Excellence in Research: Mixed Reality in Engineering Education

草原景观农工大学(PVAMU)是一所HBCU，毕业的黑人工程师数量在全国名列前茅。该项目的重点是使用混合现实(MR)作为一种主动学习工具来增加PVAMU的工程教育研究。在MR体验中，数字元素被叠加到物理环境和真实世界的对象上，用户通过耳机而不是屏幕与3D数字元素交互，从而提供真正的身临其境的体验。混合现实是一种创新和变革性的技术，它有可能改善课堂和实验室的学习，并为学生提供他们认为吸引人和有价值的数字学习体验，无论他们是在与实验室同事相同的环境中还是远程参与。磁共振技术的重要性与日俱增，并已被用于众多应用中：仅举几例：商业、医药和建筑。我们将通过创建基于MR的教学环境来扩展MR的使用，以提供传统课堂形式无法获得的第一人称、身临其境的学习体验，并衡量它们对教学和学生的影响。研究表明，如果学生的学习包含了很强的体验性成分，那么他们的学习结果会更好。该项目正在积极寻找方法，以实现对课堂教学的实际补充。混合现实技术是一种与学习者相关的第一人称、身临其境的体验，可以在不涉及风险和昂贵代价的情况下弥合理论和实践之间的差距，同时消除实际限制(例如，访问活动过程或结构的内部工作原理)。该项目将创造MR环境，以推进化学工程以及电气和计算机工程课程，为主要是第一代和代表不足的少数族裔的学生。计划中的研究将使用描述性的、准实验的和定性的方法解决五个问题。描述性要素包括实现特定形式的学习的程度以及对MR的期望应用程序。在工程学中应用MR有可能通过与当地的人见面来增加学生的可及性，从而在增加参与和个性化学习的机会的同时解决平等倡议。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) is an HBCU that graduates one of the highest numbers of Black engineers in the nation. This project is focused on increasing engineering education research at PVAMU using mixed reality (MR) as an active learning tool. In MR experiences, digital elements are superimposed onto physical environments and real-world objects and users interact with 3D digital elements through headsets rather than via a screen, thus providing a truly immersive experience. Mixed reality is an innovative and transformative technology that has the potential to improve learning, both in the classroom and in the laboratory, and offer students digital learning experiences that they find engaging and valuable whether they are in the same setting as their lab colleagues or participating remotely. MR technology is growing in importance and is already being used in a plethora of applications: business, medicine, and architecture to name a few. We will extend the use of MR by creating MR-based instructional environments to provide first-person, immersive learning experiences unavailable in traditional classroom formats and to measure their impact on instruction and students. Research has shown that students demonstrate better learning outcomes if their learning encompasses a strong experiential component. This project is actively seeking methods to implement a practical complement to classroom instruction. Mixed reality technology a first-person, immersive experience relevant to the learner which can bridge the gap between theory and practice without involving risk and expensive expendables while eliminating practical limitations (e.g., accessing the inner workings of an active process or structure). This project will create MR environments to advance Chemical Engineering as well as Electrical and Computer Engineering courses for students who are predominantly first generation and underrepresented minorities. The research planned will address five questions using descriptive, quasi-experimental, and qualitative methods. Descriptive elements include the degree to which specific forms of learning are achieved and what are desired applications for MR. Application of MR in engineering has the potential to increase accessibility for students by meeting people where they are, thus addressing equity initiatives while increasing opportunity for engagement and individualization of learning.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.