Virtual Simulation for History Education

Virtual simulation is an ideal approach for providing situated learning environments in history education, in which virtual reality (VR) and video games are the most widely used approaches in teaching history because of their convenience and popularity. Already-made historical VR materials are usually used for experiencing history, and historical VR materials made by the students could help learn history by "doing history". We have been teaching the history and culture of Tang dynasty by the virtually reconstructed Dunhuang Mogao caves as well as the ancient Chang' an city with Minecraft, 3D modeling systems and 360-degree panoramic videos and images. Based on our practices, we propose a workable method for applying virtual simulation in history teaching. According to our experiences using virtual simulation for teaching history, the engagement and the performance of the students increase after virtual simulation based learning is used.