Fife College plays key role in developing new virtual reality assessment tool

@FifeCollege has played an instrumental role in developing a new virtual reality tool that will help revolutionise the way students are assessed.

Developed in collaboration with Scottish-based digital solutions company eCom Scotland and the SQA, the assessment created by the College sees students transported into a virtual workshop through the use of a VR headset.

Here they must identify potential health and safety issues in their surrounding environment, and then answer questions regarding the latest regulations.

Different virtual learning environments can be created within the tool, offering transformation of assessments in a wide variety of sectors including care, engineering or the fire service.

The new application was recently on show at the VR/AR Global Summit, one of the largest tech events of its type, where it was exhibited to over 12,000 attendees.

Head of Digital Learning at Fife College, Sharon Burns, led the college’s work on the project alongside lecturer Lee Priestley, the Principal Developer.

Head of Digital Learning at Fife College, Sharon Burns said:

“We’re incredibly proud of the work that Fife College has put in over the past two years to help develop this new assessment tool.

“By using virtual reality we can transform the way we measure and assess learning.

“The example we’ve created with eCom focuses on health and safety in a construction industry setting, but this technology could be used across a range of different industries from the care sector to the fire service.”

Principal Developer of the assessment, Fife College’s Lee Priestley said:

“The students who have tried out the technology so far have enjoyed using it, and were immediately able to see the advantages.

“The potential is huge, and we’re excited to continue working with eCom and the SQA to develop this application more over the coming months.”

Wendy Edie, Managing Director at eCom Scotland said:

“Fife College has played a key role in the development of this technology.

“Their expertise was vital as we developed this new app, and without the help of the College and our other partners we wouldn’t be where we are today.

“This product has the potential to revolutionise how we teach and assess students of the future, and we look forward to continuing our work with Fife College as we develop it further.”