Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

Recently online reality (VR) technologies have been developed extensively and have found applications from commercial to educational platforms. Integration of digital media into the classroom has engendered new forms of knowledge exchange and learning opportunities. Now VR environments are emerging as powerful tools for teaching and learning. VR applications have considerable learning affordances. They enhance spatial knowledge, understanding of scale relations, facilitate experiential learning, increase the level of engagement and motivation, and facilitate collaborative learning. However, in order to use VR for educational purposes, the relationship between VR and its potential benefits need to be further investigated. This study investigates the potential benefit of online reality studies in graduate level teaching in interior design. The study utilizes the models of both Delgarno and Lee (2010) and Chris Fowler (2015), a learning experience framework which is based not only on technological affordances, but which also includes pedagogical requirements. In order to understand the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Environments (VRE) in interior design learning, the following research questions frame our review: 1. How could VRE supplement or enhance spatial understating of interior design learners? 2. What is the level of effectiveness of VRE in interior design studies in terms of delivering learning objectives? The studio work was structured so that each learner was immersed in their own designed space through a high fidelity, totally immersive HTC VIVE™ online reality system. We observed an increased level of student motivation as the interior design VR Studio provided new ways of seeing, teaching, and learning.