PC Virtual Lab: An Experiment in Learning Through Virtual Reality

As we highlighted in our article, “Immersive Virtual-Reality Computer-Assembly Serious Game to Enhance Autonomous Learning”, PC Virtual Lab is one of our standout applications for teaching computer science in Virtual Reality. It’s an interactive experience where students progress through different levels, all centered on computers and their components. It’s a hands-on way to bridge the gap between theory (which is also provided during the game) and practice.

This whole idea came from the struggle to make the computer hardware lessons less abstract and more engaging for students who might not be familiar with the subject. So, we thought: why not bring in Virtual Reality to make things more tangible and immersive? But the real question is: did it actually work? Did we manage to boost learning outcomes by introducing Virtual Reality?

To ensure our results were solid, we assessed the students’ knowledge both before (with a pretest) and after (with a posttest) using the Virtual Reality application. We didn’t stop there; we also compared the results with two other groups: one played the desktop version of the game, while the other watched a video of the same content. So, did the students using Virtual Reality improve from the pretest to the posttest? And did they outperform the other groups?

Spoiler alert: Yes, they did! Students using the Virtual Reality version of PC Virtual Lab showed significant improvement—not just compared to their own pretest results, but also when stacked against the other groups. We broke down the learning into three categories: recalling, visualizing, and understanding. The Virtual Reality group excelled particularly in the visualizing and understanding aspects, which are more tied to practical and visual learning rather than dry theory.

And here’s the kicker: the Virtual Reality students retained what they learned for a longer period compared to those in the other two groups. So, not only did they learn better, but the knowledge also stuck with them longer.

After each session, the students filled out a survey about their satisfaction and the usability of the application. Guess which group gave us the best feedback? You got it—the Virtual Reality group. They found PC Virtual Lab easier to control, with clearer instructions, and more intuitive interactions compared to the desktop version and the video group. In other words, Virtual Reality didn’t just improve learning—it also made the process more enjoyable. If it’s all upside, why not use it more?

So, what can we take away from this experience? Students not only felt more satisfied using the Virtual Reality version, but they also found it more useful, especially for practical and visual learning. Plus, they learned more effectively compared to students using the other methods.

What do you think? Would you bring PC Virtual Lab into your own classes? Or would you rather use it as a fun way to reinforce learning in your free time? Let us know in the comments!

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