The sense of touch (haptics) has been applied in a few areas such as tele-haptics, tele-medicine, training, education, and entertainment. As of today, haptics is currently used and explored by researchers in more areas. These can span from both multi-disciplinary and even inter-disciplinary areas as well. The utilization of haptics is also enhanced with other forms of media such as audio, video, and smell. For example, haptic use is prevalent in virtual reality environments to increase the immersive experience for users. However, while there is significant progress pertaining to haptic interfaces throughout the years, there are still many challenges that limit this progression. Therefore, this review highlights haptic interfaces for virtual reality ranging from wearables, handhelds, encountered type, props and mid-air. We discuss and summarize these approaches and along with interaction domains such as skin receptors, object properties and force. Furthermore, design challenges for each interface are also highlighted along with existing research gaps.INDEX TERMS haptic interfaces, human-computer interaction, virtual reality.

Currently, there are a plethora of solutions developed to help students learn the basics of programming. However, there is a relative paucity of solutions that cater to problems students face when learning programming that is mainly caused by the abstract nature of programming, misconceptions of programming concepts, and lack of motivation. Hence, in this study, a framework to address the abstract nature of programming and common programming misconceptions is developed. The framework consists of three modules that correspond to each issue, powered by a simulation engine. The first module is developed to address the abstract nature of programming by representing programming concepts with concrete objects in the virtual environment. The second module employs simulation techniques such as interactions and player perspectives to address common programming misconceptions. Lastly, the third module employs elements in the virtual environment to engage students when learning through the system. To evaluate the system, 60 participants were randomly divided into the control group (N=30) and the experimental group (N=30). Participants in the control group were taught using a video lecture while participants in the experimental group were taught using the developed intervention. Evaluation results gathered quantitatively indicated that the VR intervention was able to significantly increase programming concepts comprehension and address common programming misconceptions. Participants also rated the developed VR intervention to be significantly more engaging than the video lecture.

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This paper provides a review of the current state of the gender gap in computer science and highlights how immersive games can mitigate this issue. Game-based learning (GBL) applications have been shown to successfully incite motivation in students and increase learning efficiency in both formal and non-formal educational settings. With the rise of GBL, researchers have also used virtual reality to provide pupils with a more immersive learning experience. Both GBL and virtual reality techniques are also used for computer programming education. However, there is a paucity of applications that utilize these techniques to incite interest in computer science from a female perspective. This is a cause for concern as immersive games have been proven to be capable of inciting affective motivation and fostering positive attitudes towards specific subjects. Hence, this review summarises the benefits and limitations of GBL and virtual reality; how males and females respond to certain game elements; and suggestions to aid in the development of immersive games to increase female participation in the field of computer science.

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