2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BOARD # 79: Student-led VR Content Creation for Engaging Engineering Learning

Presented at Computers in Education Division (COED) Poster Session (Track 1.A)

This paper documents a student-led Virtual Reality (VR) content creation proof of concept funded as a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplement to an existing NSF-funded project. The original NSF project focused on faculty professional development using a community of practice model to foster the integration off-the-shelf VR contents in introductory STEM courses with the aim to enhance student engagement and improve STEM educational outcomes. A critical barrier identified amid the project was the lack of pedagogically sound, learner centered VR contents for the field of study in electrical and computer engineering (ECE). This REU project was then initiated by two motivated students who were enrolled in the redesigned, VR-integrated introductory ECE course, i.e., ECE90 - Principles of Electrical Circuits. Disappointed by the 3rd-party VR content they experienced, they went on teaching themselves VR content creation using the Unity game engine and C# programming language, developed a VR prototype (entitled MetavoltVR), and conducted user experience evaluation and learning assessment with peer students in ECE. As a proof of concept, this paper explored how student-led development of VR content and experience might offer a solution to a common obstacle faced by many STEM educators who are interested in exploring VR, which is the lack of readily adoptable VR content. This study contributes to better understanding the role and impacts of learner-as-creator/co-creator in engaging student learning in educational technology-integrated learning environments.

Authors

Nicholas Cameron Amely http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5179-8783 California State University, Fresno [biography]

Nicholas Amely is an undergraduate electrical engineering major at California State University, Fresno. He is a published author, and has been conducting research with Fresno State Lyles College of Engineering faculty since Spring of 2022. His research and project experience is in Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and robotics, and has led 8 research teams throughout his undergraduate journey thus far. These research teams have developed projects in the agricultural technology, educational extended reality (XR), automation and transportation, and plasma treatment sectors. He has had three internships, one with Northrop Grumman as a systems engineering intern, one with Strategic Energy Innovations as a research assistant intern, and a final one with Honeywell Aerospace as an electrical hardware engineering intern. Upon graduation, he plans to expand his knowledge and experience in robotics, machine learning, and VR app development with a Master's degree while working in the technology industry.
Dr. Wei Wu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7024-3812 California State University, Fresno [biography]

Wei Wu, Ph.D., is a Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Construction Management at Lyles College of Engineering at California State University, Fresno. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Built Environment and Equipment Engineering from Hunan University in China in 2004, Master of Science in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford in the UK in 2005, and Doctor of Philosophy in Design, Construction, and Planning from the University of Florida in 2010. Dr. Wu's teaching interests include Construction and Engineering Graphics, Design Visualization, Design-Build Project Delivery, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Advanced Planning and Pre-construction, and Construction Management Senior Capstone. He received the 2018 Teaching Excellence Award of the Associated Schools of Construction (Region 7) and the 2019 Provost Award in Innovation from Fresno State. Dr. Wu's research focuses on BIM, educational technology, extended reality (XR), and construction and engineering education. He has published more than 70 articles and conference proceedings in these areas. Dr. Wu's research has been funded by regional and federal agencies, including National Science Foundation (NSF) grants on XR-enhanced active and authentic learning and faculty professional development for more effective XR integration in STEM teaching and learning.
Jesus Leyva California State University, Fresno

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