The usage of virtual reality in engineering education

Abstract

AbstractThe state of virtual reality (VR) development is mature enough to be explored for application in various fields including higher education teaching, research, and training including engineering education. Traditionally, engineering education relied on diagrams and images to describe various systems and objects, sometimes accompanied by laboratory experiments involving existing systems for hands-on practice. However, these traditional approaches have limited capability. Visualization for effective illustration using the traditional approaches is challenging for topics such as electromagnetic which discusses abstract concepts of electric and magnetic fields. VR is a promising solution. It offers a more engaging and immersive visualization experience, leading to a greater understanding of the subject matter. The immersiveness of VR eliminates distracting external stimuli, and allows better user engagement with the lesson. Therefore, this study explores the application of VR in engineering education. An in-house developed VR laboratory named Merlin’s Playground is incorporated as part of assignment activities for a group of first-year students taking bachelor degree in electronics engineering. The students’ perspectives and attitudes towards the VR activities are studied. The student population finds this approach to be an appealing technology. The VR activity achieved the course aims by allowing the topic’s conception more successfully. The VR approach boosted the students’ understanding and problem-solving skills. This is demonstrated by the cohort of students achieving higher average marks on end-of-topic assessments compared to their seniors when VR activities were not employed.

Keywords

• Virtual reality
• engineering
• learning
• teaching
• Nadaraj Govender, School of education, University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
• Computer Graphics & Visualization