Examining the efficiency of virtual reality technology in basic technical skills training: Table tennis case study

Purpose: The purpose of our study is to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality technology in learning the basic technical skills of table tennis. Material and Method: 60 undergraduate students in MCBU SBF, between the ages of 19-24 who have not previously studied table tennis attended the research. The participants separated into 3 different groups (UG1, UG2 and KG) which each had 20 people and participated in the 8-week training process. UG1 was consisted of who learned table tennis skills only with virtual reality technology method, UG2 was consisted of where virtual reality and traditional methods are used together, and KG was consisted of who studied only with traditional methods. In the research, mixed-method research techniques were used. Research pattern; is a nested mixed pattern. In a quantitative aspect a pretest-posttest paired control group pattern and in a qualitative aspect phenomenographic pattern were used. The data of the research were obtained through the pretest-posttest of a performance test and the 'ÜÖEHBÖ', developed by Yurdugül and Demir (2017). Also a semi-structured interview form applied at the end of the trainings. Findings: UG2 group, which was trained with mixed methods according to performance test hit scores, was the group that increased their skills the most compared to other groups. UG1 group scored higher than the other groups according to the scores of "UÖEHBÖ". In the findings obtained from the qualitative part, the main theme of "Virtual Reality Effectiveness" has been reached. Results: It is concluded that virtual reality technology can be used as an effective method in learning table tennis basic technical skills. The training had an effect on E-Learning Readiness, but there was no difference between the groups. According to the results obtained from qualitative data, 'Virtual Reality Effectiveness' was reached as the main theme, and 'Learning Process', 'Table Tennis Skill Development', 'VR Application Method', 'Factors Affecting Technical Learning', 'Development' were reached as the sub-themes. Keywords: Virtual Reality, Table Tennis, Skill, Learning, Technical