Collaborative Project: Virtual-Reality-based Educational Laboratories in Fiber Optic Engineering

该奖项由2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助。诺福克州立大学与乔治梅森大学合作设立的这一工程教育研究奖将雇用研究人员将基于虚拟现实(VR)的3-D模拟整合到本科光学工程课程中。将为光纤通信开发和评估不同沉浸程度的VR。本研究将确定虚拟现实模块如何影响学生的概念理解，虚拟现实的哪些方面最支持复杂的概念学习，以及三维可视化模块的影响如何与学生的学习风格和偏好相关。将传播桌面虚拟现实模块和基于网络的模块。这项研究将开发一个创新的教学环境，促进人们对虚拟现实在工程教育中的好处的全面理解。有效使用基于虚拟现实的教学工具可以补充和扩展物理实验室的经验，以改善工科学生的学习。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)This engineering education research award to Norfolk State University in collaboration with George Mason University will employ researchers to integrate virtual reality (VR) based 3-D simulations into an undergraduate optical engineering curriculum. Different immersion levels of VR will be developed and evaluated for fiber optics communications. This research will determine how the VR modules affect conceptual understanding in students, which aspects of VR are most supportive of complex conceptual learning, and how the impact of 3-D visualization modules is related to student learning styles and preferences. Desktop VR modules and web-based modules will be disseminated. This research will develop an innovative instructional environment and advance general understanding of the benefits of VR in engineering education. Effective use of VR based instructional tools can complement and extend experience from physical laboratories to improve learning for engineering students.