HMD Type and Spatial Ability: Effects on the Experiences and Learning of Students in Immersive Virtual Field Trips

We report on the results of a study in the context of place-based immersive VR (iVR) geoscience education that compares the experiences and learning of 45 students after going through an immersive virtual field trip, using either a lower-sensing but scalable Oculus Quest or a higher-sensing but tethered HTC Vive Pro. Our results suggest that with content design considerations, standalone HMDs can be a viable replacement for high-end ones in large-scale educational studies. Furthermore, our results also suggest that the spatial ability of students can be a determining factor for their experiences and learning.