The Use of VR Technology as a Virtual Field Trip in Real Estate Education

Field trip has become increasingly important in real estate education as it not only improves student’s observation skills, but also enhances their perception about the space. Previous studies suggested that field trip can enhance students’ learning experience by transforming information into personal context. It has therefore been widely used in various disciplines, such as in science, history and business. It has also been adopted in the field of geography and built environment. By just showing photos of a building or a drawing plan is not adequate, as the actual three-dimensional space are completely different from the two-dimensional drawings. Field trip is thus essential in this field. For the last two years, it has been difficult to organize a field trip. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced students to attend online lessons, while the field trip has been cancelled which critically affect students’ observation skills and awareness of the space. To achieve a similar learning experience, some educators have adopted virtual field trip to substitute physical field trip. Some has used traditional video to show students the buildings and its surroundings, while others started using virtual reality (VR) technology to engage the students. VR360 panorama tour is in fact a good alternative to show three-dimensional space. Although it is different from the physical field trip which activity taking outside the classroom, the students are brought into the virtual world which allow them to see and interact. This can engage the students and enrich their learning experience. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the use of VR as a virtual field trip can enhance students’ understanding on a retail building management. We develop VR360 panorama tour with a walkthrough interactive function named “VR Central Market” to substitute the physical field trip. The students need to find the information about Central Market in this VR tour. The VR tour can be carried out online and the students can learn at their own pace. In our study, the students are required to complete the pretest and posttest questions to examine whether their understanding has been enhanced after viewing the VR tour. The questionnaire survey is also provided to the students to understand their perception on adopting VR as a virtual field trip. Our study contributes to the literature of real estate education, as well as innovation in education.