Teaching an aerospace engineering design course via virtual worlds: A comparative assessment of learning outcomes.
Okutsu, M., DeLaurentis, D., Brophy, S., Lambert, J.
To test the concept of multiuser 3D virtual environments as media to teach semester-long courses, we developed a software prototype called Aeroquest. An aerospace design course—offered to 135 second-year students for university credits in Fall 2009—was divided into two groups: the real-world group attending lectures, physically, in a campus hall and the virtual-world group attending lectures, remotely, in Aeroquest. To date, numerous studies on the educational use of multiuser virtual environments have been reported in the literature. However, among studies on virtual-world-based courses, our investigation was one of the firsts to employ learning outcomes (rather than affective states) that were objectively measured (rather than subjectively reported) against a control group. We found that the virtual-world group achieved the performance benchmark, defined by the exam score of the real-world group, within a 95% confidence interval, suggesting the virtual worlds' untapped potential as a teaching platform in early engineering courses—especially for distance education.
Full-texts of the citations in the database are protected by copyright. If you would like to read the full articles, please check your academic library. For more information, read the FAQ. [
less]
2013, Computers & Education, 60(1), 288-298.
