Game-based strategy to teaching electronic & electrical engineering in virtual worlds

In recent years there has been significant growth in the use of virtual worlds for e-learning. These immersive environments offer the capability to create complex, highly interactive simulations. Video games have entered the mainstream as an increasingly popular entertainment format. Virtual learning environments support teaching and learning in an educational context, offering the functionality to manage the presentation, administration and assessment of coursework activities. This paper will demonstrate how immersive virtual worlds can be used for a game based strategy to teaching electronic and electrical engineering using a collaborative team based competitive format. It will describe the linking and integration of a virtual world with an existing virtual learning environment and show how this approach was extended to include external hardware. The inclusion of real test instrumentation and circuits allows the students to understand the unpredictability of physical circuit behaviour, providing a more authentic and deeper learning experience. A demonstrative example of this approach is introduced and discussed.