Virtual Reality in Engineering Education: A CIM Case Study
Abstract: Instructors in technical schools, polytechnics, and universities of technology must continually help students find the links between theory and practice. Students often don't recognize the links among the various subjects they study, or the links among the various tasks they perform as they study. It is well known that students learn best by doing. This is especially true in science education where important concepts within the curriculum are acquired through experimentation and manipulation. Virtual Reality (VR) helps instructors motivate students to discover those essential links in a fresh, exciting educational environment which develops well-rounded thinking and real-world behaviors. VR has been shown to be an effective way of teaching difficult concepts to learners. VR system has been described in this paper. Applications of VR in education are discussed and a case study is given for the Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) course in Eastern Mediterranean University Mechanical Engineering Department.