Virtual Reality and Education Laboratory
East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina USA

Note:  Janet McLendon was the first participant in the VR and Schools Project.

Janet used Virtus WalkThrough to teach her 5th grade mathematics class about pyramids.  To initially prepare the class for using Virtus WalkThrough, she chose 5 of her most computer-literate students and taught them how to use the program after school, the day before the lesson was given.  On the day of the lesson, Janet administered a pretest.  The pretest required the student to draw the top, bottom, front, and corner (edge) of a pyramid.  Each of the 5 students showed a group of 4 students how to use the program and how to draw a pyramid.  The group was allotted 10 minutes.  A timer bell rang at 7 minutes and 10 minutes.  Each student in the group was given the opportunity to work with the pyramid, moving furniture and other objects into the pyramid, walking around inside, looking at it from different perspectives outside. When the group was finished, they were administered a posttest.  Results from analysis of the pretest-posttest were good.  The greatest improvement in understanding was in drawing a front view.  It was missed by 16 of the 19 students on the pretest, but 13 drew the front view correctly on the posttest.  Eight students correctly drew a corner (edge) on the posttest who had missed it on the pretest.  Six students correctly drew a bottom view of a pyramid who had missed it on the pretest.  Five students correctly drew a top view on the posttest who had missed it on the pretest.

On the end-of-year test for 5th grade math, an X in a square was one of the choices on the test.  The correct answer was the top view of a pyramid.  The students pointed knowingly and chuckled as they answered the question.  It is quite probable that the students would not have reacted with such delight had they not seen the view in virtual reality.  Janet submits the following report:
 

The program was a different type of learning and was new, and therefore left an impression that lasted.  Here are the objectives from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study we met using VR:
 
2.1 Use concrete and pictorial representations, and appropriate vocabulary to compare and classify polygons and polyhedra.

2.2  Create models of polyhedra (cubes, cylinders, rectangular prisms, pyramids) using a variety of materials.

2.3 Use designs, concrete models, and computer graphics to illustrate reflections, rotations and translations of plane figures and record your observations.
 

So, we have used VR to meet three objectives.

Virtual reality is being used by Debi Hamill at Belvoir Elementary School with her 2nd grade class.  Debi has used Virtus WalkThrough with a dyslexic child to teach directionality.  She files the following report:

Teachers are finding new and creative ways to help students using virtual reality.  VR offers teachers new tools that allow them to show students concepts in brand new ways.  In VR, students can work in 3-D and on a plane field simultaneously.  This is a new way to help children who have difficulties transferring skills learned kinesthetically through movement to the more abstract pencil and paper activity.  This new "dimension" coupled with the ability to provide the student with immediate visual feedback for fine motor movement makes VR a great new way to help students who are challenged with movement to paper transfer.

This VR Model, made with Virtus WalkThrough, consists of three boxes with the center being the largest box.  These boxes were drawn with the square box tool  set at the opaque setting.  Two smaller boxes of different colors were constructed that connect to each side of the box.  It would probably be best if the center box were a neutral color, such as gray, so that the contrasting color of the side boxes were more predominant and the center box was not a visual distraction for the student.

This model is also being used in elementary schools to help students who have hand/eye orientation problems or directionality problems that affect their use of manipulative devices or other VR learning activities.  The student is asked to use the mouse to move the
observer toward one side of the box or the other using the colors as a code (i.e., move toward the red box).  The immediate visual feedback on the screen of the tactile movement of the mouse helps this type of learner to evaluate hand/eye movement relationships and begin to find "compensation" techniques for the learning disability.  This left/right mouse exercise, once mastered, can then be related by steps to other learning activities that are problematic for the student due to directionality confusion.

Debi Hamill is a second-grade teacher at Belvoir Elementary School in Greenville, North Carolina.

Using VR is an exciting way to teach.  I teach technical mathematics at Jones Senior High School in North Carolina.  Using Virtus WalkThrough, the students created an environment and then found the dimensions.

The students made up their own scale (e.g., 1 block on the grid equals 2 feet).  Then the students calculated the cost to paint the room or to put carpet in the room.  The students used newspaper ads to find the cost of paint or the floor covering.  The students found the area, had to figure how much material they needed and the cost.  Some students even figured in the cost for labor.

There are endless possibilities with VR in the math class. The problem I have is having enough computers!  The students really enjoy VR and are glad to help each other.

Fred Bisel is a math teacher at Jones Senior High School in Trenton, North Carolina.

Rich Gallo teaches technology at Pender County Middle School.  He submits this description of his planned VR activities with Virtus WalkThrough:

The students will be designing a bridge on paper first and then use the program to design their bridge in a VR world.  After using the program, the students will then build the bridge using basswood.  The students are very excited about using the program.

Last Modified January 3, 1998