The Virtual reality electrical substation field trip: Exploring student perceptions and cognitive learning

Erdem Memik; Sasha Nikolic; Erdem Memik; Sasha Nikolic

doi:10.3934/steme.2021004

STEM Education

2021, Volume 1, Issue 1: 47-59. doi: 10.3934/steme.2021004

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The Virtual reality electrical substation field trip: Exploring student perceptions and cognitive learning

Erdem Memik ^{1
,},
Sasha Nikolic ^{1
,
,}

1.
Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

Received: 01 November 2020 Revised: 01 January 2021
Research article

COVID19 has disrupted many higher education's learning experiences, including those related to work integrated learning. This included the cancelling of the annual electrical engineering field trip to a local electrical substation. Field trips provides students an opportunity to connect their classroom learning with industry relevant engaging experiences. While virtual reality (VR) alternatives to electrical substations have been implemented and researched, the focus has been on the innovation and not on the educational benefits. The impact on learning is not well documented and understood. To address this gap an experimental study is conducted on fifty electrical engineering students at the University of Wollongong to determine if a VR replica of an electrical substation can provide an equal or better learning and student experience compared to traditional methods. A successful finding would provide confidence to implement such alternatives for situations that include: addressing COVID disruptions; for students that miss the field trip; and for providers that don't have the funds or resources to visit a substation. It was found that the VR substation simulation provided a comparable student experience and stronger cognitive learning benefits than traditional methods. Further research is needed to explore learning impact beyond the cognitive domain.
- electrical substation,
- field trip,
- Oculus Rift,
- unity,
- virtual reality
Citation: Erdem Memik, Sasha Nikolic. The Virtual reality electrical substation field trip: Exploring student perceptions and cognitive learning[J]. STEM Education, 2021, 1(1): 47-59. doi: 10.3934/steme.2021004

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Abstract

COVID19 has disrupted many higher education's learning experiences, including those related to work integrated learning. This included the cancelling of the annual electrical engineering field trip to a local electrical substation. Field trips provides students an opportunity to connect their classroom learning with industry relevant engaging experiences. While virtual reality (VR) alternatives to electrical substations have been implemented and researched, the focus has been on the innovation and not on the educational benefits. The impact on learning is not well documented and understood. To address this gap an experimental study is conducted on fifty electrical engineering students at the University of Wollongong to determine if a VR replica of an electrical substation can provide an equal or better learning and student experience compared to traditional methods. A successful finding would provide confidence to implement such alternatives for situations that include: addressing COVID disruptions; for students that miss the field trip; and for providers that don't have the funds or resources to visit a substation. It was found that the VR substation simulation provided a comparable student experience and stronger cognitive learning benefits than traditional methods. Further research is needed to explore learning impact beyond the cognitive domain.

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