Up to this point the focus had been on the degree of realism in the pyramid, assuming that the more realistic it was, the more the students would enjoy exploring it and the more they would learn from it. Their suggestions for improvement do support this line of thinking, but the student who wanted text showed that he was accustomed to the non-realistic teaching devices common in books, where pictures and text are combined in a highly symbolic manner. His comment emphasised that we can never make assumptions about how students will learn best. Although an excellent simulation of the Great Pyramid may present information similar, in some ways, to a visit to the real thing, there is no reason to restrict the experience to simulation. In constructing their learning individually, some students may benefit from the addition of text or audio information.
Many students are, after all, accustomed to learning from multimedia presentations.
Virtus WalkThrough Pro could be used to upgrade the pyramid model in the ways suggested by the students. Collision detection would prevent movement through the passage walls. The texture options would give further realism to the pyramid and could be used to add text. Moving along the sloping passages of the Great Pyramid model reveals limitations in the Virtus navigation system. In order to follow a sloping path it is necessary to move stepwise with alternate horizontal and vertical movements.