SienceSpace
Virtual Realities for Learning
Complex and Abstract
Scientific Concepts
Motivation



Students should be able to intuitively understand the
natural world function before given the formal
representation and reasoning scientists use
Enable students to predict the behavior of objects in the
universe is more important that teaching to manipulate
equations
VR interface can potentially complement existing
approaches to science instruction


The student can become a part of the phenomena
The student gain direct experiential intuitions about how the
natural world operates
Goal

Enhance learning difficult and abstract
material by multisensory immersion:
 based
on 3D representation
 multiple perspective and frames of reference
 a multimodal interface
 simultaneous visual, auditory and haptic
feedback
 types of interaction unavailable in real world
Setup and Basic Concept

Consists of








high-performance graphics workstation with two video output channels
a color, stereoscopic head-mounted display
a stereo sound system
a magnetic tracking system for the head and both hands
a 3-D mouse and menu
a haptic vest
A collection of virtual worlds designed to aid students in mastering
challenging concepts in science
Immerse students in 3-D microworlds using the visual, auditory, and
tactile senses. Students use a virtual hand (controlled by a 3-D
mouse) and menus to navigate and manipulate objects in the
worlds.
Newton World






Investigate the kinematics
and dynamics of one-dimensional motion
Two balls move and rebound from each other and the walls in a
“corridor”
Interact using a "virtual hand" and a menu system (access by
selecting a small 3Ball)
Launch and catch balls of various masses and can "beam" from the
ball into and among cameras strategically placed around the corridor
Multisensory cues help students experience phenomena (tactile,
visual, auditory)
Learners can advance from basic to more advanced activities
Newton World
Maxwell World




Explore electrostatics, leading
to the concept of Gauss’ law
A cube
Menus are attached to the left wrist
Students can place pos. or neg. charges into the
world
 force,
electric field lines, potentials, surfaces of
equipotential, and lines of electric flux through
surfaces can be observed
Maxwell World
Pauling World

Study molecular structures
via a variety of representations
 ball-and-stick
form
 vanderWaals' spheres
 "wireframe" backbone
 coded sticks
 icons that replace repetitive structures

structural data can be read in directly from pdb
(protein database) files available on WWW
Pauling World
3D iconic representation with some
amino acid groups
Ball and stick backbone representations
of a molecule
Space filling representation
Wireframe representation of a molecule
Evaluation (1/4)

Usability tests
 Task
completion
 Error frequency
 Ratings of how easy students found each task
 Rankings of the four interaction styles
 Comments of students and experimenter
observations
Evaluation (2/4)

Physics educators surveye
 Interactive
experinces
 Recommendations for improvements
 Perceptions of how effective 3D learning
environment would be for demonstrating
Newtonian physics
Evaluation (3/4)

Evaluating for learnability
 Thought
aloud
 Predicted relationships or behaviors
 Experienced them
 Assessed prediction based on observation

Comparison of usability
 Visual
cues only
 visual and auditory cues
 Visual, auditory, and haptic cues
Evaluation (4/4)

Results
 Students
predictions and comments
 Usability questionnaires
 Interview feedback
 Pre- and post-test knowledge
Lessons Learned

Challenges in using VR interfaces
 Individual
differences in interaction style, ability to
interact with 3D environment, and susceptibility to
simulator sickness
 Challenges for lesson administration (students in
head-mounted displays can not access written
instructions or questions)
 Head-mounted displays may cause discomfort for
users
 Spreading lesson over multiple shorter VR session
seems to be more efficient
Lessons Learned

Insight about learning and knowledge
representation
 Multisensory
cues direct learners attention to
important behaviors and relationships, help better
understanding
 New representations and perspectives help students
developing correct mental models
 Multimodal interaction enhance learning, allowing
users to use their preferred interaction method
(students need not redirect their attention)
 Usability can enhance learning, but optimizing
usability will not necessary optimize learning
Enhancements

Optimizing, evaluating, and translating
from laboratory to classroom settings
 Geographically
remote users share the same
workspace
 Additional representation, e.g. a scoreboard
introducing game-like elements, to enhance
motivation