2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Designing and Evaluating Virtual Reality Applications for a Machine Design Course

Presented at MECH - Technical Session 5: Virtual Learning and Technology Integration

Machine design is an iterative decision-making process that requires students to select and assemble machine elements to create a device that performs a desired task. A machine designer must possess knowledge of basic physical sciences and familiarity with machine components such as shafts, pulleys, and bearings; creativity also plays a very important role. Machine (or Mechanical) Design is a required course in most undergraduate mechanical engineering programs to help students gain these complex skills. The large size of Machine Design courses and fixed classroom spaces make it logistically challenging to provide hands-on experiences for all students. It is commonplace, therefore, to teach machine design without physical machines, instead relying on images, 2D videos, and computer-assisted design (CAD) models to demonstrate the functionality of different components. While having students work in CAD is an important step in deepening their abilities with machine design, it puts students who lack familiarity with machine components at a disadvantage. Additionally, an important requirement for a successful design is to have a sense of dimension and how elements of different sizes can potentially work together. Without experiences where students can perceive actual sizes, it can be difficult to develop a sense of dimensional scale which can lead to misconceptions and the development of unrealistic designs.

Innovative technologies such as virtual reality (VR) offer potential solutions to the persistent challenge of learning about machine design without physically interacting with the machine components. A VR system can also provide information and insight beyond what a physical model allows. VR can enlarge small scale items or slow down fast mechanisms to allow the user to better interact and understand the device. At the same time, these technologies can vary significantly in terms of realism, time to create, learner experience, and impact on learning. It is especially important in working with these technologies that learning experience is prioritized and studied.

In this paper, we delineate the pedagogical requisites and learning objectives of a Machine Design course. We focus on the potentialities and constraints of current educational methodologies that employ images, CAD programs, and 2D video. Subsequently, we describe an innovative approach to develop VR applications undertaken in Spring 2023, where an engineering capstone group of senior students worked under the guidance of an instructor and a pedagogy expert to create a dedicated VR application for a Machine Design course. Furthermore, we present the evaluation of the influence of Virtual Reality (VR) on student learning outcomes during the Fall 2023 iteration of the course, utilizing a pre-post design with a quantitative approach. Our study also explores the correlation between students' previous exposure to innovative technologies and their self-efficacy in employing virtual reality within the context of the Machine Design course. This research showcases an innovative method of fostering student-led development of VR applications, rooted in sound pedagogical principles. By empowering students to create VR applications for their peers, we address a significant challenge in VR-based teaching: the development of customized applications and games.

Authors

Dr. Andrea Gregg http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-5588-8145 Penn State University [biography]

Dr. Gregg’s career sits at the unique intersection of instructional design, faculty development, educational technology leadership, curriculum planning, and educational research and evaluation. She is an established higher education professional with over twenty years’ experience in online, distance education. As the manager of an instructional design (ID) team responsible for the design, development, and support of nearly 150 courses, she worked with a diverse portfolio including STEM, Education, Law, and Liberal Arts disciplines. Faculty development has been a key responsibility throughout her career, having developed and taught faculty workshops across disciplines in online pedagogy and instructional technologies. She has teaching experience in online and residential contexts and was an adjunct instructor for the Learning, Design, and Technology masters’ program and taught for four years in the Communication Arts and Sciences department where course formats included large (180+) lectures, computer labs, and public speaking classes. She has led complex projects requiring collaboration among faculty and staff from across departments and campuses, including leadership for Penn State World Campus of the university-wide learning management system pilots. She previously co-led the University’s eEducation council comprised of instructional design leaders across the university and served on the provost’s online educational resources (OER) committee. In her current position as the Director of Online Pedagogy and an Assistant Teaching Professor in Penn State’s Mechanical Engineering department, she facilitates faculty development to maximize teaching and learning efficacy throughout the ME curriculum, with a primary focus on online learning. She is also responsible for leading quality instructional design for residential and online offerings; facilitating an activity community of practice for Mechanical Engineering faculty dedicated to continuous quality improvement in pedagogy; and leading and evaluating emerging educational technology innovations such as digital badges, adaptive learning, and learning analytics. She conducts research related to the scholarship of teaching and learning in Mechanical Engineering to improve practice in the department and contribute to the national and international Engineering Education research community through presentations and publications.
Dr. Daniel Cortes [biography]

Dr. Cortes is a mechanical engineer whose research is focused on the diagnosis of injuries and diseases in orthopedic tissues. He completed his Ph.D. studies at West Virginia University; then, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the school of medicine o
Dr. Ibukun Samuel Osunbunmi http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-7821-9059 Penn State University [biography]

Ibukun Samuel Osunbunmi is an Assistant Research Professor, and Assessment and Instructional Specialist at Pennsylvania State University. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Education from Utah State University. Also, he has BSc and MSc degrees in mechanical engineering. His research interests include student engagement, design thinking, learning environment, evidence-based pedagogy, e-learning, broadening participation in STEM education, sustainable energy, and material characterization.
Dr. Laura L. Pauley P.E. Penn State University [biography]

Laura L. Pauley, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, joined the The Pennsylvania State University faculty in 1988. From 2000 to 2007, she served as the Professor-in-Charge of Undergraduate Programs in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering. In 2003, Laura was recognized for her work in undergraduate programs by receiving the inaugural Undergraduate Program Leadership Award given at the university level. In 2005 she was selected as the first Arthur L. Glenn Professor of Engineering Education, the first engineering professorship at Penn State that recognizes accomplishments in engineering education.
Since January 2022, Laura is serving as the Executive Director of the University Faculty Senate at Penn State.
Minkyung Lee Penn State University [biography]

Minkyung Lee is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Learning and Performance Systems at Penn State University and serves as a Graduate Assistant at the Leonhard Center, an engineering education center at Penn State. Her academic journey and professional contributions reflect her dedication to the field of educational technology and design.

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