# Assessment of AEC Students' Performance Using BIM-into-VR
## 3 The Research Methodology and Approach
### Student Evaluation: Case Study  
The Sample  
The participants in this study were graduate students who registered in an elective course titled \"Integrating VR/AR/MR with Design and Construction\" in the Spring Quarter 2019. The course had 23 students from diverse experiences such as construction management, architecture, real estate, and sustainability. The goal was for students to learn the concepts and workflows related to BIM and different available VR devices, get hands-on experience with these devices, and understand how BIM models into VR devices are different from what they see on pure BIM models. This project also helped them understand how BIM and VR integration allow them to see, analyze, and understand project data, making more precise decisions in real projects in their careers. The students' evaluation of the BIM-into-VR environment consisted of five steps that are shown in Figure 5. Step 1 involved identifying and preparing course goals and curriculum by the MPM program and the course instructor. Step 2 involved creating two different evaluation models: (1) Norris Center Project and (2) NASA Mars Habitat Project. Step 3 involved evaluating all four selected VR devices, software, plugins and converting \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Number**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**References**} & \multicolumn{8}{c}{**Characteristics**} \\ \cline{3-10}  & & **Learnability** & **Interoperability** & **Visualization** & **Real World** & **Interaction** & **Creativity** & **Motivation** & **Comfort** \\ \hline
1 & [61] & * & * & * & * & * & * & * & * \\
2 & [105] & * & * & * & * & * & * & \\
3 & [106] & * & & * & * & * & * & * & \\
4 & [107] & * & & * & * & & & \\
5 & [102] & * & & * & * & * & & & \\
6 & [108] & * & & * & * & * & & \\
7 & [109] & * & & * & * & * & * & \\
8 & [110] & * & * & * & * & * & * & \\
9 & [111] & * & * & * & * & * & * & \\
10 & [112] & * & & & * & * & * & * & * \\
11 & [113] & & & & * & * & * & * & \\
12 & [114] & * & & * & & * & * & \\
13 & [9] & * & & * & * & * & & \\ \hline Frequency & 13 & 5 & 10 & 13 & 9 & 10 & 7 & 2 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Note: * = mentioned.  
\end{table} 
Table 4: Research on BIM-into-VR characteristics related to student’s learning performance. the BIM-into-VR model taught by the instructor. Step 4 involved the process of converting BIM models to VR models by the students. Step 5 involved a 5-point Likert scale survey based on the examined students' perceived learning outcomes and a 10-point Likert scale survey used to evaluate students' preference level of using each of four VR devices. All students experienced the four commercially available VR headsets in this study included HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Acer WMR, and Samsung HMD Odyssey. Table 5 shows the different features of the VR goggles utilized for this survey. Figure 5: Process of evaluating BIM-into-VR. At the end of the quarter, the course lecturer sought the participating students' opinions regarding the advantages and effectiveness of exercising VR goggles/technology. To illustrate the effectiveness of this system, the instructor presented two different projects as test-models. Figure 6 shows the 2D, 3D, and VR models of the Norris Center building located at Northwestern University. All models were designed by students in Autodesk Revit 2019, one of the major BIM authoring applications, and then converted to VR models by Enscape 2.6.1. This model contains architectural, structural, and MEP models in detail. In the second case study, as shown in Figure 7, VR allowed students to have a virtual walk-through on the NASA-Mars Habitat model to visualize diverse project setups, compare and examine those setups, and formulate their options for different possible design, method, and material. The workflow of transforming the NASA-Mars habitat project BIM model to a VR viewable model is illustrated in Figure 7. These steps begin with creating and designing a data-rich and comprehensive BIM model by Autodesk Revit software.