Examining Student Response to Virtual Reality in Education and Training
T. D. Hatchard, Freeha Azmat, Mohammad Al-Amin, Zeina Rihawi, Bilal Ahmed, Alaa Alsebae · 2019
Virtual reality (VR) allows users to experience a virtual world in 3D by wearing a headset. This headset includes a screen and lenses to produce this effect. This study uses VR in a training context to test if the quality of preparation for laboratories in engineering education can be improved. A virtual version of a second-year engineering lab was created to teach students the fundamental concepts involved, such that they are more prepared for the real lab. Unity was used to create the application, Blender was used to model the equipment, and Substance Painter was used to texture the models. Engineering students were tested before and after training, and their learning improvement measured. These students were split into two sets; the first used the VR, the second used the traditional briefing sheet. All students also answered a questionnaire to reflect their feelings on their given system of work. Students consistently showed a better improvement and therefore understanding of the lab when using VR. It was also seen that students gave more positive answers for the VR than for the briefing sheet in the questionnaire.