Virtual reality learning environments for vocational education: a comparative study with conventional instructional media on two-stroke engine

Abstract

Virtual reality technology has been adopted as a modern learning media in vocational education. Nowadays, the practical learning needs complete equipment and tools to achieve the goal study. However, the conventional media requirement is a challenge for academician for learning process, specifically in automotive and machine areas. Virtual reality provides a solution for this problem, but still needs proper analysis on the impact of usability between conventional and VR media to which each learning objective is achieved. The case study used in this research is a two-stroke engine, which is currently a rare item in the real world. We replicated this two-stroke engine in the developed VR system using Unity game engine and Oculus quest. A comparison on the usability effectiveness on conventional and virtual reality methods was conducted using cognitive walkthrough, which follows the four steps of learning objective training. The result shows that three out of four learning objectives are similar with conventional objective training. One of the process on preparation for disassembly machine has slight difference with conventional training; faulty engine due from environment elements (liquid, rusty iron) was not included.