Virtual Reality Simulations in Web-Based Science Education

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VRS IN WEB-BASED SCIENCE EDUCATION 21Table 1 A Level Analysis of the Earth Structure (Remedial Course: RC, Advanced Course: AC)*LevelInquiry ConceptUnit Sub-Unit Subject Learning-Type High Average Low High Average Low RC AC RemarksEarth Earth Earthquake Concept § § RC (enactive): anstructure interior wave electromagnetic waveInquiry § § AC(enactive): A draw of across-sectional of the Earth.Earth’s interior Concept § § RC (iconic): the damageof earthquakeInquiry § § RC (symbolic): the inferenceof structure in the Earth interior*The bold letters in remarks show inquiry ability required in the inquiry step.common standard for making VR easily distributedover the Internet. The world created from this softwarecan be displayed on the Web as fully interactiveenvironments, or embedded in 2D HTML pages on aPC.Worlds created in 3D Webmaster are fast,realistic, and highly interactive. URLs can be linkedto objects so that it can link directly from one virtualworld to any other 2D or 3D page on the WWW. Ascript language for desktop computers, the SuperscapeControl Language (SCL), helps to create realistic anduseful worlds to assign behaviors to objects in theworld, perform complex actions, and modify virtualworlds based on user’s actions in the HTML documents.3D Webmaster’s point-and-click interface cancontrol all movement, interaction, and object manipulationin the virtual worlds by using mouse andkeyboard, or a peripheral device such as a spacemouseor joystick.AWeb site for five virtual experiment laboratoriesis shown in Figure 3. In the following, we introducebriefly each of the virtual experiment laboratories.Meteorology VRSP: e.g., The Radiation Balance.A virtual experiment set-up for the radiation balanceof the sun is shown in Figure 4. Learners can understandconcepts of the radiation balance of the sunusing a temperature variation of a cup with the colorin proportion to the distance from a light source.Learners can move by dragging mouse if they want tomove a cup with a thermometer. If a button on the leftof the display screen is clicked after moving eachcup, a display screen in front will show increasingtemperature according to each cup.After exploring and interacting with the artifactson the virtual environment, learners can have a resultdata of experiment, make their own observations andunderstand a science concept or a tendency involvedin experimental data that the relation of a distance of alight source and the color of cup (light of a lightsource) reflects a cause of increasing temperature.Geophysics VRSP: e.g., The EarthquakeWaves. A virtual experiment set-up for the earthquakewaves inside the earth is shown in Figure 5. Thewaves and a value of velocity have been selected fromthe students, then they can explore features of eachwave selected in the 3D. The topic of earthquakewaves is a good example of abstract learning subjectsthat are difficult to learn.In the virtual experiment environments, learnerscan experience the abstract concepts taking shape inconcrete forms. Theoretically, this enables them tobuild a concrete mental model about the abstract
22 SHINFigure 3 A Web site for five virtual environment laboratories. [Color figure can be viewed in theonline issue, which is available at www.interscience.wiley.com.]information that the waves of earthquake have certainshape and a vibrating direction of medium.Figure 4 The radiation balance VRSP. [Color figure canbe viewed in the online issue, which is available atwww.interscience.wiley.com.]Geology VRSP: e.g., The Earth’s Crust Balance.A virtual experimental set-up for learning of the earth’scrust balance is shown in Figure 6. This VRSP wasdesigned to explore the earth’s crust floating on themantle. Learners can drop by dragging optional blocksin a water tank with a mouse button and observe thelength of blocks in the water tank according to the scaleand density of blocks on the 3D. We designed a visualsymbol as blocks of tree floating in a water tank inorder to create concrete metaphor of the earth’s cruststructure floating on the mantle. As Johnson points out,‘‘small-scale models of reality need neither be whollyFigure 5 The earthquake waves VRSP. [Color figure canbe viewed in the online issue, which is available atwww.interscience.wiley.com.]Figure 6 The earth’s crust balance VRSP. [Color figurecan be viewed in the online issue, which is available atwww.interscience.wiley.com.]
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Virtual Reality Simulations in Web-Based Science Education

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