Abstract:

The application of extended realities in the classroom has become increasingly popular in many institutions of higher and especially engineering education. It is often used to explore worlds and phenomena that usually remain hidden from students due to e.g. dangers or high costs. However, mostly the students in Engineering get to experience rather than develop those applications.

This paper explores the integration of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) projects into higher education for engineers. The course ‘x-realities’ is a lecture being held at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne (TH Köln). Real-life projects are integrated into the course for students where they can develop applications in VR or AR for different use cases in smaller groups. They are being tutored during the course and supported by staff members and work on xr-solutions for different real-life cases and stakeholders. Throughout the semester they also get to explore how to communicate within their own development group as well as real-life clients and potential users.

The rapid advancements in VR and AR technologies have opened up new possibilities for immersive learning experiences, particularly in engineering education. This study aims to investigate the benefits and challenges associated with incorporating VR and AR projects into the curriculum of engineering courses and shows how this can be done in a co-creative and project-based way.

The integration of VR and AR projects can enhance the learning process by providing students with realistic simulations, interactive visualizations, and hands-on experiences. These technologies enable students to explore complex engineering concepts as well as social encounters in a virtual environment, allowing them to visualize and manipulate objects, systems, and processes that are otherwise difficult to comprehend through traditional teaching methods.

Furthermore, VR and AR projects offer opportunities for collaborative learning and problem-solving. Students can engage in (project) group activities, where they work together to solve engineering challenges using these immersive technologies. This fosters teamwork, communication skills, and critical thinking abilities among future engineers.

To address these challenges, this paper proposes strategies for successful implementation of VR and AR projects in engineering education. These include partnerships with other stakeholders to access cutting-edge technologies and to design interdisciplinary projects, and providing support resources such as workshops and tutors for the students during the course.

Keywords:

Virtual reality, augmented reality, higher education, project-based learning, collaborative learning.