eLmL 2013 : The Fifth International Conference on Mobile, Hybrid, and On-line Learning Simulating Forces Learning Through Touch, Virtual Laboratories Felix G. Hamza-Lup, Faith-Anne L. Kocadag Department of Computer Science and Information Technology Armstrong Atlantic State University Savannah, Georgia e-mail: felix.hamza-lup@armstrong.edu, fk4687@stu.armstrong.edu Abstract— With the expansion of e-learning course curricula We provide an overview of three haptic-based virtual and the affordability of haptic devices, at-home virtual simulators that can be merged into existing Edtech systems laboratories are emerging as an increasingly viable option for like Vista or MOODLE. These simulators take advantage of e-learners. We outline three novel haptic simulations for the the open source H3D API, creating three dimensional introductory physics concepts of friction, the Coriolis Effect, audiovisuals coupled with a tactile (haptic), interface. The and Precession. These simulations provide force feedback through one or more Novint Falcon devices, allowing students three simulations outlined in Section 2 augment the teaching to "feel" the forces at work in a controlled learning of Introductory Physics Concepts of: friction, the Coriolis environment. This multimodal approach to education (beyond Effect, and torque-induced precession [7]. the audiovisual) may lead to increased interest and immersion for e-learners and appeal to the kinesthetic learners who may II. BACKGROUND AND RELATED WORK struggle in a traditional e-learning course setting. A. E-Learning and Virtual Laboratories Keywords-Haptic simulations; e-Learning While the majority of e-learning programs are merely video, chat, and discussion board based, it is easy to see the I. INTRODUCTION prudence of elevating to a standard that may nurture and E-Learning has exploded in popularity in recent years, stimulate students’ curiosity and aptitudes. Creating an and for good reason. Both online and brick-and-mortar authentic learning experience has long been a concern of e- institutions offer an increasing variety of courses on the web learning course providers, and many experts agree that such to students from around the world. While the convenience an environment requires community, “experimentation and of an e-learning course is difficult to beat, instructors may action” [8]. struggle to retain students, keep them engaged, or know Haptic, or kinesthetic, learners are those who prefer a whether their students are fully grasping the material. more active approach to course materials [9]. Vincent and Furthermore, many courses do not always translate Ross estimate that these kinesthetic learners make up effectively into existing Edtech (Education Technology) approximately 17% of the population [10]. The integration platforms [1, 2]. of virtual laboratories into online Edtech platforms creates As virtual classrooms proliferate, the tools of trade environments where e-learners may both self-teach and continue to develop in tandem. Multimodal interactions are collaborate with others to maximize their learning potential especially important, and these novel and multidimensional [5]. approaches have been proven to increase user engagement, Brown, et al [11], argue that how a person perceives an interaction, and mastery of concept [3–6]. While these activity is dependent on their environments and tools. Thus virtual classrooms do not replace traditional face-to-face the implementation of haptics in e-learning may improve teaching models, they can augment these models and may experiments where the representation of material properties prove invaluable to e-learning course curricula. and experimentally relevant forces are of the utmost Haptics in computing refers to the addition of force importance [4]. Dudulean et al found that haptic feedback, feedback to the user through commercially available through a low cost and relatively small device, increased the hardware. Through this technology, users may engage their effectiveness of an interaction, resulting in students senses beyond their visual perceptions alone, allowing for a spending more time exploring the virtual objects, and more intuitive understanding of complex or abstract increased motivation, interest, critical thinking concepts. Haptics in virtual laboratories are particularly development, and problem solving [12]. While most haptic effective when touch is required for the correct simulations were designed to augment traditional comprehension of physical phenomena, variation of classrooms, Schaf, et al [6] went one step further to frequencies, medical procedures, engineering, virtual integrate their deriveSERVER (providing remote access to a museums, etc. [4]. virtual reality environment and also a real experiment) with Copyright (c) IARIA, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-61208-253-0 55 eLmL 2013 : The Fifth International Conference on Mobile, Hybrid, and On-line Learning a collaborative MOODLE interface for their engineering workspaces. The ideal collaborative learning environment for engineering education, according to Pereira et al [5], includes: a shared workspace for educational media and a theoretical material module (common to virtual learning environments), an immersive 3D social interface (like SecondLife), content adaptation to user feedback, integration of virtual labs or experiments, intelligent tutoring systems, teamwork and collaboration support, augmented sense immersion (beyond just sight, hearing, and touch), and Figure 1. Friction Simulation: Screen shot of simulation. serious game concepts – the use of game-like solutions that rotating disk at the bottom, center (Figure 1) that allows the capture attention and educate as they entertain [5]. While no such system yet exists, the continued incorporation of haptic user to rotate the scene to view it at different angles. technology into existing e-learning courseware may be a Students were given instructions on how to interact with great step toward providing distance learners an education a block on an inclined plane. A static frictional force acted more on par to that of students at traditional brick-and- on the block to impede its movement, while a kinetic mortar institutions. frictional force acted on the block as it moved. Users attempted to move the block via the haptic pointer. In B. Haptics APIs: H3D addition to the haptic force feedback from the Novint Falcon SenseGraphics’ H3D API is an open source, cross hardware, resulting force directions and magnitudes were platform development toolkit for creating visuo-haptic scene displayed visually through three dimensional arrows while a graphs [13]. It is released under the GNU GPL license with heads-up display stated the explicit magnitude values, as illustrated in Figure 2. commercial licensing options. The high level interfaces of An evaluative pre-test of the 86 participants showed that the API are X3D (another open source format) and Python. most students had only a rudimentary knowledge of static While X3D provides the 3D graphics vocabulary, Python and kinetic friction, with the average score being 36.7% describes the application’s user interface behavior [14]. (random chance would yield a score of 19.7%). Most importantly, H3D allows for rapid prototyping and After the pre-test, the students attended a 50-minute supports a wide range of haptic devices. conventional lecture about static and kinetic friction. The lecture was followed by a post-test, and students were split III. CASE STUDIES into two groups with equivalent post-test results. The three physics demos outlined herein were developed with the intention of augmenting the introductory (calculus- based) physics curricula at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia. While the simulations have not yet been implemented into an online e-learning system, expansion into that realm would be an immediate future extension. Each of the case studies below employed one or more Novint Falcon devices. This device, classified as a game controller, was chosen because of its robustness, relatively small working volume, commercial availability, and increasing affordability. Currently, one can purchase one such device (with the standard features) on the Novint website for the same price as a HD web cam [15]. A. Concept: Friction The Friction demo, detailed in [7], provides a carefully controlled environment where students can perceive the effects of static friction, kinetic friction, slope inclination (and gravity by extension), mass, and user-generated forces on the movement of a block on an inclined plane. While the virtual environment is 3D, the block movement on the inclined plane is restricted to one dimension to facilitate user control. The three dimensionality of the simulation ultimately comes into play through manipulation of the Figure 2. Friction Simulation: Force magnitudes represented as arrows, as the user pushes the block up. The dot on the topmost image near the block represents the position of the haptic pointer. Copyright (c) IARIA, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-61208-253-0 56 eLmL 2013 : The Fifth International Conference on Mobile, Hybrid, and On-line Learning Figure 3. Average Test Scores For Haptic vs. Traditional Lab Groups [7] Figure 5. Coriolis Quiz Score Comparisons After the division into groups, group A performed lab experiments using the visuo-haptic simulator while students 24 undergraduate students taking Principles of Physics I in group B performed similar experiments in a traditional at Armstrong Atlantic State University were divided into laboratory setup. Afterward a final test was administered, test four groups of six students. GPAs between groups were score normalized gains were calculated as similar. All groups were given supplemental reading material and a video on the Coriolis effect. Group 2 (Test 3 – Test 2) / (100 – Test 2). (1) participated in a visual simulation with no haptic feedback. Group 3 participated in a visuo-haptic simulation involving Figure 3 illustrates the efficacy of the haptic simulation force feedback. Group 4 was given a tutorial on the use of over traditional teaching methods regarding frictional force the haptic devices, then participated in a visuo-haptic concepts. The normalized gain of group A was 0.182, while simulation with force feedback. All groups were quizzed the gain was slightly negative for group B at -0.011. Not and given subjective assessment questionnaires at the end. only were average test scores higher among the student users As shown in Figure 5, the groups that participated in the of the simulation, but overall student curiosity and attention visuo-haptic simulation showed a 15% advantage in quiz measured in an attitude survey were superior to those who scores over the groups only given reading material and a had not used the setup. video. The group that participated in a simulation without B. Concept: The Coriolis Effect haptic feedback only showed a 10% increase in quiz scores. The Coriolis effect is one of the more complex concepts A tutorial on the haptic hardware prior to the simulations to convey to introductory students. It is a phantom force that did not affect quiz scores, proving either the tutorial appears to alter the path of an object in juxtaposition of ineffective or unnecessary. Both test scores and students' another spinning frame of reference. A plane flying south subjective assessments reflected the positive benefits of the from the North Pole would appear to be deflected to the simulation, including increased student engagement and right (or westward) because of the Coriolis effect. grasp of abstract concepts [16]. The Coriolis application attempts to illustrate the C. Concept: Precession concepts of this perceived force through a simple simulation Torque-induced precession refers to the wobble that where the user attempts to push a ball into a goal (using the occurs when a spinning object’s axis of rotation shifts in Novint Falcon haptic device) within a spinning frame of orientation because of an applied torque, or rotational force. reference. While the background of the simulation spins, Precession is often observed in spinning tops and users feel a deflecting force (representing the Coriolis gyroscopes. Precession, and its relationship to angular effect) parallel to the direction of rotation. Users are forced velocity and angular momentum, is an important abstract to compensate for this force to score a goal (as illustrated in concept that is not always immediately understood, Figure 4). especially by kinesthetic learners. The Gyroscope application In contrast, users may appreciate the change in “feel” provides force feedback through an interactive gyroscope without the Coriolis effect - second simulation. The second that tilts as it spins (Figure 6,7). simulation implements a glider (instead of a ball) that is not affected by the surface friction of the ground, thus mimicking a static (non-rotating) frame of reference. Figure 4. Coriolis Simulation: Ball and Glider Simulations Figure 6. 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