DiVRsity: Design and Development of a Group Role-Play VR Platform for Disability Awareness Education

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Role-playing can be an effective method for disability awareness education (DAE), and the immersive nature of virtual reality (VR) holds promise for enhancing DAE experiences. However, existing VR applications for DAE often pay less attention to the social aspects of disabilities, resulting in a lack of ability to simulate implicit social discrimination experienced by individuals with disabilities. To bridge this gap, we developed DiVRsity, a customizable VR group role-playing platform for DAE. To identify design requirements for DiVRsity, we conducted a formative study with VR and DAE experts. In an evaluation study, 28 participants engaged in role-playing exercises using DiVRsity, simulating discriminatory interpersonal situations experienced by individuals with vision impairments. Findings revealed that participants' disability awareness significantly increased after engaging in role-playing activities using DiVRsity compared to before. We discuss the potential of VR as a role-playing platform for DAE and provide design implications for future VR-based DAE tools.