Applying Virtual Reality to Business Simulations for E-Learning

William SauseJoseph WoodsideShahram Amiri

Stetson UniversityUnited States

wsause@stetson.edujoe.woodside@stetson.edu

samiri@stetson.edu

Abstract: Games and simulations have been a used to facilitate the student learning experience in the classroom for several decades. Business simulations date back to the 1950s, and since the late 1990s, computer-based behavioral simulations featuring the use of decision trees have become a standard form of e-learning. Recent studies have applied virtual reality to e-learning simulations in the areas of computer science, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and social science. This research in progress presents a virtual reality decision tree simulation that will aid business students in the learning of management information systems just as similar systems have done for other fields of study in the past.

Introduction

Games and simulations have been a used to facilitate the student learning experience in the classroom for several decades. Since the turn of the century, there has been a renewed interest in games and simulations due to the increased power and flexibility of computing technology (Gredler, 2001). More recently, virtual reality technology has been made available to the general public and thus has been applied to aid in the understanding of a variety of disciplines. Research has found that the majority of studies involving virtual reality in education has been focused on the fields of computer science, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and social science (Freina & Ott, 2015). However, there has been little attention on the use of virtual reality simulations in business education. This present research in progress presents a virtual reality simulation that was built using a popular gaming platform among students. Current two-dimensional simulation activities used in a collegiate-level management information system course will be discussed, as well as a proposed three-dimensional solution to help further enhance the students’ learning of the complex course material.

Business Simulation

Business simulations date back to 1955 with a game called MONOPOLOGS, which required its participants to perform as inventory managers in a simulation of an Air Force supply system (Faria, Hutchinson, and Wellington, 2009). Early business games were hand-scored and developed in simple form to keep the scoring tractable (Fritzsche & Burns, 2001). As discussed by Fritzche and Burns (2001), these simulations evolved to run on mainframe computers and later personal computers. Mainframes relieved the burden of hand scoring, while personal computers allowed for more complex games by taking advantage of visual aspects such as graphical user interfaces (Fritzsche & Burns, 2001).

An innovative technology introduced to the business simulation industry during the late 1990s was computer-based behavioral simulations featuring the use of decision trees (Summers, 2004). As described by Summers (2004), these simulations present the learner with a scenario that includes a goal and a story, and the learner is required to converse with computer-controlled characters within a story to achieve that goal. This is the current approach used in the management information systems course previously mentioned (Pearson, 2015). Students are asked to select the best response when conversing with the computer-controlled character which, in turn, determines the outcome of the story. At the end of the simulation, the student receives a score reflecting his or her understanding of the course material. All the visuals within the simulation are two-dimensional static illustrations with little to no animations. Some industry experts believe high-quality graphics

are essential for decision-tree simulations, especially for young learners who have grown up playing video games (Summers, 2004).

Virtual Reality in E-Learning

There has been much research in the area of virtual reality in e-learning in recent years. Past studies have shown that virtual reality can provide a distinct learning experience that can aid in comprehension of complex ideas and skills (Vogel, Greenwood-Ericksen, Cannon-Bowers, and Bowers, 2006). Examples of such systems include learning environments for healthcare education (Chow, Herold, Choo, and Chan, 2011), college chemistry instruction (Merchant et al., 2012), interior design (Meggs, Greer, and Collins, 2012), computer networking (Voss, Nunes, Muhlbeier, and Medina, 2013), foreign language (Berns, Gonzalez-Pardo, and Camacho, 2012), and science and ethics (Nadolny, Woolfrey, Pierlott, and Kahn, 2013). While these systems may have improved student learning capabilities in their respective disciplines, they all suffer from the limitations of the platforms upon which they were built, namely the Second Life and OpenSim virtual world applications. These programs generate visually rich environments which provide the user with a sense of realism; however, they require an enormous amount of bandwidth and processing power to run smoothly. While Second Life and OpenSim are still widely utilized in this area of research, many studies have turned to the use of Minecraft for the development of virtual reality e-learning environments. Minecraft overcomes the issues presented by Second Life and OpenSim by rendering virtual worlds using a series of cubes, or blocks, which reduces storage capacity as well as computation time (Lonneville et al., 2015). Past research has explored the use of Minecraft for e-learning solutions in the fields of biology, ecology, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, computer science, and geology and geography (Short, 2012) (Lim and Kho, 2013).

Using Minecraft to Build Business Simulations

This study uses Minecraft as a platform for creating virtual reality business simulations. The choice of Minecraft over other tools such as Second Life and OpenSim was due to the performance issues mentioned in the previous section. In addition, within Minecraft, environments are built by stacking blocks, which allows for a more rapid approach of constructing a virtual reality e-learning simulation. While a block-based environment can result in an unrealistic experience for the learner, this study utilizes a resource pack to apply lifelike images to the blocks to enhance realism. Minecraft is also well-suited for decision tree simulations such as those currently offered in the aforementioned management information systems course. The simulation created for this study is a three-dimensional version of a learning simulation packaged with the current e-learning system in the management information systems course. The current two-dimensional simulation presents the learner with an office-based scenario where she must interact with fellow employees in order to receive a promotion. The learner is given a variety of options to select from when conversing with a colleague. By the end of the simulation, the learner’s responses determine whether she receives the promotion. The learner must use the knowledge gained from the related chapter when selecting her responses. Minecraft provides the tools necessary to recreate this simulation in three dimensions. For instance, Minecraft gives the educator the ability to create worlds in game. While building in creative mode, the educator has an unlimited number of inventory items available to him. One such inventory item is called redstone, which is a source of energy or energy transfer that can be used to create everything from drawbridges to doors to flying machines and more (Brand & Kinash, 2013). In addition, Minecraft provides a command block which can execute in game command such as teleporting when applying redstone. This research uses a combination of command blocks, redstone, and signal sources (such as a button or pressure plate) to reproduce the choice selection functionality that drives the two-dimensional simulation currently used in the management information systems course. For example, when interacting with a computer-controlled character within the simulation, the learner is presented with a button for each response option that, when pressed, teleports the user to another part of the world (i.e., scenario). From the transported scene, the learner is again given a choice of responses from which to select. This process continues until the end of the simulation is reached.

In addition to teleporting, command blocks can also be used to have the characters talk to learner as well as look at the learner while addressing her. Similar to the teleportation command, the “talk” command must be triggered using a signal source connected to the command block via redstone. In this case, that signal source is a pressure plate placed on the floor that is activated when the learner walks upon it. The pressure plates are strategically positioned within the environment so the learner is unaware that she has activated it,

resulting in more natural means of interacting with the computer-controlled characters. Hence, when the learner approaches a character, the character will face the learner and begin to speak. Figure 1 illustrates a scene from the e-learning business simulation that includes a character interacting with the learner as well as a list of replies from which the learner can select in response to that character.

Another feature of Minecraft that is utilized in this research includes books. Once published, books are forever fixed in the world and can be read by visitors (Brand & Kinash, 2013). In this present research, books are used to provide the narrative of the simulation. The office-style resource pack that is used in this research displays books as tablet computers, as shown in figure 2.

Once the simulation was built, it was necessary to lock the environment so the learner could not add or remove blocks to or from the simulation. To accomplish this, it was necessary to convert the world to an adventure map. An adventure map is a quest to get from point A to point B, with certain restrictions to follow such as the inability to break blocks (“How to Create”, n.d.). This allows the learner to focus more on the objective, and not get distracted by the game playing functions of the Minecraft gaming platform.

Figure 1. Interacting with a character in the e-learning business simulation

Figure 2. Reading a narrative in the e-learning business simulation

Conclusions

This research in progress presented a virtual reality e-learning business simulation that was built using the Minecraft platform. It is anticipated that this system will aid business students in the learning of management information systems just as similar systems have done in the past for other disciplines. With many students already familiar with virtual reality systems, and games such as Minecraft, it is expected that they would embrace these activities and be more engaged with the assignment than with the current two-dimensional simulation offerings. A parallel comparison of the two systems (two-dimensional and three-dimensional) such as that reported by Berns et al. (2012) will be performed to measure the effectiveness of the research, in which scores resulting from both simulations will be used determine the impact on student learning. Future research will include additional features to further improve the learning experience such as audio and immersion via a virtual reality headset, thus giving the learner the perception of being physically present in a non-physical world (Freina and Ott, 2015). There are currently ongoing efforts to develop a version of Minecraft for Oculus Rift, the upcoming commercial virtual reality headset (Viswanathan, Lees, and Sloot, 2015). With these improvements, there is great potential to put more focus on virtual reality e-learning simulations to the field of business as there is currently within other areas of study.

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