{"title":"Barriers to VR use in HE","authors":"Evans Leighton","doi":"10.1255/VRAR2018.CH2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1255/VRAR2018.CH2","url":null,"abstract":"Author Summary: VR promises revolutionary changes in the levels of immersion that users can experience, and if applied successfully in educational contexts this deep immersion could have significant effects on both teaching and learning. To utilise VR effectively in the higher education (HE) space, there must be some consideration given to what might prevent the use of VR in this sector and why these barriers exist—and how they can be mitigated against. Based on an extensive research project involving qualitative interviews with 21 VR makers and designers in autumn 2017, following a thematic analysis of the interview data, this paper identifies 5 major barriers to the uptake of VR in a wider cultural sense and in a specific, educational context. These identified barriers are: the materiality of VR and issues with headsets and cables; interfaces within VR and issues with haptic technology; the ’language of VR’ and the difficulty in communicating the benefits of VR; cybersickness and gender issues with VR use, and, the cost of VR. The preparation of educational VR materials requires an acknowledgement of these sometimes-concealed barriers to VR use, and it is proposed that through knowledge-transfer and sharing of best practice the use of VR in higher education could become a model of best practice for designing inclusive VR experiences that avoid major barriers to participation in VR.","PeriodicalId":197073,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference 2018","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124840375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Virtual Reality for enhanced teaching of conceptual design development","authors":"C. Wood","doi":"10.1255/VRAR2018.CH5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1255/VRAR2018.CH5","url":null,"abstract":"Author Summary: A key component of the Swansea University Year 1 Civil Engineering training is based around the exploration and development of imaginative, viable Civil Engineering conceptual solutions to problems. In industry, conventional methods for conceptual design communication, such as sketching, physical modelling or 2D CAD drawings are now being superseded by 3D and 4D (space + time) computer modelling and visualisation methods, which go hand-in-hand with the growing industry adoption of building information modelling (BIM) (National Institute of Building Sciences, 2018). This study seeks to further enhance Year 1 Civil Engineering students’ understanding of and interaction with 3D conceptual design, by introducing interactive VR as part of a computer laboratory based activity within the “conceptual design” module. This study is based on the expectation that the introduction of immersive conceptual design and interaction will allow the students to more fully engage in the concept evolution stage of design. Furthermore, in comparison with the more common CAD methods, where students would look at a 2D computer screen to develop a 3D object, it is envisaged that through immersion in VR, students’ spatial awareness of aspects of the conceptual design could be greatly enhanced.This study found that after developing basics skills in the 3D building information modelling software Autodesk Revit, students were capable of utilising traditional 2D building plans and elevations to develop from scratch their own detailed 3D model of an existing multi-storey building on the Swansea University Bay Campus, the Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) Building. The addition of VR-interactivity whilst developing the 3D model enabled students to identify anomalies otherwise not easily identifiable in their models, and also permitted students to develop much better understanding of the scale of typical structural elements such as slabs, beams and columns (for which they learn simple techniques for preliminary sizing in Year 1) in relation to other more familiar building elements, such as doors and windows, and 3D arrangement of interior structures such as staircases within the building. All the participants in the study reported that using VR enhanced their experience of the conceptual design building development exercise.","PeriodicalId":197073,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference 2018","volume":"90 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114942873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Thompson, Ciarán O'Keeffe, G. Cseh, Piers Worth, M. Smith
{"title":"Escaping Plato’s Cave: Ethical considerations for the use of Virtual Reality in psychology teaching","authors":"K. Thompson, Ciarán O'Keeffe, G. Cseh, Piers Worth, M. Smith","doi":"10.1255/VRAR2018.CH10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1255/VRAR2018.CH10","url":null,"abstract":"Author Summary: Virtual Reality (VR) offers exciting new opportunities for teaching psychology, such as the chance to explore questions, phenomena, perspectives and experiences it would be difficult or impossible to observe in the real world or classroom. As VR technology develops, its potential to provide a multi-modal sensory experience may lead to even more immersive environments. With these exciting opportunities, however, come new ethical dilemmas and risks for teachers and students utilising this technology. Many users and manufacturers of VR acknowledge the physiological and psychological impacts of the use of VR (e.g. Sharples, Cobb, Moody, & Wilson, 2008). One of the most commonly reported effects is motion-sickness, however, improvements in technology may help to lessen these. An increasing number of studies are now revealing potential psychological impacts, for example, Aime, Cotton, and Bouchard (2009) found females reporting increased body dissatisfaction after immersive VR use, and Aardema, O’Connor, Cote and Taillon (2010) found users reporting greater sense of dissociation and lower sense of ’presence’ in objective reality. As yet, however, the British Psychological Society (BPS), the professional body for the discipline of psychology, has provided no specific ethical guidelines for the use of VR or Augmented Reality (AR) in research with human participants or in an educational setting.Our behaviour is influenced by our environment and VR can place students in highly unusual, disorientating environments which can at times create sensations akin to experiences with hallucinogens; these impacts should not be taken lightly, even within informal teaching settings. We aim to address this need within psychology research and teaching, by discussing some potential risks and ethical considerations for educators wishing to use VR in educational settings, including: cybersickness, consensual hallucinations; pressure to conform and power of authority, individual differences in response to VR, and the need for pre and post-use care. Some practical recommendations are presented which also encompass our findings that some pre-use screening tools are insufficient to capture a participant’s actual experience and, in some individuals, can prematurely discourage VR usage when in actuality their experience is unexpectedly positive. “How could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads?”Plato— The Allegory of the Cave — The Republic (Book VII)","PeriodicalId":197073,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference 2018","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132182851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Dorrington, W. Harrison, H. Brown, M. Holmes, R. Kerton
{"title":"Step away from the CAD station: A hands-on and immersive approach to second year teaching of Mechanical Engineering design","authors":"P. Dorrington, W. Harrison, H. Brown, M. Holmes, R. Kerton","doi":"10.1255/VRAR2018.CH3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1255/VRAR2018.CH3","url":null,"abstract":"Author Summary: The purpose of this paper is to present a new methodology to enhance creativity within the context of learning and teaching in an engineering design module in the College of Engineering at Swansea University. The challenges to introducing creativity into an engineering undergraduate course are explored, with the main intervention—Virtual Reality for concept development—investigated through pre- and post-intervention surveys, student interviews and a focus group. Additional interventions to enhance creativity are discussed and future improvements to module design put forward.","PeriodicalId":197073,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference 2018","volume":"118 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117222170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Henry B. Dawson, Nael H. Alami, Keith Bowen, Diana Maddah
{"title":"The use of virtual reality for public health education with reference to Syrian refugee camps","authors":"Henry B. Dawson, Nael H. Alami, Keith Bowen, Diana Maddah","doi":"10.1255/vrar2018.ch8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1255/vrar2018.ch8","url":null,"abstract":"Author Summary: In this study we used Virtual Reality (VR) technology to provide an immersive interactive learning experience for undergraduate public health students in the UK and Lebanon. Students carried out a problem-based learning exercise around public health challenges faced by Syrian refugees in Lebanon. In the wider context of a Virtual Student Exchange programme small, mixed nationality groups were connected by Skype, WhatsApp and other technologies to research specific healthcare requirements for refugee camps (e.g. sanitation) and constructed an interview guide for the Lebanese students to use on a visit to a camp at the end of the programme. Lebanese students captured 360-degree videos to allow UK peers to ‘join’ them on their camp visit using VR. Findings from post-hoc video interviews focusing on the use of VR indicated that students felt closer to the subject of their research than before it was used. Participants’ emotions were affected by what they saw in the camps, providing a broader cognitive experience in which sight, sound, and emotions were linked to the camps, deepening learning about the refugees’ conditions. Faculty were able to move beyond the use of simple text-based scenarios, facilitating students’ learning about a real-world situation that they would not have been able to access through other means. This approach has potential for wider use in education, providing virtual access to locations it can be difficult for learners to visit by other means.","PeriodicalId":197073,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference 2018","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130265906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Can Virtual Reality assist the recoupling of theory and practice in Civil Engineering education?","authors":"P. Xavier, M. Holmes, R. Evans, Jude Clancy","doi":"10.1255/VRAR2018.CH4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1255/VRAR2018.CH4","url":null,"abstract":"Author Summary: Civil Engineering education is intended to prepare students for a career working in often large, dynamic and complex environments. Despite this, most education typically takes place in a classroom, with students engaging in learning conceptualised design processes while removed from engaging with authentic and contextualised tasks. Problem-based learning (PBL), where students are encouraged to take an inquiry-led rather than instructed approach to learning is often recommended as a solution to re-connecting theory and practice. Deriving the problem to be solved in PBL from real case studies from industry can add to authenticity. However, the scale and complexity of, for example, a working site, is difficult to replicate.Virtual Reality (VR) can offer a realistic immersive experience and appears to have potential to effectively augment PBL in Civil Engineering education. This paper explores how familiar current students are with VR technology and how useful they perceive it to be for education. The paper also seeks to understand whether a relatively cheap and accessible VR solution (navigable site tour captured using 360° photospheres, viewed using a Google Cardboard-type device and smartphone) can improve a PBL learning experience. Students were asked to complete a design exercise involving a large excavation. They were then invited to view a VR experience of an excavation of the same size in order for them to compare their conceptualised design with the experience of the actual investigation. Thematic analysis of student responses after the VR experience showed student responses were positive, with themes of fun, realism, improved sense of presence and scale emerging as perceived benefits. It is concluded that VR has good potential to improve PBL tasks in Civil Engineering education, however, it is identified that more research is required to understand whether VR in PBL can help to develop the spatial intelligence of classroom-taught students.","PeriodicalId":197073,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference 2018","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131600999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Immersive Virtual Reality as a teaching aid for anatomy","authors":"Laura Mason, M. Holmes","doi":"10.21125/INTED.2019.1275","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21125/INTED.2019.1275","url":null,"abstract":"Author Summary: Anatomy is a discipline where students are required to identify structures of the human body. It is typically a topic which challenges students due to the large volume of terms and content they are required to understand. This study was designed to investigate whether Virtual Reality (VR) as an innovative approach to teaching could improve both student experience and attainment in this subject area. A specifically developed VR platform was created in which Medical Engineering students (N = 42) were asked to individually compete to assemble a human skeleton in both the fastest time and with the fewest errors. This gamification in an immersive environment was hypothesised to increase students’ understanding and retention of anatomical information and was compared to studying from a set of traditional notes. The results showed a 10 % greater improvement in test scores with VR over the use of notes (non-significant, P = 0.141). In the longer term those who participated in the study performed significantly better on the end of module examination (P = 0.012) suggesting measurable learning gain from the experience more widely. Students responded positively to the use of VR in this context and expressed an interest in seeing more VR as part of their anatomy education and their Higher Education experience more broadly.","PeriodicalId":197073,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference 2018","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126039761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Virtual reality for social skills training","authors":"M. Gillies, Xueni Pan","doi":"10.1255/VRAR2018.CH9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1255/VRAR2018.CH9","url":null,"abstract":"Professional work involves a high degree of technical knowledge that must be acquired through years of study at school and university. However, it also involves other, more implicit, skills that cannot be easily learned from books or lectures. An important example is social skills, interacting with other people in potentially challenging professional situations. These social skills can only be learned through practice in realistic situations. However, real situations do not support the kind of deliberate practice required for improving skills. This paper proposes that Virtual Reality can provide a method of practising social skills that potentially allows deliberate practice in a safe setting. It reviews a range of studies by Slater and colleagues starting from the late 1990s that demonstrate the ability of Virtual Reality to reproduce the experience of social interaction. These studies show that people respond realistically to virtual humans, opening up the possibility of using them as a means of practicing social interactions. Two experiments in particular show this potential for medical training, involving general practitioners practising difficult consultations with patients. The paper concludes with suggestions for what is required to enable deliberate practice of social skills in Virtual Reality.","PeriodicalId":197073,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Virtual and Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference 2018","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129337364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}