AI-READY VR/360° E-LEARNING PLATFORM FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION: SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE, DEPLOYMENT, AND ADOPTION EVIDENCE

The sudden move to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to rely heavily on videoconferencing tools and basic learning management systems. While these solutions kept courses running, many students reported fatigue, disengagement, and difficulties visualising complex concepts. In response to these challenges, this study describes the design and preliminary evaluation of a Virtual Reality (VR) e-learning platform, extended with an AI-ready facial expression recognition module and a 360° video web alternative, deployed in a Moroccan higher-education context. The platform allows students to access an immersive virtual campus and interactive learning scenarios either through VR headsets or through 360° video on standard devices. A total of 106 students from the Higher Institute of Information and Communication (ISIC) interacted with the system and then completed a structured questionnaire about their experience, perceived usefulness, and intention to adopt the platform. Descriptive analyses were complemented with chi-square and Spearman correlation tests to explore differences between academic levels and the role of prior exposure to immersive media. The results show high awareness of VR and 360° video, strong perceived added value of VR for distance learning, and broad support for regular use of the platform, with no major differences between Licence and Master students and only weak associations with previous VR experience. These findings position the proposed AI-ready VR environment as a promising complement to conventional distance learning tools and motivate future controlled studies focusing on objective learning outcomes and the full integration of AI-driven emotion tracking.