Applying Virtual Reality Technology to Geoscience Classrooms
Applying virtual reality (VR) technology to geoscience classrooms provides a new way to engage students. Visualizing geological information in 360 degree allows students to experience processes of the Earth and makes them feel like they are outside the classroom. This paper describes a convenient technique for making 360 degree VR environments specifically for geoscience classrooms. In comparison to traditional classrooms, this teaching method enables students to more easily comprehend how geological features occur in nature through a series of 360 degree outcrop scenes and 360 degree infographic images. The learning from using this VR environment in geoscience classrooms at the high school level is assessed. Results from three different high schools show that the learning gain of students is improved by 22 28% and the overall average post test scores are significantly higher than pre test scores at the p 0.05 level after using the VR environment in the classrooms. This technique could potentially benefit any science classroom and have applications in other disciplines requiring similar visualization techniques.