VELS: An interactive Virtual Environment for Learning Surveying

测量学是土木工程、建筑施工管理、测绘学、地理学、农林学、园林学等专业的基础课程。测量教学提出了一些挑战，如学生在数学、几何和三角方面的准备，有限的工具，有限的地形，依赖于天气条件，需要一对一的培训。该项目通过一个引人入胜的交互式测量学习虚拟环境（vel）来增强传统的测量教学方法，该虚拟环境可以作为准备、修订和评估工具整合到测量课程中。该项目使用创新的教育技术来支持学生的学习，并在工程课程中引入有效的教学方法。veles支持数学表达流畅性，包括逼真的虚拟地形和测量仪器，这些仪器的外观、操作和产生的结果与物理地形相当。veles解决了与当前测量指导相关的许多问题；1)在测量的背景下，它通过将数学、几何和三角概念的具体、数字/符号、文本、图形和现实世界的表达联系起来，提高了学生对数学的表达流畅性；2)提供全天候的测量设备和实践练习；3)允许远程测量训练；4)提供对学生表现的即时反馈；5)提供按需主题的指导；6)减少对团队成员的依赖。7)提供标准化虚拟设备的访问，8)为有运动和视力障碍的学生提供仪器访问。

Surveying is a fundamental course in the Civil Engineering, Building Construction Management, Geomatics, Geography, Agriculture & Forestry, and Landscape Architecture curricula. Teaching surveying presents several challenges such as students' preparation in mathematics, geometry and trigonometry, limited access to instruments, limited availability to terrains on which to practice, dependency on weather conditions, and need for one-on-one training. This project enhances traditional surveying instruction methods with an engaging, interactive Virtual Environment for Learning Surveying (VELS) that can be integrated into surveying courses as a preparation, revision and assessment tool. The project uses innovative educational technologies that support students learning and lead to effective instructional approaches in the engineering curriculum. The VELS supports mathematical representational fluency and includes realistic virtual terrains and surveying instruments that look, operate and produce results comparable to the physical ones. The VELS solves many of the problems associated with the current surveying instruction; 1) it improves students' representation fluency in math by interconnecting concrete, numeric/symbolic, textual, pictorial, and real-world representations of mathematical, geometry and trigonometry concepts in the context of surveying, 2) provides 24/7 access to surveying equipment and practice exercises, 3) allows for surveying training at distance, 4) provides immediate feedback on student performance, 5) provides on-demand topic-specific guidance, 6) requires less dependency on team members, 7) provides access to standardized virtual equipment, and 8) provides instrument accessibility to students with motor and vision impairment.