Virtual reality environments as a tool for teaching Engineering. Educational and Psychological issues

Abstract

Virtual reality is widely used in the sector and is getting cheaper for consumers every day. Students want to be well-prepared for their professional careers while also anticipating additional courses that will allow them to put the theoretical knowledge they have acquired during their studies into practice. They also gain significantly from the chance to develop their soft skills. In specifics, around half of all VR resources are used by engineering applications that rely on VR (considering the research works published up to latest years). This essay outlines the instructional strategy for a graduate and undergraduate level practical virtual reality course. In this essay, we argue and provide data from extensive study to support the claim that VR is a great teaching tool for engineering. As a result of our analysis, we concluded that VR has advantageous cognitive and pedagogical effects on engineering education, which ultimately enhances students' performance and grades as well as their educational experience. Through the employment of VR as a substitute for physical laboratories, the university, the institution or professional school also reaps benefits in terms of decreased responsibility, infrastructure, and expense. Additionally, kids with special needs and those who learn remotely and don't have access to physical laboratories can both benefit from an equal educational experience. The paper is structured to emphasize learning about virtual reality through the simulation of multidisciplinary industrial projects and seeks to foster skills like cooperation, working in interdisciplinary groups, time management, and taking a logical approach to real-world engineering challenges. It is important to note that the results of this study may be generalized to other knowledge domains with ease and without losing any generality, as opposed to being based on applications employed in the engineering profession.