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Enhancing the student learning experience through interactive virtual reality simulation

05 August 2011
Features
02 August 2011
Volume 3 · Issue 8

Abstract

A virtual simulation workshop took place at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) in 2010 as part of a small project funded by the UH Learning and Teaching Institute. The project saw the development and implementation of an innovative virtual simulation package (virtual paramedic scene management software). The project was a joint venture combining teams from the School of Health and Emergency Professions (paramedic science) and the School of Computer Science (real-time 3D team). Learning from simulation is already well established at UH through the Hertfordshire Intensive Care and Emergency Simulation Centre (Alinier, 2007). Together with existing education and training for clinical skills and patient assessment and management, it was envisaged that introducing virtual e-learning might complement those approaches. This brief report serves to share our experience with those who may be considering using virtual reality scenarios as a teaching/learning approach in the future.

Virtual simulation software was designed and a workshop run for a mix of year two BSc honours and year one foundation degree paramedic students, with a focus on scene management. The key aims of the project were

The value of this learning, through the use of virtual scenarios, is that the students can practice in an environment that would be difficult to produce in real life. The work of researchers such as Knight et al (2010) suggest that virtual technologies offer the potential to enhance learning and improve subsequent performance when compared to traditional educational methods and Parvati et al (2007), who examined virtual training in anaesthetics, consider that the opportunities are immense for the use of virtual worlds in training for optimal performance and error reduction.

Simulation is situated within experiential learning, which is seen as an important part of professionally orientated degree programmes and can provide educators with an experiential teaching strategy (Cioff, 2001; Beaty, 2007).

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E-learning
Scene Management
Virtual Reality Software
Virtual Simulation