Innovative Religious Science Education: Incorporating Virtual Reality to Teach Complex Theological Concepts
Downloads
Background. Religious science education often faces challenges in conveying complex theological concepts to students in a way that is engaging and easily understood. Traditional teaching methods may struggle to capture abstract or difficult ideas, resulting in a disconnect between theoretical knowledge and practical understanding. Recent advancements in technology, particularly virtual reality (VR), offer innovative solutions to enhance learning experiences in this field. Virtual reality has the potential to immerse students in interactive, three-dimensional environments, allowing them to explore theological ideas more deeply.
Purpose. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of incorporating virtual reality into religious science education to teach complex theological concepts.
Method. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining qualitative interviews with students and educators, along with a quantitative assessment of student performance before and after VR integration. The study was conducted at three religious institutions where VR modules were introduced in the curriculum to teach topics such as creation, eschatology, and religious symbolism.
Results. Results indicate that students demonstrated a significant improvement in understanding and retaining complex theological concepts when virtual reality was incorporated into the learning process. The immersive nature of VR allowed students to engage with the material more deeply, leading to greater comprehension and participation. Additionally, educators reported that VR enhanced the overall classroom experience by making abstract concepts more accessible..
Conclusion. In conclusion, virtual reality presents a promising tool for religious science education, providing an innovative approach to teaching complex theological ideas. Future research should explore long-term impacts and scalability of VR in religious education.
Asril, Z., Syafril, S., & Arifin, Z. (2023). ADVANCING EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES: IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 9(2), 199–210. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.15575/jpi.v9i2.20567
Boyer, L., Brunner, B. R., Charles, T., & Coleman, P. (2006). Managing impressions in a virtual environment: Is ethnic diversity a self-presentation strategy for colleges and universities? Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(1), 136–154. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00318.x
Ch’ng, E., Stone, R. J., & Arvanitis, T. N. (2005). A Virtual Reality archaeological framework for the investigation and interpretation of ancient landscapes. Proc. Int. Conf. Internet Multimedia Syst. Appl., 527–532. Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-29844452168&partnerID=40&md5=7814f61183e0c93fd16daa8d5916da75
Coralini, A., Guidazzoli, A., Corlàita, D. S., & Toffalori, E. (2010). VISMAN-DHER project: Integrated fruition of archaeological data through a scientific virtual model. Lect. Notes Comput. Sci., 6436 LNCS, 409–421. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16873-4_32
Happa, J., Williams, M., Turley, G., Earl, G., Dubla, P., Beale, G., Gibbons, G., Debattista, K., & Chalmers, A. (2009). Virtual relighting of a Roman statue head from Herculaneum: A case study. Proc. AFRIGRAPH: Int. Conf. Comput. Grap., Virtual Real., Vis. Interact. Africa, 5–12. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1145/1503454.1503456
Hite, R. (2022). Virtual Reality: Flight of Fancy or Feasible? Ways to Use Virtual Reality Technologies to Enhance Students’ Science Learning. American Biology Teacher, 84(2), 106–108. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2022.84.2.106
Hotifah, Y., Hidayat, W. N., Purwanta, E., Valdez, A. V., ‘ilmi, A. M., & Saputra, N. M. A. (2023). Predicting the mental health quality of adolescents with intensive exposure to metaverse and its counseling recommendations in a multicultural context. Cakrawala Pendidikan, 42(1), 38–52. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v42i1.54415
Ifeanyichukwu, E. E. (2024). Technological implementation in the service sector: A case study. Dalam Artif. Intelligence for Smart Technol. In the Hospitality and Tourism Industry (hlm. 305–336). Apple Academic Press; Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85197118078&partnerID=40&md5=380a6d6557fbba45eab4c9a77e0f8662
Jadán-Guerrero, J., Chacón-Castro, M., Illescas, L., & Chacón, J. (2022). Building an Escape Room to Raise Awareness of Bullying and Cyberbullying. Dalam Stephanidis C., Antona M., Ntoa S., & Salvendy G. (Ed.), Commun. Comput. Info. Sci.: Vol. 1654 CCIS (hlm. 646–653). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19679-9_82
Manzoli, L., Ratti, S., & Cocco, L. (2022). Anatomy and Ceroplastic School in Bologna: A heritage with unexpected perspective. Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology, 126(1), 93–101. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.36253/ijae-13733
Marchese, F. T. (2014). The gothic cathedral: An immersive information visualization space. Dalam Banissi E., Bannatyne M.W.McK., Marchese F.T., Sarfraz M., Ursyn A., Venturini G., Wyeld T.G., Cvek U., Trutschl M., Grinstein G., Geroimenko V., Kenderdine S., Kenderdine S., Kenderdine S., & Bouali F. (Ed.), Proc. Int. Conf. Inf. Visual. (hlm. 220–224). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/IV.2014.16
Palkowitsch-Kühl, J., & Müller, K. (2020). Virtual and Augmented Reality and Mobile Technologies in Religious Education. Dalam Transforming Teacher Education with Mob. Technologies (hlm. 131–150). Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.; Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85188375071&partnerID=40&md5=cef0829af7f5ac84f63529816b827e75
Pane, A., Choirunnisa, F., & Kustati, M. (2023). Implementation of Policies, Strategies, Islamic Religious Education Learning Programs with Curriculum Integration During the Covid 19 Pandemic Period at State Madrasah Aliyah (MAN) Indonesian Scholar. Dalam Fauzan A., Fitri D.Y., & Kurniati E. (Ed.), AIP Conf. Proc. (Vol. 2805, Nomor 1). American Institute of Physics Inc.; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0166441
Pirker, V. (2024). VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION? REFLECTIONS ON VR ENVIRONMENTS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. Crkva u Svijetu, 59(2), 321–332. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.34075/cs.59.2.3
Pröbster, M., & Marsden, N. (2023). That’s how I looked 25 years ago! Stereotypicality in avatars of a platform for further education. Dalam Stolze M., Loch F., Baldauf M., Alt F., Schneegass C., Kosch T., Hirzle T., Sadeghian S., Draxler F., Bektas K., Lohan K., & Knierim P. (Ed.), ACM Int. Conf. Proc. Ser. (hlm. 467–471). Association for Computing Machinery; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1145/3603555.3608546
Rezk, K. A. B. N. (2024). Metaverse and Creative Teaching of Reading Texts (Suggested Scenario). Dalam Stud. Big. Data. (Vol. 144, hlm. 441–455). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52280-2_27
Richards, D., Lupack, S., Bilgin, A. A. B., Neil, B., & Porte, M. (2023). Learning with the heart or with the mind: Using virtual reality to bring historical experiences to life and arouse empathy. Behaviour and Information Technology, 42(1), 1–24. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2021.2009571
Sahu, A., Samantaray, S., & Siddiqua, H. (2020). Cyberspace: A Contemporary Path for Religious Education. Dalam Satapathy S.C., Bhateja V., Mohanty J.R., & Udgata S.K. (Ed.), Smart Innov. Syst. Technol. (Vol. 160, hlm. 155–163). Springer; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9690-9_16
Sari, R. C., Sholihin, M., Cahaya, F. R., Yuniarti, N., Ilyana, S., & Fitriana, E. (2024). Responding to Islamic finance anomalies in Indonesia: Sharia financial literacy using virtual reality context. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research. Scopus.
Shanke, C. (2015). Poetry as education: Moral attitude in Milton’s and Shelley’s religious poems. Forum for World Literature Studies, 7(3), 482–503. Scopus.
Sotomayor-Moriano, J., Pérez-Zúñiga, G., & Soto, M. (2019). A Virtual Laboratory Environment for Control Design of a Multivariable Process. Dalam Rossiter A. & Pasik-Duncan B. (Ed.), IFAC-PapersOnLine (Vol. 52, Nomor 9, hlm. 218–223). Elsevier B.V.; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2019.08.116
Sukhov, A. (2018). Educational dimension of “total war: Medieval ii.” Dalam Ciussi M. (Ed.), Proc. European Conf. Games-based Learn. (Vol. 2018-October, hlm. 669–676). Dechema e.V.; Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85058972139&partnerID=40&md5=870488a490b3e3a80318885f65b3cd6a
Sukhov, A. (2019). Ethical issues of simulation video games. Dalam Elbaek L., Majgaard G., Valente A., & Khalid S. (Ed.), Proc. European Conf. Games-based Learn. (Vol. 2019-October, hlm. 705–712). Dechema e.V.; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.34190/GBL.19.060
Weng, F., Fu, T.-T., & Sun, M.-Y. (2021). The Effect of Applying Augmented Reality on Historical Site Destination Image and Behavior Intention. Dalam Meen T.-H. (Ed.), IEEE Int. Conf. Knowl. Innov. Invent., ICKII (hlm. 176–181). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICKII51822.2021.9574730
Wolf, S., Nord, I., & Hurtienne, J. (2024). Exploring Virtual Reality for Religious Education in Real-World Settings. Proc. - IEEE Conf. Virtual Real. 3D User Interfaces Abstr. Workshops, VRW, 953–954. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW62533.2024.00273
Yu, M.-N., Hsiung, S.-Y., Hsu, Y.-H., & Weng, Y.-Y. (2022). Development and Validation of the General Awe Scale. Bulletin of Educational Psychology, 53(3), 643–664. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.6251/BEP.202203_53(3).0006
Yusoff, M. F., Bakar, J. A. A., & Mat, R. C. (2019). Possible youth acceptance and contributing factors of virtual reality application for islamic content learning. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 7(6), 136. Scopus.
Copyright (c) 2024 Siti Mahmudah, Muhammadong Muhammadong
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
