Green STEM: Virtual Reality Renewable Energy Laboratory for Remote Learning

Abstract

In fulfilling its role as a promotor of critical thinking and of nurturer of students as problem solvers, undergraduate engineering education needs to answer modern educational demands tailoring curricula to meet industry and career requirements and student learning styles. Extended Reality technology, including virtual and mixed reality may enable educators to create tools for multisensory teaching, enhancing learning through guided imagery and haptics. Through undergraduate research, two co-op students explored the VR technology (engine) and developed the framework for a learning module that will present fundamental notions in renewable energy sources, using scenarios based on physical experiments. We developed a virtual reality learning platform and the modeling of the VR framework and applied it to several experimental modules: wind turbine, solar cell (PV) module, a water decomposition and fuel cell module. Students explore concepts as parametric characterizations of the system as well as thermochemical characterization. The module is packed in an executable app, which is downloadable and usable in both VR STEAM immersive environments as well as in a desktop format. Future work will include beta-testing and preliminary assessment of the VR Renewable Lab, followed by its course implementation.

Immersive Learning in Photovoltaic Energy Education: A Comprehensive Review of Virtual Reality Applications

“…The VR application presented by Frank et al made it possible to explore virtual engagements that would otherwise be challenging or impossible to complete due to financial or lab space limitations [35]. VR technology in this study allowed students to try new ways to apply their knowledge practically, strengthen information retention and encourage critical thinking.…”

“…In [35], a VR learning platform was developed, and the framework was modelled and used with a number of experimental modules, including solar PV generation parameters and effects. Learners can explore the system's parametric and thermochemical characterisations in this VR application.…”

“…The majority of the students in both groups agreed with the usability of the virtual world according to 83% of the second group and 86% of the third group. Moreover, in [35], it was stated that VR learning provided students with a more integrative learning approach instead of using animations or conducting simple experiments, which improved students' motivation and enhanced their understanding of the concepts. VR also contributed to filling the gap between the theoretical approach and experimental activities in face-to-face education.…”

“…Among all the studies in our review, four studies did not evaluate the effectiveness of using virtual reality technology in solar PV education [35,37,42,47]. In addition, only five studies used a mixed methods approach that combined quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the use of virtual reality [36,39,41,43,45].…”

Visualising Climate Change using Extended Reality: A Review

“…There is a growing body of research on XR technology in education and training purpose. This technology allow educators to develop new tools for multi-sensory teaching that promote learning via guided haptic and visuals [7]. VR is fully contrived of computer-simulated images that produce an immersive virtual environment that obscures the real environment.…”