Abstract:

Important and interesting achievements of TESLA project based on Virtual Reality learning forensic scenario are presented. The 3D platform developed by the project TESLA proposes an environment of innovative virtual reality for the education in Higher Education Institution from Palestine. The project has been funded by Erasmus Capacity Building program and was developed by four Palestinian universities (Al-Istiqlal University, Arab American University-Jenin, Al Quds Open University and Palestine Polytechnic University) in collaboration with three EU universities, (UPB from Romania, USA from Slovakia and UPAT from Greece). The paper presents the VR educational platform that could become a leveraging interaction among the students and educators, able to provide a solution for some taught courses where not only traditional learning is considered to be obsolete but also the current used technology is not sufficient to offer the optimal quality of teaching, for a certain category of courses where the human perception and immersion are two master components for learning, like crime-scene investigation in forensic domain. The innovative character of the project serves not only for Palestinian HEIs, but also addresses the challenges faced by the EU countries and whole world universities and training centers regarding e-courses, technological developments, and creating a global research framework for innovation and development regarding the integration of newest technologies into instruction and learning.

The educational platform presented in the paper comes with no risk, realistic scenarios for real-life study cases, and it can be accessed remotely saving time and money and offering perfect healthy solution for such pandemic period, when it became the only viable alternative. The virtual laboratory developed in the projects educational platform enables students to learn how DNA analysis is changing the way we fight crime. Students can explore the use of DNA fingerprints in criminal investigations. They must follow a problem-solving process of defining the problem, gather information/data, organize and analyze it, synthesize evidences and find problem’s solution.

The 3D course includes topics in forensic DNA profiling, sample collection, DNA extraction, DNA quantization and amplification. The process of DNA analysis is covered with emphasis placed on PCR technology.

The benefits presented by Virtual Reality in modern education is more than evident, especially in the context in which the Covid-19 pandemic forced large masses of students to be away from their classical learning environment, so the developed platform is a very useful one.

Keywords:

3D virtual world, learning technologies, teaching environments, virtual reality, DNA analysis, DNA laboratory, Forensic.