UTILIZATION OF VIRTUAL REALITY FOR ENGINEERING DISCIPLINE SELECTION

• Published in: Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) 2019-11
• Main Authors: Hungler, Paul C., Marshall, Joshua A., Parent, J. Scott, Tremblay, Eric A., Karan, Max, Clarke, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2371-5243; 2371-5243
• DOI: 10.24908/pceea.vi0.13856

Fully immersive Virtual Reality (VR) has the ability to take students to remote locations or allow them to interact with a simulated environment without having to leave campus. This study investigated whether VR is an effective tool to help students increase their knowledge and understanding of various engineering programs and as a result increase their confidence when selecting an engineering discipline. Two purpose-built VR applications were developed; one for Mining Engineering and one for Engineering Chemistry at Queen’s University. The intention of the VR applications was to introduce students to the program of study by bringing them directly into the classroom or lab environment as well industrial sites where engineers in that discipline work. Each VR application took 5-7 minutes to complete and was intended to be interactive. To determine if the VR applications increased the student knowledge, understanding and confidence when selecting an engineering discipline, a series of questions were added to the annual first year engineering survey at Queen’s. Results from the study showed that the VR applications strongly or moderately increased the knowledge and understand of numerous students who attend the Mining Engineering and Engineering Chemistry discipline selection nights. Furthermore there were a number of students whose confidence when making their discipline selection was enhanced by the VR applications.