Platform for Learning and Virtual Reality in Animal Husbandry

VESKA GANCHEVA, LIDIA GALABOVA

Technical University of Sofia

BULGARIA

Abstract: - Nowadays, digital technologies are extensively used in the field of education. Virtual and augmented

reality and 3D technologies are entering the field of education at all educational levels. They are a prerequisite

for the application of new approaches in the presentation of the educational content and its easier perception and

Key-Words: - 3D modeling, Animal Husbandry, Educational Resources, Learning System, Virtual Reality

Received: May 29, 2022. Revised: March 13, 2023. Accepted: April 11, 2023. Published: May 9, 2023.

1 Introduction

Modern education has rich and varied tools for

developing learning content. Thanks to developments

in digital and information technologies, virtual tools

for the visualization of learning content are becoming

increasingly important.

Modern society is building a digital world that is

it. A transition is needed from the traditional

approach of memorizing content and ready-made

algorithms for solving problems to developing

abilities and skills for analyzing and evaluating

information, creative and critical thinking, and

applying the acquired knowledge in solving practical

tasks.

It is of primary importance to organize and

conduct modern and appropriate training aimed at

specialists employed in animal husbandry.

their efforts to create more accessible and effective

education.

There are deficits in the creation of learning

resources in the field of animal husbandry that are

both freely and easily accessible and visualize

learning material in a modern and comprehensible

way. It is unthinkable to impose and develop

intelligent animal husbandry without guaranteeing an

open and modern education.

The work presented in this paper aims to conduct

well as the use of three-dimensional (3D) models to

visualize learning content.

The paper is structured as follows. Educational

resources based on advanced technologies and the

digitalization of education are discussed in Section 2.

Section 3 presents a learning platform for animal

husbandry. The proposed workflow for interactive

3D visualization in virtual reality is explained in

Section 4. Some discussion of the results of this study

is concluded in Section 5.

environments where students can experience new

worlds and learn through various senses and

perceptions, [1].

The objective is to expose the learner to novel

circumstances or settings that provide a range of

a learning space that offers new manners to acquire

knowledge and skills through the active participation

of learners in ongoing processes, [2]. In the digital

(virtual reality) and hybrid (augmented reality)

environments, dynamically changing information is

supplemented to each learning object. Depending on

specific actions with the objects, learners receive

additional information resources, i.e. content is

context-sensitive. Each new interaction with objects

from the real and virtual world elicits a different

authentic environment and provided with an

and concepts because they can apply their research

approach through virtual and augmented reality

technologies. They are given the opportunity to

interact, experiment and deeply explore the objects,

phenomena, and processes from different

perspectives, which is not always possible or safe in

the active participation of learners in learning

inherent interactivity enhances their interest and

commitment to learning new knowledge.

Virtual and augmented reality support practical

skills procurement through simulations and learning

in a mixed environment. Through the relevant

solution of which leads to the accumulation of

participants in digital learning, educators are looking

for ways to make traditional knowledge transfer tools

more interactive and engaging, [7]. Through modern

technologies, reading can become an active activity,

allowing learners to interact with the content,

consider it in different aspects, and challenge and

create situations that will be a source of new

knowledge, [8].

Using information technologies during the

development of textbooks turns them into interactive

e-books. A new direction in the development of

elements, test questions, and more, that facilitate

learning content to perceive and more interesting for

learners. Augmented reality textbooks allow

interaction with the virtual content, exploration, and

experimentation, which ensures active learning and a

better understanding of the learning content,

especially for complex and abstract concepts.

3D technologies are entering the field of

education at all educational levels. They are a

prerequisite for the application of new approaches in

knowledge and skills acquisition. Physical

models from computer programs to be transformed

into real, physical-world objects and available for

physical manipulation by students. There are

opportunities for studying the objects in detail,

viewing them from different perspectives, and

conducting experiments. Theoretical and abstract

can be seen, touched, and acted upon and these are

engagement, and motivation, [10].

The use of a computer-generated virtual simulator

is highly applicable in the field of natural and

biological sciences. It can be used to explain

significant processes in animal husbandry. The

multi-level cloud-side architecture, which is divided

cloud services.

A web-based platform called ANIPHI for learner-

centered teaching of farm animal welfare is

presented, [12]. With embedded films showing

various animal husbandry techniques utilized in

various livestock types and nations, ANIPHI can be

used by educators in a classroom setting, online, or a

mix of the two.

Based on the concepts of experiential learning, an

educational tool for computer-assisted learning

(CAL) has been created, [13]. Its goal is to enhance

The analysis and prediction of learning, as well as the

development of new types of educational materials,

is a research area that poses a new challenge to

analyze a large number of educational resources as

well as learner-generated data as efficiently and

meaningfully as possible. Nowadays, many

researchers are focused on learning analytics and

proposed different approaches to the learning

commonly used techniques are prediction and

on learning, such as focusing on learning impact by

extending existing practice.

Every educational organization has a Learning

Management System (LMS) that supports the core-

training process. The LMS generates data based on

various activities and educational resources, such as

content, or student assessment results. This data

account to improve student learning outcomes. This

type of system allows transferring knowledge of any

type - static, dynamic, interactive, logical, etc. There

is an effective system for managing users, evaluating

activities and knowledge, and in general, a

learning analysis and prediction. Some basic data

learning analysis and prediction. Other techniques,

such as text mining, pattern mining, causal inference,

and scoring are not often used because obtaining

attributes is complex, [15].

Moodle is a widely used LMS and learning

analytics is integrated as it uses a machine learning

backend. Specific Moodle data mining tools are

developed that apply clustering techniques to classify

the students. The classifier shows basic student

characteristics in each group and allows the

classification of new students.

Recently, open-source tools for creating online

courses have been released. Massive Open Online

Courses (MOOCs) and Large Open Online Courses

(LOOCs) are being made possible by these platforms.

Maintaining student motivation, accurately grading

pupils, and developing and overseeing a positive

collaborative environment are some of the

difficulties, [15].

Educational content corresponding to the

curriculum (lectures, seminar and laboratory

learning content is presented as learning resources -

curricula with digital educational content are

implemented and accessible on a software platform

by using its interactive capabilities in different media

formats:

A solution is proposed for an integrated platform for

open science and open access to research results and

an environment for distance learning and data

analysis in animal husbandry derived from the

learning resources of a given course in the system.

The architecture of the platform follows the

concept of discovering knowledge from datasets and

covers the following: (1) data selection, integration,

and preparation, (2) processing and analysis of the

selected data sets, and (3) visualization and

software and reconstructed as a three-dimensional

model from multidimensional images. The proposed

workflow is verified through Slicer3D software, [17],

[18], used in the development of the workflow.

primarily for scientific purposes that allows the

dimensional visualization of a mouse skull created

from the loaded data, while Fig. 5 is a rendered 3D

rendering of a gorilla skull.

3D Slicer also has a rich ecosystem of plugins,

including a virtual reality visualization and

the models from the reconstruction software and

import them into a virtual reality software supporting

the required capabilities.

digital technologies and a repository to provide