This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)
This engineering education research award to Norfolk State University in collaboration with George Mason University will employ researchers to integrate virtual reality (VR) based 3-D simulations into an undergraduate optical engineering curriculum. Different immersion levels of VR will be developed and evaluated for fiber optics communications. This research will determine how the VR modules affect conceptual understanding in students, which aspects of VR are most supportive of complex conceptual learning, and how the impact of 3-D visualization modules is related to student learning styles and preferences. Desktop VR modules and web-based modules will be disseminated. This research will develop an innovative instructional environment and advance general understanding of the benefits of VR in engineering education. Effective use of VR based instructional tools can complement and extend experience from physical laboratories to improve learning for engineering students.
