Virtual Reality, Computational Thinking, and Verbal Reasoning: Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of the Delightex Platform

This study analyzes pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the use of virtual reality (VR) as an educational resource to strengthen verbal reasoning. Forty-four students from the University of Guayaquil participated, designing educational applications on the Delightex platform. The students integrated activities such as reading comprehension, synonyms, antonyms, and analogies, among others, into an immersive environment. Subsequently, a survey was conducted, which was answered by 90% of the participants. The results indicate that 97% of students believe that their resource contributes to verbal reasoning. They explain that this is because VR is motivating since it is interactive, experiential, visual, and playful, conditions repeatedly associated with more effective language stimulation. Likewise, it was evident that working with Delightex developed digital and social skills in pre-service teachers. Although some students noted pros and cons of using this VR platform, 85% expressed interest in continuing to use Delightex in future educational projects. These findings are interpreted considering recent evidence on VR in teacher training, computational thinking, language-skill development, and the educational needs of students with high intellectual abilities (HIA). The study concludes that VR not only contributes to strengthening verbal reasoning through the creation of innovative educational resources, but also enhances creativity, fosters collaborative work, and develops digital and pedagogical skills relevant to teacher training.