STTR Phase I: Integration of Virtual Reality-based 3-D interactive simulations into classroom and online science curricula

This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project focuses on the development of an innovative instructional technology platform by integrating Virtual Reality (VR)-based interactive 3-D simulations into introductory physics curriculum for K-12 and higher education. This approach will support the learning process by providing unique possibility for students to interact and explore their hypotheses in VR-generated 'realistic' and 'artificial' worlds, thus making it possible for students to 'experience' what they are learning in an entirely new way. The proposed VR-based 3-D courseware will include a wealth of educationally-powerful dynamic visual representations (high-quality 'realistic' objects, visualization of concepts such as forces and velocities, visualization of processes and things invisible to the naked eye, focusing on core-concepts (e.g. highlighting, magnifying, removing irrelevant aspects), a real-time graphing tool, etc.), and allow for real-time interaction and high flexibility in parameter settings. To foster mental model construction and connection with real world situations, the virtual environments will be presented with a various degree of abstraction and realism, from a very de-contextualized setting to a realistic setting with avatars (human-form characters) involved in virtual activities. Currently, there are no commercially available VR systems deployed for regular instructional use in K-12 or university education. Applications of curriculum-based virtual environments in education are immediately practical and cost effective for a very large market of students and teachers. The main impact of the proposed project is the creation of a high-quality, affordable and widely accessible curriculum-based courseware in science education using VR environments in combination with real experiments or as a stand-alone virtual laboratory courseware for web-based (online) deployment as a tool to perform individual and collaborative tasks. The developed modules will be accessible not only through immersive VR systems, but also through affordable desktop 3-D VR systems, as well as a through a Web-accessible interface. The development of effective modular courseware being economically affordable by school systems via low-cost standard VR tools and the use of standard computers for daily classroom use will reduce digital divide through broadening the participation of underrepresented groups. The potential outcomes of our proposed innovative instructional technology approach and visualization tools will also impact, through generalization, other educational domains where interactive visual display is crucial in helping students to develop their cognitive and social skills.