23
Teaching with the VR-Mine is done within the framework of a flipped classroom concept:
students independently make appointments in the VR laboratory to visit the VR-Mine. In
these sessions, the students can go through specified chapters based on the curriculum to
study the relevant topics that will be dealt with elaborately during the presence phase. To
achieve the desired learning outcomes for the students, explanations are integrated into the
VR-Mine at suitable points, which can be queried via a menu or appear in the course of the
story line. The story line contains different subject areas and thus guides the students through
thematically delimited sequences. Self-tests are implemented at suitable points to reveal any
gaps in knowledge. This way the students receive direct feedback on their learning success. As
a final element, a reference work for the most important mining terminology is implemented
in the VR-Mine where the user can look up basic mining terminology.
After the independently organised self-study phase, a lecture is offered. The lecture serves
to answer questions of the students that have arisen during the self-study phase and to further deepen the knowledge of the subjects. Students can take screenshots in the VR-Mine and
add comments to them, which later serves as a basis for discussions in the lectures. This cycle
of self-study and presence phase is continuously repeated throughout the semester.
4 DISCUSSION
In the long run, the VR-Mine shall be implemented into the curricula of the mining engineering programmes at RWTH Aachen University and TalTech University and its content
shall be further develop. Also, a portfolio of different mine types shall be created. Once the
VR-Mine will have been curriculary implemented, the long-term effects on the set learning
outcomes in examinations and the way teachers adopt the new learning concept shall be
evaluated. This is to study the effectiveness of the implemented ‘from teaching to learning’
approach as well as the expected benefits of the application of VR in mining engineering
education. It is envisaged to digitalise all teaching contents of the mining engineering programmes where applicable to set the education in a modern context. On top of that, it is
expected that the possibility to visit various mining locations and the possibility to interact
with the VR environment will prepare prospective mining engineering for the job market
in a better way than conventional teaching. In a further step, the project results will be disseminated to generate positive effects of the ideas and finings at other universities and in
the industry. Lastly, the adaptation of the VR-Mine for training of workforce in mining
companies shall be investigated under consideration of aspects such as the reduction of
accidents and cost-effectiveness.
5 CONCLUSION
The education of mining engineers at tertiary level continues to have great international relevance due to the growing world population and the associated growing demand for mineral
raw materials. This paper describes the development of a virtual reality mining environment,
called the VR-Mine, to tackle problems that are associated with mining engineering education. The technology has been chosen due to the possible immersion, which is crucial when
it comes to understanding the complex 3D processes of underground mining. In addition,
VR can make a significant contribution to satisfying the aforementioned requirements as a
creativity-enhancing interactive setting with complex simulations in mining engineering. In
particular, intra-individual motivational aspects are taken into account, which are expected
to have a positive influence on current challenges such as non-adaptable basic literature and
the students’ lack of practical experience. So far, the didactic concept has been finalised, a
basic version of the VR-Mine has been built and a trial period in lectures is foreseen for the
summer semester 2019. The vision of the VR-Mine is to create a comprehensive 3D depiction of a mineralogical deposit into which the user can immerse and interact with the mining
processes related to the entire life of mine cycle.
Teaching with the VR-Mine is done within the framework of a flipped classroom concept:
students independently make appointments in the VR laboratory to visit the VR-Mine. In
these sessions, the students can go through specified chapters based on the curriculum to
study the relevant topics that will be dealt with elaborately during the presence phase. To
achieve the desired learning outcomes for the students, explanations are integrated into the
VR-Mine at suitable points, which can be queried via a menu or appear in the course of the
story line. The story line contains different subject areas and thus guides the students through
thematically delimited sequences. Self-tests are implemented at suitable points to reveal any
gaps in knowledge. This way the students receive direct feedback on their learning success. As
a final element, a reference work for the most important mining terminology is implemented
in the VR-Mine where the user can look up basic mining terminology.
After the independently organised self-study phase, a lecture is offered. The lecture serves
to answer questions of the students that have arisen during the self-study phase and to further deepen the knowledge of the subjects. Students can take screenshots in the VR-Mine and
add comments to them, which later serves as a basis for discussions in the lectures. This cycle
of self-study and presence phase is continuously repeated throughout the semester.
4 DISCUSSION
In the long run, the VR-Mine shall be implemented into the curricula of the mining engineering programmes at RWTH Aachen University and TalTech University and its content
shall be further develop. Also, a portfolio of different mine types shall be created. Once the
VR-Mine will have been curriculary implemented, the long-term effects on the set learning
outcomes in examinations and the way teachers adopt the new learning concept shall be
evaluated. This is to study the effectiveness of the implemented ‘from teaching to learning’
approach as well as the expected benefits of the application of VR in mining engineering
education. It is envisaged to digitalise all teaching contents of the mining engineering programmes where applicable to set the education in a modern context. On top of that, it is
expected that the possibility to visit various mining locations and the possibility to interact
with the VR environment will prepare prospective mining engineering for the job market
in a better way than conventional teaching. In a further step, the project results will be disseminated to generate positive effects of the ideas and finings at other universities and in
the industry. Lastly, the adaptation of the VR-Mine for training of workforce in mining
companies shall be investigated under consideration of aspects such as the reduction of
accidents and cost-effectiveness.
5 CONCLUSION
The education of mining engineers at tertiary level continues to have great international relevance due to the growing world population and the associated growing demand for mineral
raw materials. This paper describes the development of a virtual reality mining environment,
called the VR-Mine, to tackle problems that are associated with mining engineering education. The technology has been chosen due to the possible immersion, which is crucial when
it comes to understanding the complex 3D processes of underground mining. In addition,
VR can make a significant contribution to satisfying the aforementioned requirements as a
creativity-enhancing interactive setting with complex simulations in mining engineering. In
particular, intra-individual motivational aspects are taken into account, which are expected
to have a positive influence on current challenges such as non-adaptable basic literature and
the students’ lack of practical experience. So far, the didactic concept has been finalised, a
basic version of the VR-Mine has been built and a trial period in lectures is foreseen for the
summer semester 2019. The vision of the VR-Mine is to create a comprehensive 3D depiction of a mineralogical deposit into which the user can immerse and interact with the mining
processes related to the entire life of mine cycle.