Virtual Reality to Solve Spatial Vision Problems: An Experience in High School

Abstract

Many students have serious spatial vision problems, and the inability to develop this competence is one of the factors that end up frustrating them in courses where the understanding of three-dimensional concepts is paramount. The Technology course taught in Spanish High Schools is a clear example, since its contents include the explanation of crystallographic lattices, which cause serious spatial comprehension difficulties to many students [1]. Given that it has been proven that virtual reality learning environments can enhance the teaching-learning process [2], this article evaluates the effectiveness of a Didactic Virtual Tool (DVT) based on virtual reality (VR), which was designed by the authors to increase the visualization capacity of crystallographic lattices [3]. To this end, a real experience with High School students has been carried out. Following this experience, a descriptive research has been conducted through a survey to students, where they are asked about different aspects of the course: (i) user experience; (ii) specific concepts of crystal lattices; (iii) possible improvements in the DVT; and (iv) DVT overall evaluation. The results obtained in this research encourage further progress in the development of such platforms, as students gain improved spatial vision, increased ability to learn and higher motivation.Keywords: virtual reality, didactic virtual tool, materials science and engineering, spatial comprehension, skills, high school.References: [1] Vergara, D.; Rubio, M.P.; Lorenzo, M. (2018). A virtual resource for enhancing the spatial comprehension of crystal lattices. Education Sciences, 8(4), 153. Doi: 10.3390/educsci8040153[2] Vergara, D.; Extremera, J.; Rubio, M.P.; Dávila, L.P. (2019). Meaningful learning through virtual reality learning environments: A case study in materials engineering. Applied Sciences, 9(21), 4625. Doi: 10.3390/app9214625[3] Vergara, D; Sánchez, M.; Garcinuño, A.; Rubio, M.P.; Extremera, J.; Gómez, A.I. (2019). Spatial comprehension of crystal lattices through virtual reality applications. Proceedings of the 12th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, Seville, Spain, 11-13 November 2019. pp. 1291-1295. Doi: 10.21125/iceri.2019.0392