Design, development, and evaluation of a virtual reality game-based application to support computational thinking.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science Education
• Educational Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Computational thinking (CT) is crucial for future job readiness and understanding programming.
• Novice computer science students often face challenges grasping programming concepts.
• Virtual Reality (VR) offers immersive and interactive learning experiences with potential educational benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a VR game-based application (iThinkSmart) to support CT knowledge.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the iThinkSmart VR application in enhancing CT skills among computer science students.
• To explore the affordances of VR in facilitating programming education and improving learning achievements.

Main Methods:

• Design Science Research methodology was employed for the VR application's development and evaluation.
• An experimental study was conducted with 47 computer science students, divided into experimental and control groups.
• The iThinkSmart VR application was used by the experimental group to assess its impact on CT skills.

Main Results:

• VR application use led to increased student motivation and CT skills.
• Immersion, interaction, and engagement in VR positively promoted CT competency in higher education.
• Students using the iThinkSmart VR game showed higher cognitive benefits and increased interest in CT concepts.

Conclusions:

• VR technology, particularly through game-based applications, can effectively enhance computational thinking skills.
• The iThinkSmart VR application provides empirical evidence for using VR to support programming education and learning achievements.
• Further research is needed to gain deeper insights into student learning processes within VR educational environments.