Virtual Worlds, Real Skills

Since the coronavirus pandemic, digitalization has profoundly changed the university landscape. While RWTH managed to digitize lectures almost effortlessly during the pandemic, there was one key challenge: How is it possible that students not only accumulate knowledge in a virtual environment, but that they also develop practical skills that are essential for their future professional success?

One possible answer to this is Anywhere Academy. Developed at the RWTH Academic and Research Department Engineering Hydrology, Anywhere Academy is much more than just a digital classroom. It is a free, open-source platform for avatar-based teaching and learning using virtual reality (VR). By making all its content available as Open Educational Resources (OER), the platform embodies both technological progress and a profound educational policy to make knowledge and learning innovation freely accessible. The vision is clear: to provide immersive learning for all University courses and to build a bridge between theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

The core of the VR doctrine is immersion and interactivity

The decisive advantage of Anywhere Academy lies in the consistent use of the advantages of virtual reality technology, which is based on the two pillars of immersion and interactivity.

Deep immersion: VR enables learners to experience content more intensively and without the distractions of everyday life. Being deeply immersed in complex topics promotes concentration and enables a level of mental presence that is often difficult to achieve in conventional learning environments. When students are physically immersed in a virtual world – be it a conference room or in a complex hydrodynamic model – the learning situation becomes more real, and the students can retain more of what they have learned. This goes beyond just watching a video or reading a piece of text; it is real, physical involvement in the learning process.

Total interactivity: Unlike traditional computer interfaces, which are limited to a mouse and keyboard, VR allows interaction with the entire body. Virtual objects can be touched, moved and operated. It also means that these objects can actively play a part in designing processes. This hands-on learning means that students can develop skills in a safe environment. In the case of engineering, for example, this means mastering dangerous situations in a safe environment or facing situations that only really likely to be experienced in exceptional circumstances.

The Learning Experience Design (LXD) method is used for this. LXD combines insights from pedagogy, psychology and user experience design to create innovative learning environments that lead to better learning outcomes and higher motivation.

From avatars to experts: Using VR to acquire skills

The core of Anywhere Academy, and its central contribution to university teaching, is the creation of learning environments that specifically promote the acquisition of certain skills. The following are some examples that are already being used in teaching.

The role-playing scenario: Mastering presentation and communication skills

The role-playing scenario is an excellent learning environment. Here, prospective engineers can improve their communication and presentation skills in role plays – these are essential soft skills that are required in modern working life.

A safe space to practice: The VR Hall offers a formal setting, such as might be present during a discussion with the general public. Students can experience and learn how to control a confrontational situation, and they learn which types of behavior are never acceptable. Making mistakes is not only allowed here, rather they are explicitly welcome, since they are part of the learning process.

Virtual role play: The virtual role play allows students to develop their skills without fear of negative social consequences. They learn to deal with uncertainties and communicate their arguments in a structured way.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): Currently, these role plays still require a lecturer to be present. In the near future, Anywhere Academy will also provide AI-based sparring partners with whom students can communicate. Then you can decide for yourself what type of opponent you would like to face off against during the discussion. Behind this is an avatar that is connected to a special knowledge base based on Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) techniques. This knowledge base is specifically designed for communication techniques. RAG technology enables AI models to retrieve and analyze relevant documents or data before generating answers in order to provide answers that are both creative and which are supported by verifiable facts.

The mobile flood protection wall: Promoting team building and practical skills

Another example is the construction of mobile flood protection walls, such as those used in the city of Cologne to protect people from the Rhine floods. The prospective Flood Risk Managers learn how to build such protective walls in an English-language master's module. The students are randomly divided into two groups. One group receives a video to prepare for the construction of such a protective wall, while the second group can play through the construction themselves using a VR scenario.

Both groups then build a section of wall in the real world. Normally, one would expect those who have done the preparation in VR to be better at building the wall than those who just used the video tool.

This would mean that they make fewer mistakes. During the construction, a referee records which mistakes each group makes. A time penalty is imposed for each error. All the previous tests (three) have shown that the VR group makes less errors.

Open source as an educational mission

By creating Anywhere Academy, RWTH Aachen University is demonstrating its commitment to educational equality and to making high-quality education available to all.

The platform is also self-hostable, which enables maximum control over data protection and system architecture.

The developments for Anywhere Academy will also be incorporated into the uniVERSEty network. This network of universities shares the vision of a common, interoperable metaverse for university teaching, and it promotes interdisciplinary exchange in order to advance and network the development of virtual learning spaces.

Technical compatibility is an important success factor

In order to maximize the reach and benefits of Anywhere Academy, it was important to making it compatible with a wide range of technology.

The software supports all common VR headsets, which makes total immersion possible. At the same time, Anywhere Academy is compatible with Windows PCs (both immersive and non-immersive) and modern web browsers, which means that most people will be able to use it, regardless of which technology they have. This is crucial: Students do not necessarily need an expensive headset to access the learning worlds. Instead, they can make use of the full immersive potential as soon as it becomes available. This multi-modal accessibility is the key to the platform's scalability.

The future: Adaptive worlds and the future of learning

Anywhere Academy is constantly evolving. Adaptive worlds offer great potential for the future. Virtual worlds can adapt to learners’ individual needs. The integration of AI opens up completely new didactic possibilities here, for example by enabling personalized scenarios or adaptive feedback in real time.

With the Anywhere Academy, the Department of Engineering Hydrology at RWTH Aachen University is making a real contribution to modern university teaching. The platform proves that virtual reality is not just a medium for entertainment, but rather it is a powerful tool for the targeted acquisition of specific, professionally relevant skills – all free, open, and accessible to the global academic community.

– Author: Heribert Nacken