Drawing in a Virtual 3D Space - Introducing VR Drawing in Elementary School Art Education
Summary
Virtual reality (VR) technology makes it possible to directly interact with virtual
3D spaces. This enables the realization of VR drawing tools that allow everyone to
create 3D drawings in a simple and intuitive manner. Introducing this new method
of drawing to children at elementary schools can benefit them in multiple ways. One
of the potential benefits is the enhancement of spatial skills. Previous work suggests
that both the drawing of 3D objects and the usage of VR can improve mental rotation
and spatial visualization skills. Since VR drawing is a combination of the aforementioned
activities, it seems promising to investigate its effect on these spatial abilities.
So far, no research has been done into the educational use of VR drawing or its
relation with spatial abilities. This thesis takes a first step in gaining a better understanding
of the benefits and obstacles that VR drawing brings when introduced at
elementary schools. We performed an experiment with 18 children (ages 10-12). Several
drawing exercises were implemented and tested. Furthermore, our tests studied
the correlation between the participants’ spatial ability test scores and proficiency in
creating a VR 3D drawing and whether a few VR drawing sessions are enough to
increase these spatial ability test scores.
Our results show improvement in the children’s 3D drawing skills but not in their
spatial skills. Their drawing skills do seem to be correlated with their mental rotation
ability, although further research is needed to conclusively confirm this. This
thesis lays the foundation for future research into the educational use of VR painting
tools and shows that it is indeed a promising direction for further evaluation.