Controlled study on the use of Mixed Reality for teaching PC and smartphone hardware: results with Meta Quest 3

Teaching PC and smartphone hardware assembly faces a significant challenge in educational contexts with limited access to physical laboratories or real equipment. This limitation hinders hands-on learning, which is essential for developing technical skills in engineering and related field students. Although digital simulators and tutorials have been implemented as a solution, many of these resources fail to offer immersive experiences or foster deep understanding due to their low interactivity or lack of immediate feedback. In response to this problem, we propose a Mixed Reality (MR)-based educational application, called Build_3D, designed for use with the Meta Quest 3 headset. This tool allows students to interact in a three-dimensional environment with virtual hardware components, experiencing the assembly process visually, tactilely, and autonomously. To evaluate its effectiveness, a quasi-experimental study was conducted with a control group that used traditional methods and an experimental group that worked with the application. The results indicated a significant improvement in the academic performance of the experimental group, attributed to the immersive and interactive nature of the MR experience. Furthermore, students reported high satisfaction, especially in terms of the interface, clarity of information, and ease of use. These findings suggest that integrating MR into educational environments can overcome physical barriers, promote active learning, and strengthen students' technical understanding. The proposed solution not only improves academic performance but also represents a viable and scalable model for modernizing practical teaching in higher education, especially in technological disciplines.

在缺乏实体实验室与真实设备的教育场景中，开展个人电脑（Personal Computer, PC）与智能手机（Smartphone）硬件装配教学面临显著挑战。这一局限会制约实操学习，而实操学习对于工科及相关专业学生的技术能力培养至关重要。尽管已有数字模拟器与教学教程作为解决方案被应用，但此类资源大多因交互性不足、缺乏即时反馈，无法提供沉浸式学习体验或助力学生形成深度理解。针对这一问题，我们研发了一款基于混合现实（Mixed Reality, MR）的教学应用，命名为Build_3D，适配Meta Quest 3头戴设备。该应用支持学生在三维虚拟环境中与虚拟硬件组件进行交互，从视觉、触觉层面自主体验装配流程。为评估该应用的教学效果，研究团队开展了准实验研究：对照组采用传统教学方法，实验组则使用该应用开展学习。研究结果显示，得益于混合现实体验的沉浸式与交互性特征，实验组学生的学业成绩得到了显著提升。此外，学生们反馈整体满意度较高，尤其认可其界面设计、信息清晰度与操作便捷性。上述研究结果表明，将混合现实融入教学环境，能够突破实体资源限制的壁垒，推动主动式学习，并强化学生的技术认知水平。本研究提出的解决方案不仅能够提升学业成绩，同时也为高等教育（尤其是工科类学科）的实操教学现代化提供了一套可行且可拓展的范式。