Mapping the global technological landscape of virtual reality in education: a bibliometric and network analysis

New advancements in virtual reality-related technologies have led to an increased interest of scholars from elementary school to higher education in its use in education. Yet, the use of virtual reality in educational environments is still in its early stages of adoption. This study aims to analyze the global landscape of virtual reality-related technologies for educational purposes. We combined bibliometrics and network analysis to analyze 1242 patent records comprising these technologies, collected in the Derwent Innovations Index. We found a significant increase in annual patenting from 2016 onward, most carried out by Chinese corporate and academic organizations. The most frequent technologies comprise teaching/training simulators, specific business systems/methods, and user–computer interaction. In the network of international patent classification codes, the overall most central node refers to technologies for manipulating three-dimensional models or images for computer graphics. Our study provides insights into the global patent landscape related to virtual reality and education, and we hope it can be of interest to potential users in academic settings, as well as developers of related technologies.