	16	(S11): “In the creation of our VR space we spent much time analyzing, interpreting and synthesizing the sources to create media suitable for VR spaces.”
	Encoding of messages	18	(S13): “In a VR space nobody would read long texts. Too time-consuming to change, paraphrase, etc, especially if you do not want to omit important information, but we did it! We finally encoded our messages within short phrases and links to sources to present the history of cinema from 1895 to 2023!”
	Language and symbols appropriateness	12	(S32): “We knew that our transnational project peers would visit the environment for our final meetings, so we decided to include suitable texts, flags, and traditional songs! They will love it!”
	User agency	6	(S45): “Some of the pictures and videos for our war museum were very harsh, so we asked our peers to share their thoughts about which ones to include.”
	Quality of media adoption/creation	18	(S6): “Although we had access to vast amounts of information, we had to cross-check the quality. The creators’ names were not always available, so we included information only from official sites.”

indicates, the collaborative content creation in VR spaces supported the development of digital literacy skills, with participants identifying key elements in the process. Most frequently elements mentioned were (a) the selection of technologies for collaborative content creation; (b) safety and data privacy and understanding the terms of use; (c) verifying content licenses for reuse or adaptation; (d) organizing materials in shared cloud spaces for peer input; (e) designing user-friendly VR navigation with cues; and (f) gaining confidence in digital skills while supporting others. Regarding media literacy, the coding process identified six key elements: (a) selecting media types suitable for effectively conveying information in VR; (b) synthesizing sources through deconstruction and reconstruction to create original content; (c) coding messages by creatively conveying ideas into clear, user-friendly media; (d) fostering cultural sensitivity and emotional responsibility through the appropriate use of language and symbols; (e) promoting user agency by involving students in decision making and critical evaluation; and (f) verifying the quality and accuracy of adopted media. These aspects align with the DigComp 2.2. framework [35] for digital fluency and sustainable citizenship and best practices in media literacy education, reflecting the updated 2023 National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) principles [85], which emphasize empowering learners as both consumers and creators. Table 7 illustrates the main codes identified regarding digital and media literacy skills, their frequency, and indicative participants’ excerpts.

Table 8. Key categories and sub-themes of the inclusive media literacy framework in VR learning environments.

Category	Item	Framework Pillar	Sub-Themes	Rationale
Inclusive Media Literacy	Suitability of media types	Strategic Design	Optimal Cognitive Load, Multimedia Encoding	Ensures selected media match content and learner needs
	Synthesis of sources	Narrative Structure	Storyline, Artful Thinking	Integration of diverse ideas supports narrative depth and reflective thinking
	Encoding of messages	Strategic Design	Schema Formation, Multimedia Encoding	Focuses on intentional structuring and meaning making in media
	Language and symbols appropriateness	Representation Awareness	Language and Symbols, Respect for Emotional Impact	Promotes cultural sensitivity and emotional responsibility
	User agency	Strategic Design Representation Awareness	Optimal Cognitive Load, Bias-free	Enhances autonomy and reduces marginalization in interactive design
	Quality of media adoption/creation	Strategic Design Narrative Structure	Multimedia Encoding, Signaling, Multisensory Cues	Encompasses technological, narrative, and perceptual quality
Digital Skills Enhancement	Selection of technologies	Strategic Design	Optimal Cognitive Load, Multimedia Encoding	Choosing tools affects usability and mental processing in VR
	Safety and data protection	Representation Awareness	Bias-free, Respect for Emotional Impact	Ethical responsibility in protecting user privacy and well-being
	Checking licenses	Representation Awareness	Language and Symbols, Bias-free	Ensures legal and ethical use of symbolic and creative content
	Digital content storage	Strategic Design	Multimedia Encoding	Technical practice influencing media accessibility and reliability
	VR navigation design	Narrative Structure	Signaling and Multisensory Cues, Storyline	Impacts the narrative flow and clarity of spatial cues in immersive media
	Skills and confidence by supporting others	Representation Awareness	Respect for Emotional Impact, Bias-free	Empathy and inclusivity through peer support

presents the key categories, items, and themes identified in alignment with the framework’s pillars and the rationale for their relevance in inclusive VR design.

4.4. RQ4: What Are the Key Design Elements of Virtual Reality Interventions That Promote Inclusive Learning Practices?

Figure 5 displays students’ responses on experiencing cognitive load throughout their learning journey in VR environments. The most frequently reported issue was feeling overwhelmed (CL1), with 23 students selecting “neutral” and a notable number of respondents disagreeing (n = 16). A high level of agreement also appears in the item of experiencing technical issues (CL5) that interrupted the smooth flow of activities, with 14 students selecting “agree” and 21 students selecting “neutral”. The items “complexity” of the environment that distracted attention from the activities (CL2) and “isolation” (CL3) have the highest “disagree” scores, with 22 and 21 respondents, respectively, followed by “neutral”, indicating mixed feelings. Overall, the cognitive load experienced was particularly due to technical functionality and information overload, while isolation can be viewed as an extension of social presence theory, meaning a lack of sufficient support and increased mental effort coping with the environment rather than focusing on the task.

These findings align with the statistical correlations observed in the study. Cognitive load was negatively correlated with perceived usefulness (PU) (r(57) = 0.29, p = 0.025), indicating that students who experienced higher cognitive strain were less likely to perceive the VR environment as beneficial for learning. Additionally, cognitive load was correlated with guessing content in the absence of textual guidance (r(57) = 0.34, p = 0.009), suggesting that a lack of scaffolding, such as explanatory text or instructions, may hinder inclusive participation. Conversely, the reuse of supportive texts and visuals was significantly correlated with students’ willingness to reuse the VR experience in other contexts (r(57) = 0.45, p < 0.001), highlighting the added value of well-designed media elements. These findings underscore the importance of accessible, multimodal design in reducing cognitive load and increasing perceived educational value when employing VR learning environments.

The students’ responses to the open-ended questions focused on reflecting on the elements that helped them learn and create new content through collaborative processes that multi-user virtual spaces foster, such as “Describe one key moment or example where you felt your digital or media literacy skills improved during this collaborative experience.” The students’ artifacts and the features that they incorporated in their products suggest that the VR prototype and all phases of training helped them make meaning and actively participate in building knowledge through reflection and metacognition, thereby creating transferability opportunities for real-world tasks and attitudes for working, living, and interacting with others. Data were categorized into design elements to check their alignment with the UDL corresponding guidelines and principles.

Table 9. Indicative elements of the VR design based on UDL principles.

Indicative Elements of the VR Design Based on UDL
Design Elements Frequency	Variable	Corresponding Guideline	Code	Associated Consideration	Principle
-Visuals and pop-up texts (n = 48) -Photographs and related videos (n = 47) -Auditory messages on guide points (n = 52) -Use of multimedia (n = 57) -Language and symbols (n = 47) -Media types to best convey meaning (n = 52)	Access (1) Support (3) Executive function (5)	1. Perception 2. Language and Symbols 3. Building Knowledge 5. Expression and Communication	1.1 1.2 2.2 2.5 3.3 5.2 2.4 3.2	-Dual coding/multiple ways to perceive information -Customize the display of information -Support decoding of texts/symbols -Illustrate through multiple media -Cultivate multiple means of knowing and making meaning -Address bias in the use of language and symbols -Explore patterns and critical features	Representation, Action and Expression
-Welcome message with navigation instructions (n = 59) -Teleport (n = 55) -Visual cues (n = 51) -Guide points (n = 54) -Legend (n = 48)	Access (4, 7)	4. Interaction 7. Welcoming Interests and Identities	4.1 7.4 7.1 4.2	-Vary methods for response, navigation, and movement -Address distraction -Optimize choice and autonomy -Optimize access to technologies and tools	Action and Expression, Engagement
-Guide points with embedded questions (n = 57)	Executive function (3)	3. Building Knowledge	3.1	-Connect prior knowledge to new learning	Representation
-Variety of activities and level of difficulty (n = 52) -Scaffolding (n = 43) -Self-regulation (n = 43)	Access (7) Support (8)	8. Sustaining Effort and Persistence 7. Welcoming Interests and Identities	8.1 7.1	-Clarify the meaning and purpose of goals -Optimize choice and autonomy	Engagement
-Gamification (n = 57) -Interactive videos (n = 54)	Support (2, 8) Executive function (6) Access (7)	2. Language and Symbols 6. Strategy Development 7. Welcoming Interests and Activities 8. Sustaining Effort and Persistence	6.2 7.3 7.2 2.1 8.2	-Anticipate and plan for challenges -Nurture joy and play -Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity (age appropriateness, rewards) -Clarify symbols and language -Optimize challenge and support	Representation, Engagement, Action and Expression
-Contributions to decision making (n = 44) -Avatar representation of self and others (n = 58)	Access (1) Executive function (9)	9. Emotional Capacity 1. Perception	9.2 1.3	-Develop awareness of self and others -Diversity of perspectives and identities in authentic ways	Representation, Engagement
-Collaborative task-oriented activities with roles and responsibilities (n = 54) -Choice of tools and themes for content creation (n = 54) -Teamwork (n = 50) -Chat in VR space (n = 38) -Emojis and reactions (n = 46) -Peer tutoring, evaluation, feedback, and reflection (n = 42) -Authentic content creation and dissemination (n = 46)	Access (1, 4, 7) Support (5, 8) Executive function (3, 6, 9)	1. Perception 3. Building Knowledge 4. Interaction 5. Expression and Communication 6. Strategy Development 7. Welcome Interests and Identities 8. Sustaining Effort and Persistence 9. Emotional Capacity	6.1 6.3 4.2 7.1 7.2 7.3 8.3 8.4 8.5 1.3 3.4 6.4 5.1 5.2 3.3 9.3 9.4	-Set meaningful goals -Organize information and resources -Optimize access to technologies and tools -Foster collaboration, interdependence, and collective learning -Optimize choice and autonomy -Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity -Nurture joy and play -Foster belonging and community Maximize transfer and generalization -Offer action-oriented feedback -Diversity of perspectives and identities in authentic ways -Use multiple tools for construction, composition, and creativity -Enhance capacity for monitoring progress -Use multiple media for communication -Cultivate empathy and restorative practices -Promote individual and collective reflection -Cultivate empathy and restorative practices	Representation, Action and Expression, Engagement

illustrates the elements that the participants identified in their learning process, the corresponding guidelines and considerations identified, and the principles they serve. Variables and codes are also listed to make correlations and reference the updated UDL framework. As indicated by CAST, the guidelines are a tool offering “suggestions that can be applied to reduce barriers, sustain and honor learners’ multiple identities, and maximize learning opportunities for every learner”. In the virtual reality settings, the study suggests that the multimodality of media for conceptualization and contextualization of information, navigation options, visual cues, freedom of movement and autonomy for engagement and exploration, interactive elements, and opportunities for interaction and socialization for construction of knowledge were some of the basic elements that the participants identified. The frequency of responses is also added to the element description.

5. Proposed Framework for Designing Inclusive Media Literacy Experiences in VR for Education

5.1. Rationale and Derivation of the Framework

The proposed framework for designing inclusive media literacy experiences in VR-based K-12 education is grounded in the empirical findings that emerged from the analysis of the participants’ practices and reflections throughout the longitudinal study. The richness of qualitative data that derived from quotes and their collaborative VR artifacts revealed recurring themes in how students addressed VR design challenges and opportunities, especially in building a VR experience that unfolds a narrative and employs optimal media selection and ethical representation. The themes that emerged are Narrative Structure, Strategic Design, and Representation Awareness. These themes encapsulate the practical, cognitive, and ethical dimensions of VR design that the participants identified while building competencies as both consumers and producers in immersive social contexts. Considering the participants’ learning gain, attitudes, and reflection, as explored quantitatively and qualitatively in the study, the participants demonstrated inclusive digital and media literacy practices, considering ethical and different perspective taking, thereby empathizing with the future users of their artifacts. Findings that support these pillars are listed as follows:

-

Narrative Structure: Students created VR artifacts with thoughtful choices of introductory messages, legends, signals, arrows, and visual and auditory cues that facilitated a layout, a user interface (UI) to guide the user journey and create opportunities for a meaningful experience (UX) practically and aesthetically, thus telling a story. The collaborative creation of content and peer feedback (user agency) enhanced the critical discourse toward managing navigation complexity and disruptive VR learning experiences.

-

Strategic Design: Students kept refining the media that best conveyed meaning to communicate their ideas, making their texts more concise and precise, removing objects that hindered navigation using encoded messages through media such as infographics to visualize information, and creating thematic areas to chunk information and optimize cognitive load, thus encouraging schema development through the redundancy effect [86] and eliminating unnecessary information in technology-enhanced learning.

-

Representation Awareness: Designing scenarios that included engaging international peers led the design discourse to include language and symbols such as flags and traditional songs and to identify the age or cultural appropriateness of content, such as intense war scenes or videos, to avoid raising emotional stress and impact.

5.2. Framework Description

Building on the findings outlined, the following framework synthesizes the key elements that support the design of inclusive, critical media-literate experiences in participatory VR environments for K-12 education. The framework is structured based on the students’ participatory practices and reflections during the co-creation process, underpinning the usefulness of immersive technologies to innovate education within a pedagogical framework that promotes agency, empathy, and equitable access to digital content creation. Figure 6 visualizes the proposed framework with themes and sub-themes.

As illustrated, the framework integrates the three interrelated themes, namely, Narrative Structure, Strategic Design, and Representation Awareness, with three sub-themes that are analyzed with examples as follows:

• The Narrative Structure incorporates
  • Signaling and multisensory cues, such as textual, visual, and auditory cues that direct the users’ attention to specific information explaining their significance;
  • A storyline, allowing users to empathize with real-world narratives and assume agency as active participants or co-creators;
  • Artful thinking using metaphors, analogies, and aesthetic choices to deepen media interpretation.
• Strategic Design that fosters
  • Schema formation as a cognitive framework that helps users organize and interpret information and media messages that align with prior knowledge and experiences;
  • Multimedia encoding of messages through multiple channels that are suitable for VR spaces and help users contextualize complex abstract concepts;
  • Optimal cognitive load by providing optimal steps and chunked guidance to reduce information noise.
• The Representation Awareness that fosters
  • Bias-free and ethical learning environment that welcomes diversity in voice representation, eliminates special identity labels and discrimination, and encourages self-expression in multi-user settings;
  • Respect for emotional impact to foster empathy, especially if the content is intense or sensitive and affects the users’ perceptions and emotions;
  • Language and symbols for inclusive portrayal of different peoples, cultures, and identities.

6. Discussion

6.1. Improving Learning Outcomes Through an Interdisciplinary Approach in VR Learning Contexts

The intervention within virtual reality learning contexts demonstrated consistent improvements in students’ academic performance, both in content consumption and creation. The collaborative processes of deconstructing and reconstructing media within VR learning environments proved to have a positive impact on the achievement of the learning objectives. Students not only developed a range of skills but also showed considerable learning gain in both their linguistic competence and interdisciplinary content knowledge. Beyond the pre-test and post-test results, a noticeable improvement was observed in students’ listening and writing skills. This can be attributed to their interaction with multimedia-rich content, active listening tasks via interactive videos in VR, reflective writing assignments, and content creation in the target language (L2). Additionally, peer collaboration and critical discourse during knowledge co-construction enhanced these outcomes. These findings align with the Critical Immersive-Triggered Literacy framework [24], which highlights the pedagogical value of immersive attention-triggering experiences in fostering deep learning. In the VR environments, learners were guided by inquiry-based processes that directed their attention to targeted learning objects—such as multimedia texts, visual prompts, or thematic scenes—enabling them to explore, interpret, and critically reconstruct meaning. Through this multisensory engagement, students were able to communicate their ideas purposefully and accurately, demonstrating both linguistic growth and interdisciplinary understanding.

Learning outcomes, according to the A-SMART guide for action-oriented, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives setting [87] provide clarity for learners as they understand what is expected of them, fostering motivation and engagement, based on Bloom’s revised taxonomy for high levels of critical thinking, creativity, and metacognition as the most advanced knowledge dimension [88]. Informing students of the what, why, and how of learning, while being active participants in the learning process, making choices, and creating meaning and context in the real world, aligns with the goal of UDL [34], which is creating the conditions for the learner agency to be purposeful and reflective, resourceful and authentic, strategic, and action oriented. Within the virtual reality context, the students consumed and created authentic context actively and in collaborative interaction with peers, as learner agents that make meaning in the learning process and transfer it to their contexts.

6.2. Technology Acceptance Model and Participatory Culture in Content Co-Creation to Bridge the Digital Skills Divide

Students’ collaborative creation of digital content within VR spaces fostered dynamic, inclusive interactions, promoting learner and user agency practices. Working in mixed-ability groups facilitated the process, allowing more advanced and competent students in digital skills to support their peers, thus advancing collective digital competence. Digital skills, according to the DigComp [35] guidelines, encompass a continuum from basic access and navigation to advanced problem solving and innovative content creation in digital spaces. Throughout the intervention, students reflected on each phase of the process. Significant positive correlations were found between two dimensions of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) [83], the perceived ease of use (PEoU) of the technology and the perceived usefulness (PU), and the digital skills enhancement and the cognitive load, respectively. Specifically, the findings highlight the critical role of usability in the educational value that students assign to VR environments. The significant positive correlation observed between perceived ease of use (PEoU) and students’ self-reported digital skills enhancement, as measured by items that suggest user-friendly technologies, suggests that when students perceive technology as intuitive and easy to navigate, they are more likely to engage confidently with the tools, leading to meaningful and empowering digital learning experiences. Conversely, a significant negative correlation was found between perceived usefulness (PU) and cognitive load, which indicates that students who experienced higher mental effort or confusion during the VR intervention were less likely to perceive it as useful and adopt the technology as a learning tool. Albus et al.’s [89] study in VR-supported secondary education found that annotations improved recall performance and germane cognitive load, but had no significant effect on comprehension, transfer, or extraneous cognitive load. Despite the different contexts and measurement approaches of the two studies, on the premise that Albus et al.’s study was in a consumption task, the concept of germane cognitive load relates to the productive mental effort in organizing and integrating information and media. In light of this, managing extraneous load during the technology and collaborative process is particularly critical in the co-creation design and content development in VR spaces. This finding correlates with the Immersive-Triggered Literacy (CITL) framework which stresses the importance of the productive effort (germane cognitive load) that learners invest to create mental schemata, reflect, and apply strategies to understand and retain knowledge in contrast to extraneous cognitive load, that is, the unnecessary or poorly designed elements that distract or complicate the learning process.

These findings align with Oje et al.’s [45] review, which identified pedagogical design principles, highlighting the importance of optimizing instructional design to avoid cognitive load. While both studies discuss the importance of signaling, redundancy, modality, and generative learning activities as beneficial for collaboration and content co-creation, identifying them as consistent practices for learning gain and digital skills advancement, Oje et al. categorize these elements as design principles from a review perspective. The present study identifies them as emergent key elements from participants’ reflections in the context of VR content creation as a cognitively accessible design. Qualitative data further revealed that the learners’ prior experience and digital competence influenced technology selection and engagement. The collaborative socio-constructivist approach in content creation functioned as a peer tutoring process supporting less competent users, which aligns with [72]. The learning scenario provided the teams with the opportunity to critically identify affordances and select the technology that best serves their intentions, and as it was proved, students opted for both VR software almost equally, depending on the theme they wanted to create, whether they opted for building from scratch, as facilitated by ArtSteps, or adopting a template and adding rich multisensory content, as the FrameVR software supports. Upskilling digital competencies in VR spaces was found to have multiple dimensions in the study. Quantitative data indicate the usefulness of guidance with embedded messages, prompts, welcome messages with instructions, and purposeful teleportation features. These features facilitated meaningful engagement, in contrast to unstructured environments that hinder intentional interaction. To bridge the digital skills divide in multi-user immersive contexts, it is essential to ensure equitable access and inclusive engagement. Education stakeholders should prioritize learners’ confidence and intuitive technology over unnecessarily complex systems, especially in mainstream K-12 education. Additionally, considerations such as age appropriateness, terms of use, and the evolving nature of VR platforms and tools must be addressed [90].

The collaborative, action-oriented process promoted digital discourse and narrowed the digital skills gap. VR affordances, such as embodied and multi-sensory participation involve learning through senses, such as vision, audition, and kinesthetic interaction, provided rich, stimulating learning experiences [91]. Confidence in future content creation also emerged as an interesting finding related to behavioral responses that support sustainability. However, limitations such as school bandwidth constraints affected students’ ability to fully benefit from these environments. Educational technology integration, to be effective, must operate within the broader social and ecological systems [92]. As Crompton et al. [93] argue, the SETI (Social-Ecological Technology Integration) framework emphasizes that successful adoption depends not only on teacher and learner agency but also on external factors such as infrastructure, tech support, and policy. This system-level perspective supports a more holistic understanding of the effective integration of VR technologies in mainstream education.

6.3. Key Elements of Virtual Reality Interventions to Enhance Digital and Media Literacy Skills

Critical thinking skills advancement through collaboration in VR spaces emerged as a recurring theme in the correlation analysis, while even stronger was the correlation between critical thinking and critical digital skills, underscoring the importance of cultivating students’ skills to deconstruct media messages and reconstruct meaningful narratives. Additional key competencies that significantly correlated with media literacy in VR included active listening, the interpretation of visual and auditory messages, and writing skills. These findings suggest that the multisensory nature of VR, coupled with informed media choices, plays a substantial role in fostering critical thinking and broader communicative abilities. These findings are consistent with media literacy frameworks that conceptualize critical analysis and interpretation as interdependent reflective and expressive competencies within digital contexts. They also align with Tang’s [72] study on critical thinking empowerment within VR higher education collaborative contexts. However, this study addresses Tang’s noted limitations by applying a mixed-methods design to the underexplored context of secondary education, while also incorporating inclusive education and DigComp guidelines [35]. Regarding digital and media literacy skills enhancement through the collaborative co-creation of content in VR contexts, the coding process yielded the following key elements:

Digital literacy:

(a)

Selection of Technologies: selecting appropriate technologies for VR content creation to facilitate usability and collaboration.

(b)

Safety and Data Protection: assuming ethical responsibility in protecting user privacy and well-being.

(c)

Checking Licenses: ensuring legal and ethical use of symbolic and creative content.

(d)

Digital Content Storage: organizing materials in cloud environments, enabling peer commenting, evaluation, and decision making.

(e)

VR Navigation Design: ensuring a narrative flow and clarity of spatial cues in immersive media for seamless visitor experience.

(f)

Gaining Confidence and Digital Competence: building skills through peer support and problem solving in addressing technical issues.

Media literacy:

(a)

Media Suitability: selecting media types that most effectively communicate targeted information within the VR environment.

(b)

Synthesis of Sources: deconstructing and reconstructing media sources to adapt and generate new content according to intended messages.

(c)

Encoding of Messages: conveying ideas into clear, media formats that can be accurately interpreted by users.

(d)

Language and Symbols Appropriateness: ensuring ongoing critical analysis and respect for the background and characteristics of the target audience or VR users.

(e)

User Agency: encouraging active participation in VR content creation with students acting as constructive reviewers and decision makers.

(f)

Media Quality: applying filtering, cross-checking, and validation processes to ensure ethical and accurate message inclusion in VR spaces.

These key elements identified align with what the literature suggests regarding effective and ethical communication of ideas within media literacy education settings and with the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) 2023 [85] redefinition of media literacy core principles. NAMLE emphasizes that all individuals are both consumers and creators who deserve support in cultivating mindful, empowered relationships with media, particularly through practices vital to civic life. Student-led initiatives further underscored these principles during the eTwinning project celebration. Among others, they purposefully included symbols and language that foster respect towards the representation of identities with the inclusion of multicultural elements, such as images, flags, and traditional songs of their respective countries. These inclusive, multicultural expressions contributed to ethical and globally aware digital interactions. In light of this, the key elements yielded in the study findings comply with the updated MIL concepts. As McNelly and Harvey [94] contend, media literacy extends beyond critical content analysis to include participatory practices. Weninger et al. [95] also emphasize the importance of engaging students as media producers, who critically engage broader audiences through inquiry-based practices essential to civic life.

By integrating student-centered and action-oriented practices, the study promotes learner voice and ownership in the learning process while fostering a shared responsibility for ethical media use. This approach is further validated by alignment with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) [96] standards for students, which identify seven core competencies: 1. Empowered Learner; 2. Digital Citizen; 1.3 Knowledge Constructor; 1.4 Innovative Designer; 1.5 Computational Thinker; 1.6 Creative Communicator; and 1.7 Global Collaborator. Crompton and Burke’s [97] scoping review on mapping empirical studies related to the ISTE standards identified the need for the effective integration of technology to enhance student success by focusing on specific student actions with technology rather than the technology itself. This study supports those positions, demonstrating that learners displayed the following behaviors:

• Took ownership of learning goals (1.1);
• Recognized responsibilities as digital citizens (1.2);
• Curated and ethically constructed knowledge (1.3);
• Created new artifacts to solve real problems (1.4);
• Used data analysis to enhance computational thinking (quiz scores, game percentages, etc.) (1.5);
• Selected and remixed digital tools and media to encode messages (1.6);
• Collaborated both locally and globally using digital platforms (1.7).

Given the limited empirical work addressing ISTE standards in K–12 immersive learning contexts [96], this study contributes to the literature on digital competence, critical media literacy, and participatory learning in VR.

6.4. Key Design Elements of Virtual Reality Interventions to Promote Inclusive Learning Practices

The study findings support that most UDL [34] guidelines are illustrated in the collaborative design of learning, encompassing almost all principles and guidelines. This finding significantly enhances the contribution of virtual reality interventions and key design elements to promote inclusive learner patterns. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) [98], students’ agency relates to the development of identity and a sense of belonging. The collaborative design of the intervention fostered critical dialogue and metacognition around core principles that should be considered when creating media content within social learning environments. VR intervention design patterns need to facilitate access, support, and executive function as indicators of inclusive contexts, both within and beyond educational settings. The OECD suggests that, in addition to teachers, we should also cultivate student readiness to respond to real-life demands. As such, education should provide opportunities for “self-efficacy, and a growth mindset to navigate toward well-being, [enabling] them to act with a sense of purpose, which guides them to flourish and thrive in society” (p. 5). Similarly, the findings align with Wehrmann and Zender’s [59] review findings on a “best-fit” design framework that relates to UDL guidelines while addressing gaps on the opportunities to “use multiple tools for construction and composition” in the participatory, student-generated content culture and strategies to “maximize transfer and generalization”, fostering metacognition and knowledge transfer through solving real-world problems by sharing their artifacts with their European peers. These elements further align with the updated UDL guidelines and media literacy principles [85] that celebrate the representation awareness within the learner agency framework, particularly in underexplored areas and contexts like K-12 education.

The updated version of UDL emphasizes the role of learner agency as purposeful and reflective, resourceful and authentic, and strategic and action-oriented, welcoming, among others, diverse perspectives and identities, and displaying respectful use of language and symbols, which were recurrently identified in the study data. These key elements, as encapsulated within the proposed framework pillars and sub-themes, represent the authentic voices of the new generation as recorded during and after their interactions and participatory content creation in VR spaces. They contribute to what the literature suggests and provide an additional framework to be considered when designing for the new globally connected ecosystem in innovative digital multi-user spaces. Each thematic area involves key elements that guide users’ attention to specific narratives in alignment with Critical Immersive-Triggered Literacy (CITL) [24], making meaning through purposeful multimedia design choices without restricting learner agency’s social interactions, autonomy, and self-expression in digital spaces as dictated by DigComp [35] and UDL [34] guidelines. This framework’s alignment with principles that are fundamental in sustaining democratic values and well-being additionally resonates with Jones’s [99] interpretation of agency, which involves a call for ‘action’ within critical digital discourse for content creation. While engaged with digital media creation, the participants developed an intra- and interpersonal discourse, applying knowledge and skills gained, and decoding and encoding media in an iterative process to reach satisfaction with their contribution to the world. This process reinforces reflection and metacognition and fosters creativity within social contexts and shared narratives [100] that are valued by communities in a participatory nature that Jones identifies as ‘affinity spaces’. Participants’ statements on satisfaction from the support they received from peers, but also their contributions within the collective efforts to create artifacts, involved social and soft skills building, the ‘affect’ aspect, fostering digital “well-being”, and commitment to empathy.

OECD’s [98] proposal for learner agency has been defined as being exercised in moral, social, economic, and creative contexts, thus introducing learners to society, recognizing the rights and needs of others, contributing to the local or global economy, and adding value through innovation and creativity. The participatory culture in this holistic process fosters transformative competence building as they learn with and from peers, receive feedback, and reflect on the quality of their contributions. This sense of agency overcomes adversity in students’ background, socio-economic status, or emotional barriers of low expectations and aspirations, allowing them to realize their full potential [100,101] through contributions within dynamic learning environments where diverse skills and competencies are welcome to foster innovation.

6.5. Implications for Practice

The findings of this study provide actionable insights for educators, curriculum and instructional designers, researchers, and policymakers aiming to integrate an inclusive media literacy framework for the design and incorporation of virtual reality experiences into K-12 education. The study findings highlight the importance of the following:

-

The integration of the Framework of the Inclusive Media Literacy Design in VR Experience. A framework for the design of inclusive media literacy experiences in VR educational contexts that supports a meaningful narrative structure, strategic design, and representation awareness. The proposed framework, as presented in the paper and visualized as an infographic (Appendix A), offers actionable items for educators and immersive experience designers to build meaningful learning experiences, maximizing learners’ potential for holistic education. A more extensive list of items is provided in Table 6, in alignment with the updated version of the UDL guidelines, ensuring accessibility and exploration through narrative structure with cues, signals, storylines, and aesthetic thinking; the strategic design choices for schema formation, multimedia encoding, and optimal cognitive load; and representation awareness through empathy and identity portrayal that welcomes diversity and adversity.

-

The correlation of the perceived ease of use of technologies with the digital skills advancement and the negative correlation of perceived usefulness with cognitive load. The purposeful use of technologies with well-structured environments is crucial in the adoption of technologies and, especially, immersive technologies due to their multisensory, immerse features and functionalities, prioritizing learning gain rather than the novelty of technology for its own sake.

-

The strong correlation of collaboration with critical thinking and digital skills enhancement through inquiry-based learning, generative activity, peer tutoring, and constructive feedback for collective digital competence building.

-

Key elements for structured instructional design that promote the Critical Immersive-Triggered literacy (CITL) [24] practices for immersive attention to learning objects and a meaningful flow of learning experience in immersive learning contexts.

-

Bridging multiple gaps by encouraging participatory co-creation, advancing social constructivist theory.

-

The integration of immersive technologies in K-12 education, particularly through interdisciplinary approaches that align with STEAM and CLIL pedagogies.

-

The phases of training K-12 students for collaborative digital content creation that follow core guidelines, responding to the emerging need for multiliteracies building and purposeful communication of ideas while consuming and producing digital media in the complex information ecosystem.

-

The promotion of underexplored digital and media literacy skills enhancement in immersive technologies following the DigComp updated guidelines, the UDL updated version 3, the Media Literacy Core Principles 2023 updated version by NAMLE, and ISTE standards for students, viewing students as learner agency for action-oriented goal setting to improve holistic learning gain, thereby empowering individuals to be informed, engaged, and socially responsible participants.

-

The Socio-Ecological Technology Integration (SETI) framework that highlights the community effort needed for effective technology integration at the micro and macro levels, identifying socio-ecological systems and the need for infrastructure and policies.

-

Professional development programs that equip teachers with the necessary skills to design and facilitate student-centered VR design for inclusive learning experiences.

-

Cost-free and user-friendly VR platforms, tools, and resources that can democratize access to immersive learning experiences.

7. Limitations and Future Research

The longitudinal study yielded promising findings in the integration of VR experiences into mainstream K-12 educational settings. Nonetheless, certain limitations should be acknowledged. Although the study was conducted within a mixed-ability context, it involved the recruitment of students aged 13–14 years old, from a single Greek school, and does not include different educational systems or national policies. That said, due to population mobility that is on the rise, it consists of a diverse population regarding socio-cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and it was designed in alignment with universal 21st-century education guidelines, which enhances its relevance across contexts. To partially address this contextual limitation, the learning scenario included international peer audiences as end users and employed English as the working language, thereby fostering conditions of inclusive representation and global relevance, as reflected by the students’ responses. In addition, though the intervention was replicated over two consecutive years, aligning with recommendations from the literature and offering valuable insights, the generalizability of the results is limited and so are the data constraints due to institutional policies. Further longitudinal studies are needed to pilot-test the proposed framework and examine its usability for the long-term retention of skills and knowledge promoted through VR-enhanced learning. With regard to the sample size, as thoroughly elaborated in the methodology section, the use of mixed methods, including both quantitative and qualitative data, prioritized depth over breadth. This was counterbalanced by replicating the study to enhance the reliability of the findings. Additionally, the researcher’s dual role as both the instructor and the investigator could introduce bias, despite conscious efforts to maintain objectivity. Finally, recent technological updates such as AI agents and live translation features in VR environments are affordances that were not explored and may add new elements to the proposed framework. Future research should investigate the impact of these features across a broader age range and within different educational systems.

8. Conclusions

The study explored the role of virtual reality (VR) and its key elements in fostering media and critical digital literacy, creativity, inclusivity, and interdisciplinary learning in K-12 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. By analyzing data collected over two years through a thorough design of collaborative co-creation of digital content, the study provides valuable insights into the impact of VR-based collaborative learning, with students acting as the agents of knowledge construction [99,101,102]. This process allowed participants to develop critical digital and cognitive skills through VR co-authoring processes. The analysis of findings discussed in relation to the existing literature addressed each research question systematically. The discussion yielded insights on (a) the role of virtual reality in improving learning outcomes through an interdisciplinary approach; (b) the key design elements of virtual reality interventions that enhance digital and media literacy skills; (c) the importance of the participatory culture in content co-creation for bridging the digital skills gap; and (d) the key design elements of virtual reality interventions that promote inclusive learning practices. Recurring themes in the qualitative findings were further conceptualized, yielding a framework for the design of inclusive critical media literacy experiences in VR-based K-12 education, underpinning three main pillars, namely, (i) Narrative Structure, (ii) Strategic Design, and (iii) Representation Awareness. Each pillar is supported by sub-themes offering practical guidance for educators and instructional designers seeking to tailor VR experiences to learners’ diverse needs and preferences. This framework emerged not from theory alone, but from iterative student engagement in authentic school contexts. Its novelty lies in empirically grounding inclusive media literacy design principles within immersive co-creation experiences. Unlike prior work focusing on tertiary or conceptual settings, this study offers a model for educators to further explore its affordances for secondary-level practice and student empowerment through participatory VR learning contexts.

Learner agency emerged as a crucial factor in enabling purposeful learning and collective knowledge building. The interdisciplinary design allowed for a holistic analysis, incorporating pedagogical, technological, and socio-cultural perspectives. The hands-on nature of the intervention empowered the participants not only to enhance their digital and media literacy skills but also to engage in digital discourse, evaluate content critically, and identify meaningful and ethical design decisions in navigating today’s complex digital ecosystems, as defined by the guidelines proposed by [35,85,96,98]. This socio-constructivist context of interaction within VR learning environments allows for the identification and re-evaluation of digital competence gaps and the opportunities to surpass them. Despite limited or no prior experience with VR spaces for learning purposes, participants successfully manipulated the technology’s core functionalities and created authentic, learner-generated VR content, thereby narrowing the digital skills divide. Interestingly, the presence of diverse authentic voices contributed to the development of a framework for the design of inclusive VR media experiences.

The significant results that the correlation analysis revealed between the perceived ease of use (PEoU) and digital skills enhancement and the significant negative correlation between perceived usefulness (PU) and cognitive load indicate that students who perceive the collaborative VR environment as intuitive and user-friendly were more likely to report growth in their digital competencies. In contrast, students who experienced cognitive strain during the VR activities were less likely to perceive the technology as beneficial for learning. This finding implies that high cognitive load may hinder the perception of educational value, emphasizing the need for well-designed, accessible, and cognitively manageable VR experiences to optimize learning outcomes. The results also affirm the value of well-designed VR practices as a paradigm that encourages students to reflect on their learning experience, collaborate in problem solving, and engage in critical dialogue. This participatory process promotes metacognition, digital well-being, and commitment to empathy, cultivating a culture of shared responsibility and constructive peer feedback. The findings also suggest that interactive, constructivist digital environments enhance cognitive engagement and problem-solving skills, equipping students to navigate the information-saturated digital landscape responsibly. This aligns with the continued relevance of human-centric skills amid rapid technological advances [103]. The pedagogical frameworks that were identified to support the study and those that emerged from the data contribute to the existing literature and provide insights for implications and future iterations for related research with the ultimate goal of empowering learners for competence-building and sustainable citizenship within the evolving digital ecosystem.