The Virtual Physics Lab - Virtual Reality as a teaching tool

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) technology the third era in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) opens a vast opportunity to be applied in the field of education and at the same time support the theory of constructivism. Virtual Reality (VR) system is able to project an entire virtual environment in the computer displaying 3 dimensional elements of sight, hearing and sense of touch (haptic). This paper presents a VR technique to tackle the challenges faced by secondary school Physics’ teachers. The `Virtual Physics Lab’ is developed and applied as an alternative to assist the current teaching processes. It is foreseen when VR is introduced into Malaysia’s educational system, this research will be one of the valuable resources to assist the growth of government’s `Smart School’ project. Elementary research methodologies, gathering information, prototype design and development and testing, information analysis and documentaries are the steps engaged to accomplish the main research objectives. A 3D Game Engine is used as the tool to develop the prototype system