VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION THE CASE OF XU DOAI CULTURE TOPIC Bui Thi Thanh Huong, Nguyen Thuy Linh (VNU University of Education) Nguyen Thi My Hanh (Hanoi National University of Education) Dinh Thi Kim Thuong, (Hanoi Metropolitan University) Abstract By an interdisciplinary approach, a group of lecturers teaching Vietnamese culture combined to educational technological lecturers to have collaborated to organize a research on the application of virtual reality technology in cultural[.]
Trang 1THE CASE OF XU DOAI CULTURE TOPIC
Bui Thi Thanh Huong, Nguyen Thuy Linh
(VNU University of Education)
Nguyen Thi My Hanh
(Hanoi National University of Education)
Dinh Thi Kim Thuong ,
(Hanoi Metropolitan University)
Abstract: By an interdisciplinary approach, a group of lecturers teaching Vietnamese culture combined
to educational technological lecturers to have collaborated to organize a research on the application of virtual reality technology in cultural teaching (case study teaching in higher education for Xu Doai culture – Vietnam)
On the basis of the approach in terms of time and space, we will understand the specific expression aspects of the cultural identity of Xu Doai - the most typical cultural space of the Northern Delta (Vietnam) This research used some methods such as: collecting and studying documents, participant observation and in-depth interviews, collecting image data for virtual technology, backend processing Results of the research presented through (1) process using virtual reality model in cultural education, (2) Xu Doai model in virtual reality for teaching Xu Doai culture in higher education
Keywords: Xu Doai culture, higher education, virtual reality, cultural education.
1 INTRODUCTION
The approach of smart education and smart teaching has been mentioned since the 2000s, and is increasingly being studied and developed today In this approach, emphasis is placed on the transition from the traditional way of teaching to the new technology-based method, with non-traditional teaching models, multi-modal teaching, and the support of modern technologies
The trend of applying image technology in the world has attracted attention from both fields: technology and education The report on the current landscape and growth prospects of global imaging technologies in education for the period 2017-2021 has stated: 3D printing products, image data analysis,
AR and VR will be the 4 main product segments in the coming years (Technavio, 2020)[1]
Within the framework of the Hanoi City-level Scientific Research Project, the Research Group of the Faculty of Education Technology - University of Education - VNU cooperates with the research group
of Hanoi Capital University, Hanoi National University of Education to develop the research project on building a traditional cultural space model of Hanoi people using multi-dimensional interactive image technology for training at Hanoi Capital University” in 2 years 2021-2022 Xu Doai Cultural Education
is one of the research tasks of the project
Trang 22 METHODOLOGY
Virtual reality is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world Applications of virtual reality can include entertainment and educational purposes Other distinct VR-style technologies include augmented reality and mixed reality (Wikipedia)
360-degree video appeared in 2016, gradually improving in 2017; in 2018 it really became a video development trend, even to entrepreneurs and large businesses The definition of 360-degree video can
be summarized as a video that records images in all directions around the camera at the same time, produced by a camera system Viewers can drag the mouse to move slowly or rotate the direction based
on gestures to see all 360 degrees from the video
The article uses VR technology in building 360-degree videos to recreate Duong Lam cultural space
VR technology allows to run on both Web and mobile App platforms (applications on mobile and handheld devices) to support flexible access to content at anytime, anywhere for learners in real-time, either synchronous or asynchronous
Figure 1: Steps designing VR Duong Lam model
On the basis of the approach in terms of time and space, we will understand the specific expression aspects of the cultural identity of Xu Doai - the most typical cultural space of the Northern Delta (Vietnam) From a methodological perspective, we use an interdisciplinary approach to clearly define our research object Specifically:
From the cultural sociological approach, we stand on the view that cultural phenomena are forms
of social activities;
From the cultural psychology approach, we consider religious activities and festivals to be essentially a complex form of releasing repressed emotions of community members;
From the ethnographic-anthropological approach, we have a deeper look at the “insider’s point
of view”, the views of members of the State and the community towards cultural activities, thereby deepening understanding of the community’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and mutual support
At the specific methodological level, we have used two main methods: Firstly, collecting and studying documents including books, magazines, research works…that has been printed, published and
is being archived in libraries These documents help us have an overview of Xu Doai culture in many different aspects; From there, we conducted fieldwork, set up a system of interview questions, and selected subjects for interview It can be said that this source of material plays an equally important role, helping to study the inheritance and apply the results of previous generations’ works, thereby finding
new points or new approach to develop it in our research Secondly, participant observation and in-depth interviews These are important methods of ethnography/anthropology Using this method helps
researchers penetrate deeply into cultural activities and understand more deeply the nature of the cultural space of Xu Doai
Trang 32.3 Research procedure
Researching the application of virtual reality technology in cultural education requires going through many steps and is shown as Figure 1
Figure 2: Research process using virtual reality model in cultural education
First, we must define educational goals The next step is to survey the field, identifying the existing spiritual and material cultural heritage and the lost cultural heritage in need of restoration On that basis,
we design the content to be simulated Determining the content to choose simulation technology for the product, using computer-generated simulation technology or virtual reality (3D simulation) Next, entering the phase of building virtual reality models, we proceed to refine the selected parts based on the purpose of each part, then select a list of content using VR and proceed to build VR scenarios meet the requirements of each content In each content of the product, the designer must determine the necessary level of reality (from fantasy to reality); define the type and level of immersion (from no immersion to full immersion in the 3D environment); Define the type of interaction in the sensor inputs and outputs, and the required virtual world or environment input and output After all design is completed, the virtual environment will be built according to the scenario, by the instructor or virtual world builder, by the learner, or by the environment derived from modifying the existing environment Next, the designer must design and select appropriate software and hardware Finally, the product is passed on to a group of pilot learners for testing The testing process on this group is repeated many times to evaluate and refine until the requirements are satisfied Next virtual environments need to be tested with a large number of users and also get feedback, then they are tweaked until they satisfy the requirements and are accepted Finally, the finished product is used in education
Trang 43 RESEARCH RESULTS
3.1 Cultural identity of Xu Doai
The Vietnamese culture in the Northern Delta is a culture that has been formed for a long time and is the most representative of the traditional culture of the Vietnamese people, expressed through spiritual, religious and belief life; community cultural activities, most notably festivals; cultural and artistic activities such as system of legends, forms of folk performances Although unified on the culture
of the Northern Delta, each cultural sub-region here has very private local nuances Taking Thang Long
as the center, the Vietnamese called the four surrounding regions: the East, Xu Doai, the North, and the South In particular, Xu Doai is a land with the longest history
Along with that heroic historical tradition, Xu Doai is also a place full of natural elements to form and nurture a unique cultural identity Xu Doai is a large land that surrounds the center of the Red River Delta in the West, Northwest and North This place is located by the Da River at the top and Nhi Ha River at the bottom, the left bank has Tam Dao mountain and the right bank has the majestic Tan Vien mountain The land of Doai also has Bach Hac confluence, which is the confluence of three rivers, namely Da River, Thao River and Lo River In the time of the Hung Kings, this land was the main part of the Van Lang country, the center of the 15 ministries of the Hung Kings In the late Le and early Nguyen dynasties, this land belonged to Son Tay town, one of the four inner capitals Author Ngô Đức Thịnh said that “this is a semi-mountainous land, alternating between mountains and plains, between alluvial plains along rivers and high mounds, with low-lying areas, lakes, and large abysses” Here, the soil and climate create favorable conditions for the domestication of cultivated rice varieties, and the forest covered mountains since ancient times is an environment to maintain hunting and gathering lifestyles Therefore,
it can be affirmed that Xu Doai is a typical geographical space of the Red River Delta In history, before being a land of “hundreds of famous professions near the city”, Xu Doai was once a place where “eating less rice less, eating more potatoes “ [2]
Figure 3: Map of the geographical location of Xu Doai in the cultural space of Northern Vietnam
Besides the fertile southeastern plain, favorable for traditional farming practices, most of the land area of Xu Doai has limited environmental characteristics, as observed “From this agricultural production space, it can be seen that Xu Doai is a land that is both unfavorable and favorable for
Trang 5traditional agricultural production” The areas that are not favorable for agricultural production are the western mountainous areas and the central plains It is not favorable for agricultural production because delta farmers have had a long time “far from the forest and sea” to get used to the “straight field” Therefore, this place has formed handicraft activities, turning unpopular food products into popular ones, turning the unspoiled natural environment into desirable places to rest and experience like nowadays The previously haunted land of poverty has become a dynamic new land in all aspects in the Red River Delta Therefore, when talking about the land of Xu Doai, one must mention the homeland of many famous craft villages such as Van Phuc brocade and silk; La Khe silk; Nhi Khe wood turning; Chang village carpenters; stone workers in Hoang Xa… The favorable area is the land in the East, because it is continuously accreted by the Red and Day rivers The Red River is the Ca river of Vietnam, the origin
of wet rice agriculture in the beginning With the agricultural economy of the ancient Xu Doai people, the Red River plays a great role because of its influence on the material and spiritual cultural life of the residents That is why the legend of Saint Tan dyed the Red River all year round and became the space where the Saint roamed during the time he ruled Tan mountain
In Vietnamese communities, if the life cycle is marked by festivals, the cycle of nature is marked by Tet (Tiet), the crop cycle is marked by a different type - the festival From the perspective of sociology and economics, the festival is a form of leisure activity in the free time at the seasonal level (Xu Doai does agriculture 2 crops per year, and September of the lunar calendar is the time to do fishery - fishing) Thus, after harvesting the crop, Xu Doai farmer has a leisure time In that space, at that time, the people
of Xu Doai together held festivals as well as created various art forms with many unique features that still exist almost intact to this day – something that is rarely seen in other cultural spaces in the Northern Delta The most typical for annual festival activities here is the Hung Temple festival
In the collected legends related to the Va temple festival and Mong Phu communal house (Duong Lam), Son Tinh appears as the hero of cultural enlightenment The area along the Tich River still preserves and circulates legends about how Son Tinh taught people to farm The villages of Van Gia, Nghia Phu, Phu Nhi (Son Tay) connect to transmit stories about how Son Tinh taught people to worship, cultivate culture, and wish everyone to live together warmly and harmoniously
Besides the festival, folk songs, folk rituals such as singing Do (Quoc Oai); singing Cheo Tau (Dan Phuong); Senh Tien dance (Phu Xuyen), military drums (Thuong Tin); Te Tieu puppet ward (Thach
Xa, Chang Son); Cheo Tau singing festival in four villages of Tan Hoi commune (Dan Phuong district) associated with the worship of Hai Bà Trưng, Triệu Quang Phục, Lý Phật Tử have created a space imbued with cultural and artistic activities in Xu Doai The most typical forms of cultural and artistic
performances in the land of Xu Doai are Xoan singing, Vi singing, Cheating singing, Military drum singing Xoan singing (spring singing) is a type of ritual, custom, and festival singing that its origin is
associated with the time when Hùng Vương founded the country Cheating singing is singing in response, making love between boys and girls in spring and autumn, associated with the custom of worshiping Xuân Nương, the princess who is the general of Hai Bà Trưng Vi singing is a love song between a boy and a girl, especially in the spring, the content reflects the love, innocent and sincere emotions of the workers Singing military drums is also a kind of love song, with drum beat accompaniment
The land of Xu Doai with one of the core areas is Duong Lam ancient village, which still preserves
a system of tangible and intangible cultural heritages, lifestyles and cultural behaviors with many unique features It is a famous relic system whose name has been associated with the name of the land and people of Duong Lam such as: “land of two kings” associated with Phùng Hưng and Ngô Quyền temples,
Trang 6Mong Phu communal house associated with the festival to commemorate the village tutelary god Đức Thánh Tản, ancient house built of laterite Duong Lam is located in a favorable position because it has large plains, fertile alluvial plains with ponds and lakes, where there are famous agricultural specialties Duong Lam people have brought those specialties associated with the place as a pride Therefore, Duong Lam ancient village is not only known for its religious works, beliefs, relics and ancient houses, but also is home of long-standing traditional folk knowledge in the culinary field There are few places in the Northern Delta that possess many traditional specialties like Duong Lam: Mong Phu sauce, Mia chicken, roasted pork, Lam tea, Doi candy All these products are made from the ingredients available
in a traditional village with an agricultural lifestyle, inherited by generations, passing on experience from generation to generation
3.2 Shaping Xu Doai traditional space at Duong Lam village by VR technology
By VR technology, the research built VR model for teaching Xu Doai culture The results were
shown through 3600 image as follow:
Figure 3: Home page of panoramic view of Duong Lam village https://duonglamancientvillage.vsmap.vn/
Duong Lam gate Information about Mong Phu Gate
Mr Hung ‘ s Old House The yard of Mr Hung’s Old House
Nguồn: Do nhóm nghiên cứu chụp
Trang 7Mong Phu Communal House The yard of Mong Phu Communal House
Phung Hung Temple Inner Phung Hung Temple
Figure 4: 360 0 images of scences in Duong Lam village
Nguồn: Do nhóm nghiên cứu chụp
3.3 Application of virtual reality model in cultural education of Doai (Vietnam)
3.3.1 Pedagogical scenario for applying virtual reality technology
Table 1: Teaching process by VR 3600 model to tour Duong Lam village
- Test flatform
- Prepare digital materials
Read materials Train skill using the model
Connection device: VR glasses, interative screen, Smartphone; Wifi, internet LAN.
+ Cultural coordinates + Cultural map + Duties for each team
- Introduction of discussion group, practicing
Supporting technology (if yes)
- Immerse oneself
- Note, analysis, interaction Tagger/Trigger in the model
- Team work, finding information, do excercises
VR model
VR glasses, interative screen, Wifi, Internet LAN.
web search engine tool Computer
Smartphone and Mobile App
Trang 83 Assessment and
conclusion
- Control discussion and presentation
- Closing
- Proposing the next task
- Discussion and presentation
VR model
VR glasses, interative screen, Smartphone; Wifi, internet LAN.
adjustment
Note feed back (improve pedagogical scenarios)
Currently, VR - a new media penetrates the field of educational technology The application of VR
in teaching provides a new and more effective learning platform for learners than traditional teaching methods Learners can practice with interactive exercises to gain the ability to experience, observe, and innovate with the support of VR technology From there, learners gain knowledge and skills, especially learning supported by an integrated environment of 5G network and cloud technology
For traditional cultural education, now presentations on the basis of 2D image technology are the main teaching methods Teachers and learners “stand outside” the cultural space to “research”, knowledge is formed by memorization in the learning process In contrast, if VR is used in cultural education, both teachers and students are “immersed”, “immersive” and “interactive” in the simulation model of cultural space, knowledge is formed by the process of experience, accumulate and associate Specifically, in this article, we refer to the simulation model of Duong Lam ancient village, which
is used for the purpose of educating the culture of Doai - the sediment of a cultural and spiritual region of Lac Viet By modern simulation technologies, the cultural space of Duong Lam ancient village (located
in the cultural space of Doai, Vietnam) is reproduced visually and vividly so that learners can imagine the formation culture in a large space over the centuries By experience, the objectives of the lesson are conveyed impressively, the detail is given below:
- Identifying cultural areas and distinctive features: The model uses technologies such as satellite
positioning, Drone, UAV, 3D imaging algorithm and three-dimensional modeling to simulate geospatial land of Doai It is a large area of land surrounding the center of the Red River Delta in the west, northwest and north This place is located by the Da River at the top and Nhi Ha River at the bottom, the left bank has Tam Dao mountain and the right bank has the majestic Tan Vien mountain The land of Doai has Bach Hac confluence which is the confluence of three rivers, namely Da river, Thao river and Lo river
- Identify cultural identity: The model simulates the cultural space of Duong Lam ancient village
by virtual reality technology This is a space made up of layers of typical cultural space of Vietnamese villages, including: protection space, production space, living space, spiritual space, community space With this model, learners can identify the cultural identity of Doai On the other hand, learners can also directly learn about the material and spiritual cultural heritage of local residents in the simulation model
of Mia Pagoda, Mong Phu communal house, Phung Hung Temple, Ngo Quyen Temple - Tomb, house system neck…
- The model is built on the basis of “central and periphery” cultural research theory to help learners
understand the interference between Thang Long culture and Xu Doai culture in the process of
forming delta culture The North
To conduct the lecture, at the beginning of the lesson, teachers and students “immerse” in virtual reality and visit Doai from many different angles: far - near, general - specific, past - present, material - spiritual, virtual - real model, etc The lecturer gives a system of questions that suggest the knowledge
Trang 9that students need to gain in the lesson Through the process of interaction and experience, learners self-absorb knowledge and do practical exercises Experimental results show that the use of virtual reality models in cultural teaching creates more excitement for both teachers and learners The impact
of images and multi-dimensional interactive effects in the model makes the learner’s retention level increase by 25% compared to the traditional method On the other hand, the holisticity of the model also makes the learner’s connection and imagination increase These are just initial tests, but they also hold great promise when virtual reality models are applied in cultural education
4 CONCLUSION
The model which was built on the theoretical basis of the central and peripheral cultural research helps learners understand the cultural crossing of Thang Long and Xu Doai Ancient Thang Long, Hanoi before and after the expansion were all situated in the Red River Delta Experiencing the culture of Xu Doai through a simulation model using virtual reality technology led the learners to think about the relationship between culture and tourism and the issue of preserving and exploiting cultural heritage in tourism today
Using an interdisciplinary approach, a group of lecturers teaching Vietnamese culture and educational technological lecturers have collaborated to organize a research on the application of virtual reality technology
in cultural teaching (Xu Doai culture was selected to teach at higher education as the case study)
In this research, we studied the specific expression aspects of the cultural identity of Xu Doai – the most typical cultural space of the Red River Delta The methods adopted in this research involved: collecting and studying documents, participant observation and in-depth interviews, image data collection, backend processing The results of the research are shown by: (1) the process of using virtual reality models in cultural education, (2) Virtual reality of Xu Doai culture for teaching at higher education
In the context of strong and far-reaching digital transformation, the use of virtual reality models
in traditional cultural education contributes to modernizing methods of performing and describing traditional cultural spaces to draw the youth’s attention in the process of preserving and promoting local culture
5 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank Hanoi People’s Committee, Vietnam to fund for us to finish this article through the project: “Research and build a model of traditional cultural space of Hanoi people by using multi-dimensional interactive image technology for training at Hanoi Metropolitan University” Code: 01X – 12/04- 2020/3
REFERENCE
[1] Technavio, 2020: https://bwnews.pr/36jyuaa
[2] Ngo Duc Thinh (2003), Regional culture and division of cultural regions in Vietnam, Youth
Publishing House, p.161
[3] Many authors (1997), Son Tinh and Ba Vi ancient cultural region, Ha Tay Department of Culture
and Information published
[4] Nguyen Phuong Anh (2017), “Living space and production practices of Xu Doai people”,
Culture and Art Magazine, No 399, September 23, p 23 Google drive: https://drive.google com/folderview?id=1pxAHZjaB3tf3jnTiGZ2fCPe47-n5touZ