In-between worlds: Chilean university lecturers’ experiences of teaching transition between face-to-face and virtual reality contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic

With the rapid development of internet-based technology, teaching approaches in educational practices have encountered numerous changes. Technology-based strategies have been used to reshape higher education teaching and learning practices, such as online and blended learning and virtual worlds (VWs) based learning. Notably, VW-based online teaching and learning practices are becoming popular in education (Dalinger et al., 2020; Noble et al., 2022). In such a technology-based context, teachers also need to adjust their traditional teaching approaches to meet the new trends, especially under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic (McQuirter, 2020). The health crisis has dramatically changed the traditional face-to-face teaching to a highly internet-based online mode, which has led to the Great Online Transition (GOT; Howard et al., 2022). While online video platforms (e.g., Zoom, VooV, and Microsoft Teams) can establish virtual classrooms for teachers and students, many barriers may still exist in practices, which cannot have similar teaching and learning experiences to the traditional modes (Chang, 2020).

Particularly, VW-based technologies have become valuable tools for teachers and students to engage in the context of reality simulation, which could establish a lived virtual learning environment to enhance teaching and learning experiences (Dalinger et al., 2020; Ghanbarzadeh & Ghapanchi, 2021). Many studies (Esteves et al., 2011; Merchant et al., 2014) have investigated the use of VW based platforms (e.g., Second Life, SL hereafter) in educational contexts with research suggesting that using VW-based platforms in teaching and learning has advantages and disadvantages (Nguyen et al., 2021). On the one hand, students and teachers may have a more interactive virtual space to achieve collaborative learning. Such spaces allow people to stimulate various objects and contexts for different learning purposes. On the other hand, VW-based platforms may not be easy to handle for beginners as users may need to design the learning setting by themselves depending on the requirements. Meanwhile, it may require high-speed internet and advanced hardware to run the VW system effectively. While the potential and challenges are clear, many educational institutions are actively applying VW-based tools (e.g., SL) to enhance teaching and learning contexts (Nguyen et al., 2021). However, few studies have investigated how teachers experience a transition from traditional to VW assisted online teaching practices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

To contribute to this scarcely researched body of knowledge, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study to examine a group of Chilean lecturers’ teaching transitioning experiences from traditional face-to-face to a VW-based mode, reflecting teachers’ digital competencies in the GOT. In Chile, different initiatives have been taking place to improve teachers’ preparation due to detrimental results obtained by students in both national and international evaluations (Avalos et al., 2010). Bearing this in mind, the Enlaces network initiative was created to improve learning and teaching at all levels by integrating information and communication technology (ICT) into the syllabus and thus incorporating teachers and learners into the global knowledge society. Enlaces has provided both internet access and increased implementation of digital resources at a national level with teachers participating in improvement programs (which have included teacher training), changes in the curriculum, and the inclusion of better pedagogical resources (Toro, 2018). However, the role of VW in this reforming process is under researched, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic (Ball et al., 2021). This exploration by examining Chilean lecturers’ teaching experiences will contribute to the teachers’ professional development literature and the broad field of ICT in the GOT, especially virtual reality, in teaching and learning practices. According to Cheung et al. (2021), online technologies could shape smart learning environments for future learning and pedagogical practices. Thus, understanding how these practices integrate technologies and how lecturers experience transformations have become significant issues for educational researchers (Howard et al., 2022; Lin & Johnson, 2021). Thus, we propose the following research question to guide the investigation: ‘How do Chilean lecturers experience the transition from face-to-face to virtual world-based teaching models during the COVID-19 pandemic?’.

This paper starts with a review of the literature about the contribution of VW in teaching and learning practices. Then, research methods and findings are presented respectively by following a discussion that shows the theoretical and practical contributions. Finally, this paper concludes with suggestions for future study.

With the rapid development of internet-based technology, VW plays an essential role in (re)shaping professional teaching processes. A VW refers to ‘computer-generated, persistent 3-D environments in which users co-exist as avatars exploring, building, interacting and communicating’ (Koutsabasis et al., 2012, p. 357). It can ‘create rich sense of presence, ready construction of and contribution to learning activities and transparent visibility to adjacent possibilities’ (McKerlich et al., 2011, p. 325). VW can be accessed using different devices, namely laptops and smartphones, hence providing ubiquitous possibilities for online teaching and learning, which may make these environments to be widely user available (Dede & Richards, 2017). VWs have become a significant piece of technology in higher education because of its functional interaction, gamification, and immersion (Fabris et al., 2019).

Many researchers (e.g., Choi et al., 2016; Ghanbarzadeh & Ghapanchi, 2018, 2021) have examined the role of VW in educational practices. Their studies suggest that such technological tools have become a pivotal element when it comes to educational development. The inclusion of virtual environments in the learning process could foster students’ engagement with the content and the flexibility to advance at the students’ own pace in their free time. The enhanced sense of immersion experienced by users in a virtual universe result from ‘the subjective impression that one is participating in a comprehensive, realistic experience’ (Dede, 2009, p. 66).

Among the different Internet-based platforms and tools available for educational purposes, SL has gained popularity due to the motivation it triggers in learners allowing them to achieve desired educational outcomes (Pellas & Kazanidis, 2015; Wang & Burton, 2013). SL, designed by Linden Research, Inc (based in San Francisco, the USA) in 2003, has been considered as the one of the most used VW platforms for educational practices (Potkonjak et al., 2016) and it has been widely used in many areas, such as health science, engineering, and social science. In Web 2.0 based virtual tools and platforms (e.g., Facebook), user experiences may not be straightforward due to various limitations (e.g., image-based and text-based settings). However, in SL-based VW context, users can engage in real-time 3D simulation to collaborate and interact with other people in an online community (Nguyen et al., 2021) (see Fig. 1 as an example). In SL, users can adopt different personalities and roles to accomplish specific tasks. It allows learners to expose themselves to situations or contexts difficult to experience in real life. Meanwhile, it provides users a highly interactive platform to engage in virtual communications.

Example of a SL-based VW learning setting

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In education, many scholars have employed the SL-based VW to reform teaching and learning activities. For example, Pellas and Kazanidis (2015) explored the application of SL to achieve VW learning in Greece’s higher education. They found that SL-based VW context could positively influence students’ learning outcomes. Similarly, Sajjanhar and Faulkner (2019) also noticed the significant role of SL in helping learners to understand complex computer programming knowledge. More recently, Rudolphi-Solero et al. (2020) explored 23 medical lecturers’ perceptions of the SL-based VW teaching environment in Spain. Their research demonstrated that most participants were willing to employ the SL-based VW strategy to teach courses because of the interactive functions of the SL platform, which could simulate various complex images effectively. Meanwhile, they also suggested that it will be essential for lecturers to use the SL-based VW tool to enhance pedagogical innovation. Furthermore, the application of SL-based VW teaching provides opportunities for enhanced interactions between teachers and students, especially under the COVID-19 era, which has cause disruptions in keeping a sustained flow of face-to-face communication.

Distinct from the above study, Ozonur et al. (2022) comparatively analysed students’ distance learning experiences in SL and Enocta learning management/adobe connect in a Turkish university. Through a mixed method research, they found that while there were no significant differences in students’ academic achievements, the cohort studying in the SL environment expressed having more positive attitudes towards distance learning compared to the other group. The former cohort suggested that the SL-based VW context created an authentic learning space which enhanced interaction and communication. This study concluded that such an SL-based VW context could provide an adequate VW social space for learners to engage in online learning.

Although these studies have investigated the use of VW technology (e.g., SL), research (Valkov & Flagge, 2017) has suggested that little attention has been paid to the process individuals adjust to such VW environments. More specifically, insufficient empirical studies have investigated how teachers experience changes in teaching practices from a traditional face-to-face model to a VW assisted teaching context (Wang & Burton, 2013).

In Chile, different initiatives have been taking place to improve teachers’ preparation due to detrimental results obtained by students in national and international evaluations (Avalos et al., 2010). The Enlaces network initiative was to improve learning and teaching at all levels by integrating ICTs into the syllabus and thus incorporating teachers and learners into the global knowledge society. Enlaces has provided internet access and increased implementation of digital resources at a national level, with teachers participating in improvement programs, including teacher training, curriculum changes, and better pedagogical resources (Toro, 2018).

Developing a student-centred learning approach is an expected outcome (Toro, 2018). A student-centred approach improves meaningful learning, increases learners’ commitment and confidence, and creates a more memorable educational experience (O’Neill & McMahon, 2005). Online technology could promote active student-centred learning workspaces, which enhances problem-solving skills with teachers acting as facilitators. However, it cannot be assumed that the transition process to using new technologies is smooth (Cartwright & Menkens, 2002).

A dearth of studies has examined educators’ experiences of gradual transition and adaptation to using virtual online technology in their teaching amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers need to acquire new knowledge and skills to deal with potential issues in technology-based teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, which potentially (re)shape teachers’ professional identity and capability (An, 2021). We made use of a social-constructivist approach and the concept of in-between space as theoretical tools to explore and interpret Chilean lecturers’ transitioning experiences between different teaching modes.

Social-constructivism for learning

Social constructivism by Vygotsky (1978) is related to the fact that intellectual advancement results from the transformation of biologically driven processes into more socially developed psychological operations. The use of social working environments helps create a suitable atmosphere for students to build new knowledge, explore and express themselves by using dialogic interactions, which enhance cognitive development (Thanh, 2014). Furthermore, McInerney and McInerney (2010) have asserted that Vygotsky believed that the cultural context directly influences an individual’s cognitive development. Similarly, Kozulin (2003) stated that cognitive development relies on the existence of agents which act as mediators between an individual and his cultural context. Cultural group development is closely linked to individuals’ constant (re)shaping of their cognitive growth; simultaneously, individuals’ cognitive growth directly impacts the group’s constant cultural change (Roth & Lee, 2007).

Learning socially allows individuals to interact with more skilled peers, which creates the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The ZPD has been defined as ‘the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers’ (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). Considering that learning takes place through social interaction, exposure to different social contexts positions people in a zone where individuals dynamically shift themselves between different contexts by modifying pre-existent skills.

In-between space

The rapid development of ICTs is continually (re)shaping physical places and virtual spaces for teaching and learning activities. The boundaries of different places and spaces are blurred, potentially influencing pedagogical and learning practices. To theorise the complexity of interactions between different sociocultural contexts, Bhabha (1994) proposed the notion of ‘in-between space’, which dims pre-established boundaries facilitating the physical and psychological transition between familiar and new contexts. Moving into an ‘in-between’ space requires people to make use of different actions and intentions; as this transformation does not only involve the transfer of skills between dissimilar contexts or places (Park, 2018).

Shifting ‘in-between’ systems may reveal the use of a vast array of agentic behaviours when dealing with these changes. Park (2018) refers to people’s physical and mental intentions when dealing with changes across settings. Mental intentions (or intrinsic intentions) materialise themselves in executing concrete physical actions. Physical and mental intentions are closely interrelated and are reflections of each other (Park, 2018). To cope with new contexts, individuals develop several different adjustment competencies to successfully manage new settings, which is like what happens in the transition from face-to-face to virtual environments. Bandura (2006) has referred to this adjustment process as the development of ‘agency’, and it involves the realisation of ‘causal relations between environmental events, through understanding causation via action…finally…recognising oneself as the agent of the actions’ (Bandura, 2006, p. 169). The transition across systems results in the development of an inter-space between them. In this inter-space, different agentic responses occur, creating a sense of belonging within which learners feel they ‘fit into’ a new context (Dai, 2022). As a result, instructors may reflect different digital competencies towards technology. Based on the above theoretical concepts, to address the proposed research question, we aim to specifically explore how instructors experience different teaching spaces and what changes they have in the transitioning journey from face-to-face to VW-based context.

A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to explore a group of Chilean educators’ teaching transition experiences. As qualitative researchers, we acknowledge that individuals may have subjectively different views and understandings towards activities and practices they experienced due to their unique life history, working journeys, background, and even world views (Merriam, 2009). Thus, we believe that a qualitative design is suitable for exploring lecturers’ teaching experiences as it allowed us to pay attention to participants’ unique individuality and personal journeys they embarked on to adapt and make use of varied strategies. This relates to the fact that different teachers may have disparate views towards VW-based and traditional teaching methods. Such a methodological choice also helps us to understand potential differences and similarities emerged from their subjective reflections. However, findings from this type of research may not generalise to other cases. More studies may be necessary to reach potential generalizability.

Before conducting the data collection, ethical application with supporting documents (e.g., consent form, interview schedule and protocol) was submitted to the selected university research ethical assessment committee. This university is one of the leading Chilean research-focused institutions with a comprehensive subject scope. The university has offered various technological tools for teachers to use in their everyday teaching depending on the teaching requirements. SL is one of these tools that many teachers have employed in their teaching process. As one of the authors was working at this university, we had the convenience to recruit potential participants. After obtaining the ethical approval from the committee, we conducted a snowball sampling approach to recruit appropriate lecturers who had experiences and/or exposure to using the virtual platform of SL either for academic or personal reasons. The choice of SL as a VW platform depended on the lecturers. Their transition process in different teaching modes was somehow (re)shaped by technological tools available natural rather than imposed by the university. We emailed the research information and consent form to different colleagues of one of the participating authors as well as other academics to seek potential participants. As a result, a total of 18 lecturers (ten male and eight female) with four to six years of teaching experiences voluntarily agreed to participate in the study to reflect and share their teaching methods and experiences. These lecturers teach in several fields including Education (4), Business (2), Science (3), Engineering (4) and Cultural Studies (5). They were familiar with online teaching and had experience using SL to support their teaching activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were given a pseudonym to protect their identity and privacy.

Semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups were conducted in August, September, October, and November 2020. Due to the nature of this study, individual interviews could help us to understand ‘the lived experience of other people and the meaning they make of that experience’ (Seidman, 2006, p. 6). Each participant was interviewed once, and the process took from one to one and a half hours. In addition, focus groups allowed us to probe into participants’ attitudes, feelings, and perceptions about a specific subject (Puchta & Potter, 2004). Each focus group took about one hour, and each participant was invited to join one session. All interviews and focus groups were in Spanish and were all audiotaped for later transcription and analysis.

Then, interviews were transcribed and translated into English by one of the authors. Two colleagues from the author’s department, who are fluent in English and Spanish, double-checked the translation to ensure accuracy. Data were analysed inductively to develop an overall understanding first. Based on Braun and Clarke’s (2019) thematic analysis approach, the inductive analysis helped us identify key patterns in participants’ experiences. Then, we analysed the transcriptions by considering our theoretical lenses, which helped us understand and interpret lecturers’ transitioning experiences from a deductive perspective. Once the interviews’ analysis was completed, we illustrated these teachers’ experiences based on selected representative extracts in a narrative style with thick and rich descriptions, which is an appropriate way to show people’s lived experiences (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990).

This study found that many lecturers engaged in a VW-based teaching context. Their teaching transitions between face-to-face and VW-based SL context created an in-between space where individuals continually (re)shaped their sense of identity and agency with different digital competencies. Such teaching experiences reflect a gradual multi-faceted process. Specifically, there is a non-linear transition from one context to the next; it is an alternating process in which the lecturers have to modify and adjust their pre-existing teaching beliefs and practices. Both contexts contributed to (re)shaping their professional agency and identity as the use of a VW-based approach with educational purposes resulted in modifying the teaching techniques used in their traditional teaching context. Particularly, VW-based teaching helped lecturers to deliver courses more interactively compared to the pure online video-based mode (e.g., Zoom), which potentially supported students’ learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teaching in a VW-based context

One of the key findings is that the transition from face-to-face to a VW-based teaching context is a complex, varied process, resulting in the sense of in-betweenness. The in-betweenness is reflected by the various changes in the participants’ agency towards different teaching approaches and their diverse interactions with other contextual elements, such as students and different teaching spaces, as described in the participants’ narratives and comments. When participants were asked if they had ever taught in a virtual environment, many lecturers (e.g., Angelique, Simon, Peter) shared that they were ‘traditional’ teachers. Simon commented:

I have been working in education for the last five years, but I have never been technology savvy, so I feel a bit intimidated when using technology to teach. However, COVID-19 pushed me to use more technologies in my teaching process.

Similarly, Peter added:

Using technology in our field always adds an extra layer of realism to learning about biology. However, using technology feels a bit threatening sometimes.

The participants’ sense of agency was deeply grounded in traditional teaching practices. However, their agency was gradually modified to deal with the new virtual context. Despite the participants’ weak confidence in using technology, the use of a virtual online platform influenced their teaching skills, as commented by Rachael:

Despite setting the class tasks, SL has changed how the teaching process is perceived. The students do not depend on lecturers here. It gives more interesting online learning experiences for students. Meanwhile, as a lecturer, I think it is also better to use different tools in the teaching process, which is a way of creating something new by combining different technologies.

According to the above extracts, SL made some lecturers realise that it was possible to enhance students’ learning experiences through a VW-based online teaching strategy. Also, while some lecturers encountered difficulties in practices, VW-based tools potentially enriched their teaching strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, making lecturers continuously shift between traditional and online teaching. Another important aspect was that some lecturers might not have complete control of the learning setting all the time. For example, Jack mentioned:

SL lends itself to having a more ‘relaxed’ learning environment. I don’t have to be on top of what the students are doing all the time; they can roam around the place and find things for themselves.

In the different interviews held with the participants, their comments alluded to the two different teaching realities. For example, Ivy mentioned:

After stating the class objectives in a traditional classroom, students recurrently ask me questions. However, in the SL context, they go on to explore the digital environments themselves. It is a different way of teaching and learning.

This comment illustrates the difference between a VW context and a traditional classroom. In both contexts, lecturers still set class objectives to guide learning processes. However, in the face-to-face context, students show a stronger dependence on the lecturers’ whereas, in SL, they are more independent. This prompts the modification of lecturers’ teaching agency. This was reflected in Steven’s and Eva’s comments. As Eva commented:

I have been teaching in different universities and levels where I have developed different teaching strategies …for example, classroom arrangement and management, how to face and be in control of the class context.

This reference to ‘be in control of the class context’ alludes to the fact that instructional models are lecturer centred in Chile. The lecturers' job is to motivate and prepare students to make them receptive to new knowledge. However, Kathy suggested that:

When I am teaching in the SL classroom, I don’t feel that I must be in control of the teaching situation with students depending on me.

Her teaching had a strong foundation on a constructivist approach where the lecturer structures specific content to be learnt by the students. VW-based mode enables a more flexible and egalitarian educational environment which results in more dialogic spaces for knowledge construction.

Shaping a sense of in-betweenness: dynamic changes of identity and agency

These participants’ experiences in traditional classroom settings, instead of virtual contexts, contributed to the (re)shaping of their identity and agency. The virtual online teaching experience was gradually modifying their identity. Similarly, their professional agency was being altered and as stated by Bandura (2006), influenced by environmental factors that involved the participants’ acknowledgment of being an agent for changes to occur. The in-between space these lecturers were moving back and forth contributed to changing their identity and agency. In this study, in-betweenness comprehends the status of continuous shifting in using different teaching environments, face-to-face and virtual online, which influenced their changes of identity and agency. After experiencing teaching in the VW online context (see Fig. 2 as an example), many participants realised that new ways of teaching were possible and practical too. For example, Hannah commented:

Teaching in SL has changed our teaching perceptions. Social skills and attitudes which were not that prominent in a traditional classroom are more evident to us now. It has been good; we have had a lovely atmosphere.

Example of a class excursion in a cultural study course

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This claim was reinforced by Patrick:

Despite my initial apprehension about using technology for teaching, I’ve realised its advantages when dealing with the content itself and in students’ attitudes towards its use.

The participants' comments on their students' attitudes and social skills while immersed in SL suggest that VW-based context enhances uninhibited social interaction and learning. Despite lecturers' initial apprehension towards technology, they gradually developed an empowered sense of agency towards teaching in the transition between face-to-face and VW-based contexts. These claims align with what has been suggested by Valkov and Flagge (2017) that the use of virtual platforms results in participants feeling not only 'mentally' confident and more 'physically' able to conduct teaching activities. This enhanced sense of agency resulted in an increased sense of social interaction and work in the VW context. In a subsequent focus group interview, Michael stated, ‘At the beginning, I felt curious about SL and frightened because it was something completely new for me’. Many lecturers indicated positive digital competencies toward such teaching activities.

The transition from being a confident lecturer in a more traditional context to feeling ‘frightened’ in the VW context also denotes the educator’s professional identity change. A change of identity was part of the modification participants were experiencing as they navigated between these two environments. Undergoing a modification process of pre-existing teaching techniques, which enabled them to adapt to the VW setting successfully, was also an extra benefit of using VW for teaching. However, the adjustment process resulted in an enhanced sense of identity and agency, which involved adapting to and adopting a new teaching setting and modifying ‘traditional’ teaching approaches. The sense of virtual immersion that the lecturers experienced in SL was also another factor that posed an initial difficulty, as commented by Chris:

At the very first, I found SL’s added realistic visual component a bit overwhelming. In all my years of teaching, I had only experienced more ‘plain’ settings when teaching about different topics. I think visualisation is a fantastic element. It allowed me to interact better with my students, and I felt better about myself and my teaching.

SL challenged the participant’s identity and agency since this was a new context for her to teach. The new technology weakened her agentic empowerment in dealing with real-life situations. In the same tenor, becoming familiar with these environments is not an easy task and requires extra effort on the user’s part (Salmon, 2011). This finding adds that learners and lecturers experience anxiety when facing new technology. The subsequent change in her self-esteem also denotes an improvement in her professional identity and her teaching agency. The transition process caused her to step out of her comfort zone and ‘lose control’ of her teaching, as shown in this comment: ‘How you interact with students in SL, made me feel I had lost power…because before I always felt in control’.

The fact that SL contributes to changing the way power relationships are framed resulted in the teacher’s perception of her ‘weak framing’ in the teaching context. Bernstein (2000) stated that the concept of ‘framing’ strongly influences how people perceive and establish power. On the one hand, a strong framing establishment contributes to the perception that lecturers hold ‘power’. On the other hand, weak framing contributes to the perception that power is to be with students (Bernstein, 2000). In this case, SL's ‘weak framing’ environment caused the lecturer a sense of uncertainty as she did not feel in total control of the teaching environment. However, this strengthened her identity as an educator as she confessed: ‘I have changed the way I look at the teaching and learning process, making me a more thorough educator’ (Chris).

This comment denotes that despite experiencing an initial period of readjustment in her teaching habits, she acknowledged the positive outcome that this meant for her professional identity. This experience was also mentioned and confirmed by the other participants in the focus groups sessions.

Face-to-face or virtual? Towards blended teaching strategies in the future

The in-betweenness experienced by the participants triggered in them a modification process of previous teaching experiences during the pandemic. Sporadic attempts have been made to introduce technology in the classroom; however, no substantial change to existing traditional methods has occurred. As Kevin commented: ‘I have taught for quite a while in traditional classroom settings, but I cannot rely on the way we previously taught in SL. I think it could be a useful supplementary tool for teaching during the pandemic. We usually need to conduct both online and offline teaching based about the crisis.’ This experience indicates that his agentic behaviour was influenced and (re)shaped by the VW on how to conduct classes in SL. However, strong foundation skills facilitate a smooth transition between different environments. The use of transferable skills allowed them to modify their identity and agency. For example, Robyn shared that:

I feel that I can successfully teach in any situation. Despite our initial feelings of intimidation towards the SL environment, I felt more at ease after some time.

It is remarkable how Robyn firmly stated that she ‘can successfully teach in any situation’. This experience indicates that despite the change in teaching delivery, she felt confident teaching in a VW-based model, which denoted a robust sense of professional identity. This extract shows an adaptation of the educators’ professional identity, which allowed her to manage the new context. Robyn further stated that:

This virtual space makes me feel freer to interact with the students. I don’t feel I have to be as strict as it happens in the actual classroom. It also gives both students and lecturers more interactive possibilities. I think most of my students are actively engaged in this context. If I only use Zoom, for example, they may feel bored. Such a virtual reality platform helped us teach and learn during the pandemic.

Nevertheless, Vicente and Bob also stated that they adapted techniques in authentic contexts, confirming their in-betweenness status when teaching in SL. For example, Vicente stated:

In SL, I have adopted strategies that I have used before. For example, establishing specific objectives and tasks for each class and clarifying students’ doubts. There are similarities between both types of environments.

Being in-between two environments allowed these lecturers to ‘borrow’ strategies from one environment to another. Like Vicente, Bob mentioned:

I can use strategies developed in SL in the real classroom and vice versa… SL has made me realise that students can have more freedom; I can make them be more responsible for their learning… is a positive outcome for me after using SL.

This excerpt suggests that the process of coming back and forth between two contextual mindsets triggered in these educators the (re)evaluation of previous teaching perceptions and skills. Based on their comments, it is possible to argue that there was not a linear transition process between the two types of environments but a repetitive alternation between them. For example, Cam stated:

I think that I was able to bring into SL skills that I had develop when teaching in a face-to-face context … but in this setting I have refined those previous skills as well as my perceptions about teaching … I can use them back in my traditional teaching.

Both claims suggest that online resources are not a smooth linear process. In this study, the lecturers required an adaptation process to move from previous teaching practices to a new VW-based setting. This experience illustrated the adjustment necessary to teach in such a new educational context. However, as reflected, they would be moving in-between worlds as they benefited from both settings.

This article has illustrated lecturers’ experiences of shifting between face-to-face and VW teaching approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study could contribute to the under-researched field of the transitioning of teaching practices from a face-to-face to an online mode in the GOT (Howard et al., 2022; Lin & Johnson, 2021). To address the research question, ‘How do Chilean lecturers experience the transition from face-to-face to virtual world-based teaching models during the COVID-19 pandemic?’, we would suggest that these lecturers engaged in an in-between teaching space, which contributed to (re)shaping their sense of identity and agency in different instructional settings with multiple digital competencies. This shift also involved the change in their perceptions of establishing a different sense of power within teaching contexts. Varied insights and implications emerged from the findings, which are discussed by comparing them with existing studies.

Based on the participants’ experiences transitioning between a face-to-face and a VW-based context was a non-linear itinerant process in which the senses of identity and agency were (re)shaped and influenced by the VW in which the teaching took place. Few studies have reached conclusive results about VW's benefits (Choi et al., 2016). By negotiating and adapting pre-existing teaching skills and agentic behaviours to the new context, this study claims that the transition between two contexts is a gradual, multi-faceted non-linear process resulting in the participant dwelling in an in-between space. This space existed as the participants used their teaching skills developed in traditional teaching settings in SL. Likewise, the (re)fined skills resulting from their SL teaching are applicable in a traditional teaching setting, as acknowledged by the participants. They had to use their previous teaching skills as a starting point in SL. However, there was a necessary modification and improvement of these abilities so that they would be able to use them in SL. This finding aligns with that of Dieker (2014), who suggested that virtual environments contribute to the improvement and refinement of pre-existing teaching skills to ensure students’ learning and lecturers’ performance. This is also aligned with the findings of lecturers transitioning to online environments during COVID-19 reporting that this transition contributed to the acceptance of the use of technology in their teaching practices (Meishar-Tal & Levenberg, 2021).

There was a constant ‘coming and going’ between the two settings: they adapted pre-existing teaching practices for the SL environment, but they would also use those refined skills in a traditional classroom setting, as commented. This finding confirms the claims made by Cheng and Myles (2003), who stated that skills should be transferred between contexts to build upon the other. Additionally, their professional identity and agency were also modified by the exposure to the new teaching context (An, 2021; McQuirter, 2020). Their identity had to be adapted to SL as these lecturers realised that their previous professional behaviour had to be reshaped to suit the new context. In addition, the participants’ professional agency was also reconstructed as the SL context influenced them. Agency reconstruction aligns with the claims made by Bandura (2006), who stated that varied social interactions influence its development. The participants’ pre-existing teaching skills were transformed since SL generated the development of new insights and perceptions of how learning can also take place without being so lecturer-centred.

This study also suggests that transitioning between different teaching contexts affected the participants’ perception of power. The way the participants perceived the establishment of power in a traditional classroom was modified by the SL environment. They were not ‘physically’ present, and this may have influenced their perception of how classroom rules were established. This experience reflects that virtual reality could remove traditional physical boundaries, allowing for less rigid and strict learning environments (Dalinger et al., 2020). Similarly, in online environments, a sense of shared power was experienced as many times students’ technological expertise surpassed that of academics which generated a sense of empathy for their students (Maile Cutri et al., 2020). It takes time to assimilate teaching in a digital environment, and professional experience is necessary to accomplish the task. However, once this mindset change has taken place, it results in a professional changing scheme, as was the case with these participants and asserted by Salmon (2011). Research participants greatly benefited from their previous teaching experience in SL since it allowed them to expand and ‘update’ their teaching in different settings. It seems that shaping a sense of in-betweenness becomes an essential competency for future teaching in the post-GOT age, making online technology-based blended teaching regular (McQuirter, 2020). The implications of this study support the fact that when used for educational purposes, VW complements and expand professional development for future teaching practices (Razmerita & Kirchner, 2015). Their experiences also illustrate valuable examples and insights about the applications of different technological tools to support teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Considering the theoretical aspect, social constructivism and the concept of ‘in-between space’ provided holistic lenses to examine transitioning processes between different teaching contexts. On the one hand, social constructivism entails modifying individuals’ sets of beliefs and behaviours since it takes place within a community where individuals have an innate tendency to work in the company of others (McInerney & McInerney, 2010). On the other hand, ‘in-betweenness’ is an active status where a modification of pre-existing constructs and behaviours also occurs involving changes in pre-established experiences and assumptions. Using both lenses to explore the participants’ behavioral, identity and agentic changes may be a valuable and novel way to understand educational transitioning processes of different contexts. Furthermore, social constructivism and in-betweenness can be used to explore the learning and change which take place in more-traditional environments and technology-mediated contexts, as it was the case in this study. VW replicates real contexts with such immersive first-hand experience that blurred boundaries trigger a real sense of ‘being there’. Hence, and considering the sense of immersion experienced by the users, the mentioned theories are applicable to analyse the changes in teaching practices that happen in virtual settings. This study could suggest that future studies can also use both theoretical lenses as their combined use may provide a new paradigm to examine changes in education.

This study examined several lecturers’ teaching experiences shifting between face-to-face and VW-based online contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving from a traditional environment to a VW mediated setting has implications for lecturers’ professional identities and agency. This process is not linear and promotes the development of an in-between space in which there is a constant ‘back-and-forth’ as participants reshape their professional identities and agency based on their previous set of teaching beliefs and practices. Additionally, power perceptions changed based on the lecturers experienced in SL, which differed from the usual face-to-face teaching environment. This study provided diverse insights into the transition process experienced by the lecturers, but one limitation was the number of participants. Therefore, by no means this study tries to generalise the participants’ perceptions and transitioning experiences. It would be interesting to investigate if a larger sample of lecturers’ experience transitioning in the same way as the participants of this study.

Future studies could collect data from more participants from other sociocultural and educational contexts. It is essential to observe whether there is a general tendency to shift between a face-to-face and a virtual online setting in teaching practices; especially with the COVID-19 pandemic which has made the applications of technology-based teaching and learning to become a normalised practice. It would be essential to conduct longitudinal studies to determine whether there is a diminished ‘space’ when it comes to in-betweenness (coming back and forth) or whether, after prolonged exposure to a VW-based setting, the development of a linear agency change takes place.