ERIC Number: EJ1254278
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jun
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1052-5629
EISSN: N/A
Teaching Operations Management with Virtual Reality: Bringing the Factory to the Students
Netland, Torbjørn H.; Flaeschner, Oliver; Maghazei, Omid; Brown, Karin
Journal of Management Education, v44 n3 p313-341 Jun 2020
Recent developments in virtual reality (VR) technologies offer new opportunities for teaching management courses. The objective of this article is to present one way to use VR to teach operations management. In partnership with a global manufacturer, we integrate virtual environments of the manufacturers' real factories in a course assignment. The assignment was used in two graduate operations management courses. Theoretically, we draw on the concept of immersion. To evaluate the effects of VR on students' learning experiences, we use focus groups and a survey. We find that VR can be implemented cost-efficiently in operations management courses and present one way to do it. Considering effectiveness, we find that students generally perceive that VR improves their learning experience. The presented VR assignment provides students a guided discovery learning, which is active. However, we also find several limitations with the current technology, which can be overcome in future implementations. Teachers can use the idea and findings presented here to innovate their own teaching by the means of readily available and low-cost VR technologies.
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Business Administration Education, Management Development, Simulated Environment, Computer Simulation, Information Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Graduate Students, Learning Experience, Instructional Effectiveness, Discovery Learning, Active Learning, Feedback (Response), Student Attitudes, Instructional Innovation
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A