Using Virtual Reality To Facilitate Teaching-Learning Of Technology Innovation Systems

Virtual Reality is a key tool for educators to enhance the teaching-learning process. After the pandemic, academia confronted the situation of how to find new ways to teach students to keep them interested and motivated. While plenty of studies are related to the use of innovative technologies in education, only a few specifically discuss novel teaching resources for engineers soon to graduate. To fill this gap, this study presents an exploratory approach based on the use of Virtual Reality, which is seen as a tool that will bring new opportunities for their future professional careers. For this, the course on Technology Innovation Systems, which belongs to an Industrial Engineering major from a private University in Mexico, is presented. Results show that students were motivated to do their best in the assignments delivered if they experienced Virtual Reality and in addition, it promoted more integrated and collaborative work. This research adds value to people who want to be on the front line of education by introducing new technologies for students in the final part of their studies.


INTRODUCTION
Virtual Reality (VR) can be defined as a 3D simulated environment entirely generated by multimedia technology [1] through the development of human-machine interface technologies, artificial intelligence, and sensors [2].VR aims to provide an illusion of an alternate reality by offering different levels of immersion, stimulating the human senses with 3D sound, views, and even artificial smells depending on the specific technology [1], [2].It involves imagination, immersion, and interactivity, leading to a superior experience that enables users to explore and manipulate objects in virtual environments [3].
This technology has gained significant support in fields such as gaming and product design; moreover, it has also been introduced in fields such as medical, military, sports, and educational [4].The use of VR as a pedagogical tool has gained popularity over the last few years, precisely in engineering education [5].Recent studies indicate increased use of virtual classrooms to complement or even replace conventional learning environments, where cognitive and skill-based learning have been favored [5].VR as a pedagogical resource contributes to teaching-learning processes by increasing student motivation, engagement, active learning, and interactivity while providing professors with the opportunity to offer a reproducible environment that can be used no matter time and place.In addition, VR minimizes risks when dealing with dangerous products or processes and allows users to work simultaneously or at different times [6].
Current VR environments encompass different experiences that facilitate educational research and the teaching-learning relationship through four principal characteristics: actional, sensory, narrative, and social, which directly impact the pedagogic strategies used for immersive reality environments [7], [8].
In particular, the sensory characteristic allows students to have a visual and motor experience through movement tracking that give them synchronicity and sense of the situation [9]; while the narrative and social characteristics enable students to situate and experience the context in which they are carrying out the activity [10], facilitating them to establish and determine the situation or scenario.VR provides students with new ways to solve problems, where they can not only apply their prior knowledge but share it and get feedback from others in the same virtual space [7].In education VR also influences learning by shifting abstract theory into intuitive and perceptual knowledge.This can be visualized in courses that require complex competencies that are difficult to develop.Specific infrastructure and equipment conditions are frequent obstacles that affect experimental knowledge.VR contributes to overcoming these limitations by rendering three-dimensional virtual models where manipulation of models emulating reality is possible.Consequently, it represents an attractive alternative in education to mimic complex processes that require high-cost equipment and maintenance [3].Determining the importance of virtual reality in professional careers.a As the pandemic progressed some activities changed.
in Mexico.This University has more than 20 campuses across the country and link offices around the world.And it has a big commitment to implement innovative educational technologies with the support of its Center for Teacher Development and Educational Innovation (CTDEI).In this case, the VR Teaching-Learning strategy was designed and implemented for the first time in the Feb-Jun 2020 semester in a course on Technology Innovation Systems for Industrial Engineering students, who were soon to graduate.
Collaborative Learning (CL) was selected to support this teaching-learning strategy since it enables students to create an educational environment where they develop and learn by exchanging prior knowledge and cooperation [11].CL also facilitates students to have an active role in their education, enhancing new skills and competencies [12], which was particularly necessary due to the pandemic.Specific collaborative team activities were designed to promote creativity and innovation, guided by the professor utilizing different digital resources.
Moreover, including VR in this teaching-learning experience offered a range of benefits that improved student engagement, curiosity, and learning outcomes by developing environments customized to the student's competencies, interests, and abilities [13].The main objective was to encourage the teaching-learning process using innovative technology, in this case, VR.
In January 2020, the campus where this strategy was implemented was still open, since the pandemic was starting in Mexico, and the students could go to the library or even to the Virtual Reality Zone Lab, a specific place designed for this purpose.This private university was one of the first in the country to start with the lockdown which occurred in March 2020.When it was no longer possible to attend the campus, the VR activity evolved according to all the changes the pandemic brought.To accomplish the goals established in the VR activities, during the lockdown the students used their own VR glasses or developed their assignments with tutorials.
Gravity Sketch was selected as the VR resource to explore, as it is an intuitive 3D design platform that promotes collaborative and problem-solving skills [14].The VR Teaching-Learning strategy was based on a hypothetical scenario where the students performed as Entrepreneur Engineers who had to develop a product, process, or even an innovative logo with the use of VR.This strategy provided an environment for students to experiment with a tool that was cost and time-efficient, and it helped improve their understanding of both virtual and real scenarios [15], [16].

METHODOLOGY
To explore and analyze the implementation impact of the VR activities in the teaching-learning process the course Technology Innovation Systems, two experimental groups applied the following tasks: The students were evaluated with progress deliverables and with the final presentation of their designs, considering their research and experience with the VR activities.Teacher support was available during the entire course, and the assignments were performed under a proactive approach.The VR strategy allowed the students to adapt their learning to their designated tasks, where each student decided how to explore the application of VR and focus on the areas that seemed most important and challenging to them.VR encouraged the teaching process by providing an immersive, handson, and interactive experience that stimulated interest, improved information retention, promoted active learning, and adapted to individual student needs.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The impact of the VR Teaching-Learning strategy was evaluated with student deliverables where evidence including photographs, videos, research, and the final design were presented.A Fulfillment Scale was designed to evaluate their performance in each VR activity (Table 1) on a 100 scale.In addition, a Satisfaction Scale was also introduced to assess the students qualitatively; for this aim, rubrics for each VR activity were determined to analyze student performance and their progress according to the deliverables presented.Figure 1 shows some of the activities developed at the VR Zone Lab.
73 students participated in these activities working in teams, and only 10% obtained a score of less than 90 points on a 100-point scale, which implies that 90% had a good understanding of the subject, the problem, and the solutions that were required as assignments.
As the previous table shows, the students who fulfilled the VR activities exhibited superior performance in comparison with students who did not fulfill this activity.Only one student obtained a score of 83; the rest obtained a minimum score of 90.However, The insights gained from this study show that the use of innovative technologies such as VR facilitates the teaching-learning process.Collaboration, creativity, and efficiency were present in the student's assignments.VR enabled students to find new ways to innovate, which is an essential task for their future professional development.The VR Teaching-Learning strategy has evolved since its first implementation in 2020, adapting to new conditions.Since then, approximately 200 students from the Technology Innovation Systems course for Industrial Engineers soon to graduate have benefitted from this strategy.

CONCLUSION
Virtual Reality is now a reality that academia faces.It is gaining an increasingly important role in education as it empowers students to be more motivated and learn in a more attractive way.The present study explores a case of VR used in the Technology Innovation Systems course, which belongs to an Industrial Engineering major, for students soon to graduate.The VR Teaching-Learning strategy was created and introduced for the first time in this course when the pandemic started, and it continued virtually once the lockdown arrived.As the pandemic progressed, this activity had to be adapted accordingly.Despite the difficulties that the pandemic brought, students perfected their learning process and those who fulfilled the activity obtained very good grades.VR has been a fundamental part of the teaching process, offering students an immersive, experiential, and interactive learning experience.It stimulated their interest by captivating attention and actively engaging them, while also enhancing their ability to assimilate knowledge.
Moreover, this innovative technology promoted active learning, enabling students to participate in hands-on activities and problemsolving scenarios.Additionally, VR adapted to individual needs, providing a personalized educational journey that considers their unique learning styles and preferences.
The limitations in this research relate to the characteristics of the student's assessments given that this is an exploratory study.To develop this further it is suggested to introduce different qualitative and quantitative instruments to have an integral evaluation of the learning outcomes.Another improvement would be to consider a larger sample of students.
The pace of technology is rapidly accelerating, and academia should bring new solutions to educate future professionals.This research contributes to people interested in using VR to facilitate the teaching-learning process.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Examples of students performing the VR activities at the VR Zone Lab.

Table 1 :
VR Collaborative Activities a

Table 2 :
Results and Evaluation of the Exploratory Groups