Efficacy of Virtual Equipment Training

The University of Ottawa faculty of engineering, in Ottawa Canada, is home to multiple rapid prototyping facilities as well as entrepreneurship spaces. This includes a makerspace, a machine shop and a design space for any student to use free of charge. Due to COVID-19 the spaces were either shut down or running virtual activities where possible. In the absence of any significant virtual content for learners, virtual computer simulations and virtual reality simulations were developed for various technologies including a manual mill and lathe, a laser cutter and soldering. Even as the COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted, the virtual simulations will be used as a pre-training introduction for in-person sessions. This paper aims to understand how well the virtual training simulations compare and compliment the in-person training for different equipment. Factors considered are the level of previous knowledge and level of interest in the equipment. The same assessment will be given to 3 groups of participants: those who have only done the virtual training, who have only done the in-person training and who have done both. The results from each group will be compared and analyzed to determine the efficacy of the virtual simulation and what advantages it has as a pre-training resource.