ObserVAR: Visualization System for Observing Virtual Reality Users using Augmented Reality While virtual reality (VR) tools provide an immersive learning experience for students, it is difficult for an instructor to observe the studentsu0027 learning activities in a virtual environment (VE). Thus, it hinders interactions that could occur between the instructor and students, which are usually required in a classroom environment to understand how each student learns. Previous work has added virtual awareness cues that can help a small group of students to collaborate in a VE. However, when the number of students increases, such virtual awareness cues can cause visual clutter and confuse the instructor. We propose ObserVAR, a visualization system that allows the instructor to observe students in a VE at scale. ObserVAR uses augmented reality techniques to visualize each studentu0027s gaze in a VE and improves the instructoru0027s awareness of the entire class. The visualizations are then optimized to reduce visual clutter in the scene using a forcedirected graph drawing algorithm. In designing ObserVAR, we first investigated visualizations that can provide the instructor with an overall awareness of the VE that can be scaled up as the number of users increases. Second, we optimized the visualization of students by leveraging a graph drawing algorithm to reduce the visual clutter in the class scene. We compared the performance of our prototype with some commercially available user interfaces for VE classrooms. In our study, ObserVAR has demonstrated improvement and flexibility in several application scenarios.

Examining Student Response to Virtual Reality in Education and Training Virtual reality (VR) allows users to experience a virtual world in 3D by wearing a headset. This headset includes a screen and lenses to produce this effect. This study uses VR in a training context to test if the quality of preparation for laboratories in engineering education can be improved. A virtual version of a secondyear engineering lab was created to teach students the fundamental concepts involved, such that they are more prepared for the real lab. Unity was used to create the application, Blender was used to model the equipment, and Substance Painter was used to texture the models. Engineering students were tested before and after training, and their learning improvement measured. These students were split into two sets; the first used the VR, the second used the traditional briefing sheet. All students also answered a questionnaire to reflect their feelings on their given system of work. Students consistently showed a better improvement and therefore understanding of the lab when using VR. It was also seen that students gave more positive answers for the VR than for the briefing sheet in the questionnaire.