The use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in developing soft skills in Social Care education: Lorraine Daly

One of the main aims of this project was to bring technology and a project to smaller campuses (Ennis and Thurles) within TUS, as smaller campuses sometimes miss opportunities for such projects. Five Meta Virtual Reality (VR) headsets were purchased and students had access to licences for a relevant app called Bodyswaps.

This project provided an active, immersive, safe yet ‘real’ exposure to scenarios that provide knowledge and practice of soft skills. Fostering a pedagogy of care environment that supports students in their preparation for placement and post-graduate practice. This project exposed students and academic staff to Virtual Reality (VR) as an educational tool, a reflective tool, as well as a potential intervention tool in practice.

Action:

The Bodyswaps app was used on the Virtual Reality headset, smartphones and laptops. This allowed students various choices in how and when they could use the app. The app provides several modules and AI-generated roleplays. Feedback is provided by the app after student engagement with a module and/or an AI-generated roleplay. Students repeated modules to see if their feedback and skills improved. Sessions on using the Virtual Reality headsets and setting up the Body Swaps app were completed with Social Care students (2nd years prior to their first practice placement).

This project provided an active and experiential learning tool for Social Care students. Such active learning pedagogies can contribute to quality education (SDG 4) with particular benefit to students with learning disabilities/additional needs and who come from diverse backgrounds, as well as visual learners. Virtual Reality platforms open opportunities for students to learn about diversity nationally and internationally, as well as address practice gaps pre and post-practice placement modules. The inclusion of smaller campuses is an essential element of this project as the student voice from smaller campuses often felt excluded from the wider University developments, opportunities and resources.

Learning Outcomes of the project:

• Social Care students practised active listening, developing their empathic and respectful conversation skills and resolving conflict through simulated virtual reality and AI-generated feedback.
• Social Care students could make mistakes in a low-stakes and safe environment while receiving feedback on their verbal and non-verbal engagement.
• The students shared that engagement with the app and virtual reality offered a welcome break from the typical lecture-style classes.
• Many students shared that they were visual learners and benefited from the active engagement with the app.
• Discussions among students and staff naturally emerged while in the sessions on how the use of virtual reality could be useful in practice as well as a CPD tool.
• As this project was small and ran over six months, an essential outcome was to gather feedback on the potential of virtual reality with AI to support Social Care students’ soft skills.
• As a result of the positive feedback, we have been asked to take part in a future collaboration and action research project in 2026 with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada.
• Two sessions were run in 2026 with feedback gathered during both sessions.