An Innovative Educational Environment Based on Virtual Reality and Gamification for Learning Search Algorithms

Search algorithms constitute an important domain of computer science and is considered necessary for students and freshmen to get a deep and complete understanding of their operation. In this work, we present an innovative 3D virtual reality educational environment that aims to assist tutors in teaching and students in better learning the search algorithms. The educational environment utilizes innovative educational infrastructure and pedagogical approaches based on visualization of procedures and learning activities that rely on gamification to promote deeper understanding of the challenging concepts of blind and heuristic search algorithms. Algorithm visualization approaches in the virtual environment aim to help students connect abstract concepts and procedures to concrete experiences and examples which promotes robust learning. Learning activities based on the principles of gamification was designed to actively engage students and make learning more entertaining and efficient. The educational environment has been evaluated in real classroom conditions and the evaluation results indicate that the utilization of suitable learning activities in terms of students' active engagement and can motivate students and improve learning efficiency.