Developing a 3D virtual geology field trip in Unity 3D: reflection of our experiences

As a part of The OpenScience Laboratory(), an initiative of The Open University, UK and The Wolfson Foundation, we have developed a 3D simulation of a Geology field trip (), using the Unity 3D software (). The learning activities within the 3D App are designed to mirror the experience of a real field trip. The design and development of the 3D App has involved people with diverse skills in a University environment while working closely with an external developer who brought in Unity and 3D modeling skills. I will reflect on the design and development process and focus on: processes and technologies utilized for team-working (the university team and developers were not co-located); challenges faced by the educational researcher to ‘convince’ the team about moving to a 3D environment; gaps between the designer’s model and the developer’s perception of user interface design; integrating principles of user experience; controlling the ‘requirements-creep’; and the realization that many of the Second Life features can’t be replicated in Unity. At the end of my presentation, I will present a set of ‘guiding’ tips for colleagues who may be involved in the design and development of similar educational 3D projects. The 3D App is not yet available in the public domain. So, a couple of YouTube videos (each of 3-4 minutes long) will be demonstrated in-world during the presentation

Virtual Engineering Sciences Learning Lab: Giving STEM Education a Second Life

Engineering education in the 21st century faces multiple obstacles including limited accessibility of course resources due, in part, to the costs associated with acquiring and maintaining equipment and staffing laboratories. Another continuing challenge is the low level of participation of women and other groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines. As a partial remedy for these issues, we established a Virtual Engineering Sciences Learning Lab (VESLL) that provides interactive objects and learning activities, multimedia displays, and instant feedback procedures in a virtual environment to guide students through a series of key quantitative skills and concepts. Developed in the online virtual world Second LifeTM, VESLL is an interactive environment that supports STEM education, with potential to help reach women and other underrepresented groups. VESLL exposes students to various quantitative skills and concepts through visualization, collaborative games, and problem solving with realistic learning activities. Initial assessments have demonstrated high student interest in VESLL\u27s potential as a supplementary instructional tool and show that student learning experiences were improved by use of VESLL. Ultimately, the VESLL project contributes to the ongoing body of evidence suggesting that online delivery of course content has remarkable potential when properly deployed by STEM educators

Virtual Engineering Sciences Learning Lab: Giving STEM Education a Second Life

Engineering education in the 21st century faces multiple obstacles including limited accessibility of course resources due, in part, to the costs associated with acquiring and maintaining equipment and staffing laboratories. Another continuing challenge is the low level of participation of women and other groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines. As a partial remedy for these issues, we established a Virtual Engineering Sciences Learning Lab (VESLL) that provides interactive objects and learning activities, multimedia displays, and instant feedback procedures in a virtual environment to guide students through a series of key quantitative skills and concepts. Developed in the online virtual world Second LifeTM, VESLL is an interactive environment that supports STEM education, with potential to help reach women and other underrepresented groups. VESLL exposes students to various quantitative skills and concepts through visualization, collaborative games, and problem solving with realistic learning activities. Initial assessments have demonstrated high student interest in VESLL\u27s potential as a supplementary instructional tool and show that student learning experiences were improved by use of VESLL. Ultimately, the VESLL project contributes to the ongoing body of evidence suggesting that online delivery of course content has remarkable potential when properly deployed by STEM educators

3D virtual worlds in education and training

This paper presents education and training using virtual reality. Today, the emergence of technologies, such as 3D Virtual Worlds (VWs), which provide realistic three-dimensional environments and offer engaging, interactive and immersive experiences, creates new opportunities for teaching and learning. These opportunities are related to the faithfulness of the educational activities representation within 3D VWs and also to the enhanced aspects of interactivity provided within them