Utilization of virtual reality environment as an interactive visual learning tool in primary school education system

In the world, computer technology is always in progress and every system which contains this technology makes human life easier. The interaction necessary for entering data into these systems were and are now provided generally by mouse and keyboard. Besides, voice commands and touch screens offer alternatives in terms of ease of use. At this point, interactivity method of used system is of great importance. The success of the designed system is determined by how easy the user can use the programme. In this study, ?interaction without touching? method which aims to give feedback according to the user?s movements was preferred as the interaction method. This method enables users to control the programme without physically touching the computer. This control is established by a system that depends on merging the user?s real images with virtual objects. The system creates a virtual reality environment via video capture. In this way, the system enables people who have just started using computer and who cannot use computer to control the system. A virtual reality environment containing Mathematics, Science of Life / Science and Technology and English courses which will be used as an interactive visual learning tool in primary school education system was created. With the designed application, the primary purpose was to build an environment in which students can interact with virtual images. Beside this, facilitating students? perception of three dimensional objects with the help of three dimensional virtual models and eliminating the need for additional equipment during teaching were also aimed. Keywords: Virtual reality, interactive learning, video capture, primary school education.