Simulation & Virtual Reality (VR) as

Learning Technology

Sharaz Khan
Umeka Naidoo
Marc Goudreau
University of Calgary

Please Welcome Our Little Friend S.U.M.

(Clapping Is A Requirement ! )

What Is Simulation And VR Based

Learning?
Simulations model reality that can carefully and selectively represent
objects or situations (Aldrich, 2004).
It can also been consi dered an enactm ent in a testing platform
whereby learners are placed i n true-to- life roles while simulated
activities provide real world m odifications to occur for learning
purposes (Hertel and Millis, 2002).

Uses Of Simulation & VR Adoption In

Medicine And Education
Simulation-based training techniques, tools, and strategies can be
applied in designing structured learning experiences, as well as be
used as a m easurem ent tool linked to targeted teamwork com petencies
and learning objectives. It has been widely applied in fields such
aviation and the military. In medicine, simulation offers good scope for
training of interdisciplinary m edical teams.
In teacher training, i t provides realistic scenarios which allows for
retraining and practice till one can master the skill.

What Is Simulation Based Teacher Training?

It is a virtual classroom with virtual students
known as avatars that provides the opportunities
for cycles of testing and rehearsals.
It provides a scope of practice that helps
minimize risks of making mistakes in a real
classroom with real learners.
(Stavroulia, 2014)

Opportunities For Teacher Training Simulation

Simulations provide an opportunity for teachers to
practice their skills in order to better understand
their students needs and to improve student
performance.
It gives teachers insight to practice approaches to
diverse learner behaviour and learning disability
problems as well as allows a leeway to try out a
variety of viable techniques.
Additionally, it gives teachers a chance to further
evaluate their efficacies by assessing, reviewing
and adjusting their approaches (Gibson, 2007)

Benefits Of Simulation For Teaching Practice

1. Unlike a traditional setting simulation provides the
facility to carry out contexts and relationship cases
(Bailenson et al, 2008).
2. It can be used to investigate complex real-world
circumstances that cannot be resolved through
conventional models.
3. The flexibility feature allows learners to both enter
into a learning experience and also customize
experiences based on learner needs (Bailenson et al,
2008).
4. It permits what- if types of questions (Phrampus,
2011)
5. It allows learners to practice a variety of authentic
real-world systems where learners can develop their
teaching skills in a safe environment (Bailenson et al,
2008).

Barriers associated with the implementation of teacher based

simulation
Simulation is not a full substitute for the real life
experience as there is always the chance of vital
elements of a situation being left out.
In simulated environments, teachers tend to
conceal their emotions but in a real life
classroom, emotions are not prone to be
concealed (Bailenson et al, 2008).
Simulation continues to face many technological
challenges that obstructs the path of progress to
conformity to a real life classroom (Gibson,
2007).
The exploratory approach is likely to produce
varied results in different runs.

Example Of A Simulated Teacher Training

Class Video From The University Of Central
Florida

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9VVAFW1Rx8

The Need For Simulation In Medical

Education

Wrong Assessment

A long ER wait costs MJ her limbs. Doctors amputa te left ha nd,

fi ngers on r ight, both legs. Docs ma de her wait 5 hours a s fl esh
eating bacteria sprea d. Wrong a ssessment as less serious virus.

Treating The Wrong Patient

KH was gi ven CT of the abdomen even though she was 3 m onths

pregnant

Sponge In The Abdomen

NB left surgery with a sponge still inside his abdomen - a foot long by
foot long

Just Wrong

Hospital makes a w rong-sided brain surgery... for the third time in a

year..

Air Bubbles In The Blood

BF died on the day he was suppose to be discharged. He was sitting

upright when a central line from hi s chest was rem oved. The nurse put
a gauze to cover the hole in the chest. Air leaked in and formed
bubbles in the blood which cut off blood to m ajor organs. BF should
have been lying down and nurse should have sealed hole air-tight.

Wrong Slice

Medical students slice off part of newborns penis after m istaking it for
umbilical cord

Simulation In Medicine
Valuable or just playing with dolls
Should simulation be regulated?

Simulation In Medicine

Somewhere In The Irish Sea

TEAM
Interdependent
Common Goal
Specifi c roles and function
Trust

Before And After Medical Simulation

Training Studies

Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration (APGAR).

NPR - Neonatal Resuscitation Program

Simulation Learnings- Being Not Afraid To

PLAY - Ah-ha Moments

Tell them, show them, let them practice

Make sure your facilitators are not only content experts, but well seasoned
facilitators
Stick to the script in debriefing
Plan in advance - but be flexible
Make it FUN! dont be surprised if you see laughing - this is serious play
Dont be afraid of improvisation

Technology Enhanced Simulation

Systematic Review (Cok D et al,2011)
Positive effects on patient care

Quicker identification of pathology

Reduced patient discomfort
Increased Patient Survival
Reduced rate of patient complications
Increased disciplinary communication
Heightened situational awareness
Increased patient satisfaction
Simulation facilitates learning in healthcare

U s i ng L- PD C A As A G e n e r al F r a m e wor k Fo r Teac h in g An d
Eva lu a ti ng Th e L ea r n i ng I n ( Ed u c a tio n ,m e di c a l) Si m ul a ti on
Plan - executing the task / control the goal
Do - the (simulation) work actually gets done
Check - verifies the artifacts done
Act - with lesson learned, the next iteration begins

Robots - Simulation - L-PDCA - A Case

Study

Spaghetti Tower Activity Understanding L-PDCA And Team Work

The Challenge
To build the tallest free standing structure. It must support
marshmellow at the top of the structure.
15 minutes
20 sticks of spaghetti
1 yard of string
yard of tape
1 marshmellow

DE-BRIEF

Iteration/prototyping matters
Diverse skills sets helpful
Incentive magnify outcomes
Informal leader emergence
Situational awareness heightened
Team Trust increases

Historical Roots of Simulation & VR

Mid-late 1950s - Crude flight simulator systems developed for the US
military. (Holloway & Lastra, 1995; Vince, 1993)
1960 - 1962 Design of the Sensorama by Morton Heilig
1965 - Ivan Sutherland coins the phrase Virtual Reality and designs a
hardware based world construction with The Sword of Damocles and a
Head Mounted Display (HMD)
1971 - GROPE, a prototype forced feedback system developed at the
University of North Carolina.
1975 - Myron Krueger designs VIDEOPLACE - a conceptual
environment with no existence
1982 - Thomas Furness designs VCASS for US Air Force - an advanced
flight simulator with HMD.
1984 - VIVED (VIrtual Visual Environment Display) a stereoscopic
monochrome HMD developed by NASA.

Sensorama

Historical Roots of Simulation & VR

1985 - DataGlove and Eyephone HMD (1988)
designed by VLP Company. First commercial VR
device.
1989 - BOOM developed by Fake Space Labs Co.
1987-1990 - Architectual WALKTHROUGH application
developed by UNC.
1990-1992 - NASA develops the VIRTUAL WIND
TUNNEL with assistance of BOOM and Dataglove.
1992 - CAVE developed, stereoscopic images on walls
instead of HMD.
Mid 1990s - Augmented Reality (AR) developed to
assist pilots with HMD flight info. AR becomes a focus
of many research institutions.

NASA designed VIVED

Growth of Simulation & VR literature in Medicine

(Bradley, P, 2006)

Targeted growth of Simulation & VR in Medicine

Extracted from Bradley,

(2006).

VR and Simulation in Future Schools

Trends identified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD propelling reform
in schooling. (Robertson, 2005)

VR and Simulation in Future Schools

John Dewey argued that schools were built on a Fact Fetish,
something still largely true today. VR and simulation systems and
rapidly transforming schooling systems into learning by doing
institutions. This process is realized through VR and simulation as:
Initiation - ... epistemic games in which players learn
biology by working as a surgeon, history by writing as a
journalist, mathematics by designing buildings as an
architect or engineer, geography by fighting as a soldier,
or French by opening a restaurantor more precisely, by
inhabiting virtual worlds based on the way surgeons,
journalists, architects, soldiers, and restaurateurs
develop their epistemic frames. (Williamson et al.
2005., P. 9.)
Transformation - Many VR and simulation games are
designed to transform the ways of thinking of a
professional community, focusing instead on atypical
problems: places where ways of knowing break down in
the face of a new or challenging situation. (Williamson et
al. 2005)

We have reached the end of our presentation,

thank you for your attention!
Any questions.

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