Effects of Virtual Reality on Students’ Creative Thinking during a Brainstorming Session

Abstract

Brainstorming is a well-known technique for fostering student creativity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, brainstorming sessions were recently held online, using web-based tools and video calls. Virtual Reality (VR) can also be an alternative for brainstorming sessions. However, there is currently limited research on brainstorming sessions using VR, and its impact on students’ creative thinking is still unknown. We conducted a preliminary study that compares brainstorming in VR and brainstorming with a web-based online whiteboard to study how each communication method affects students’ creative thinking. Given that students had the same amount of time for both VR and web sessions, the results reveal that there is no significant difference in the quality or quantity of ideas. Even though participants said VR was difficult to use, the results of VR and web sessions were similar. We believe that if the students become familiar with VR, they will be able to develop more ideas in the virtual space.