Analyzing the spatial skills of university students with a virtual reality application using a desktop display and the gear VR

Abstract

This paper presents the analyzed results of a virtual reality application which allows measuring spatial skills of the users. The application contains mental rotation tests of three types and can be used on a computer with desktop displays and on Android with the Gear VR device. The authors measured the spatial ability of 61 students with the Gear VR and of 240 students with a desktop display. By investigating the correct answer ratios, comparisons were done between the age, the gender, the primary hand, what the students are majoring in, moreover the display devices. The use of the Gear VR significantly improved on the average performance of female students by 18.02%, on left-handed students by 18.66%, on older students by 7.29% and made the purdue spatial visualization test easier by 17.21% compared to the use of a desktop display. These results also strengthen the fact that education has a future in virtual reality.