Enhancing User Onboarding in Virtual Reality Educational Applications: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Pre-Training User Onboarding Method

Sam Sabah, Alexander Tillmann, Jan Schneider, Hendrik Drachsler

Abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) offers immersive and engaging educational experiences, but students often face challenges when first interacting with these environments, making effective onboarding essential. This study evaluates the effectiveness of pre-training as a method for onboarding users in VR educational applications. We conducted a user evaluation survey with 36 participants, primarily university students, to assess their experiences with pre-training. The results indicate that while pre-training improves users’ ability to navigate and moderately enhances overall satisfaction, it is less effective in building user confidence. Participants showed a strong preference for interactive tutorials over static pre-training slides, suggesting that more engaging and interactive methods may better support user onboarding. These findings highlight the need for more dynamic onboarding approaches to improve user experience and learning outcomes in VR educational tools.