An Integrated Virtual Reality System for Distance Learning: the Virtual Workshop Project

Internet revolution has brought new communication media and education tools at School disposal: distance learning is one of its consequences. We've designed and developed a prototypal system for this purpose; it integrates into an internet browser two different techniques: Virtual Reality and Hypermedia. Virtual Reality represents a useful educational environment that permits to join traditional symbolicreconstructive cognitive modality with perceptive-motor cognitive modality improving learning processes and reducing investments, accidents and architectural barriers. Moreover, hypermedia systems have showed great benefits in the knowledge building according to the modern theory on reticulated structure of learning process. The hypermedia environment has been developed with the aid of a structured approach, using the HDM+ (Hypermedia Design Model). The authors have started the development of a prototypal system, based on Virtual Reality and Hypermedia integration (IVR-Integrated Virtual Reality), for machine-tools teaching to be applied in technical university and school environments. Starting from the first prototype, already exhibited in the previous 1996 edition of the International Conference on Education on Manufacturing, the actual prototype offers, for the first time, a tangible example of how it is possible to learn mechanical machining by the mean of Virtual Reality interaction supported by technical information, available according pre-defined didactic rules. Using an Internet browser (Netscape Navigator or MS Internet Explorer) the authors were able to integrate both the virtual and the hypermedia environments, thus allowing the user to switch from one to the other on request or automatically, according to given criteria. The future development foresees the experimentation of the first "beta" application in the classrooms. Finally, it is easy to understand that this application, if well designed in terms of kind of information, both textual and graphical, could be used in Industry for training, maintenance, pre-design and marketing activities.