Enhancing engineering education through distributed virtual reality

Abstract

Visual interaction can greatly change the way engineering is performed both in learning new materials and in terms of explaining activities between practicing professionals. The paper presents a study to develop and assess distributed virtual reality (DVR) for engineering education. Strategic key criteria are presented followed with the development and assessment of a DVR tool that allows the evaluation of learner issues such as: reading/following instructions, navigation, interaction, responsiveness, knowledge transfer, engagement and acceptance. The results suggest that DVR has the potential for enhancing engineering education. More extensive DVR development and assessment and international distributed deployment will further our understanding of more precise interactions.