Virtual Reality as a Medium of Asynchronous Content Delivery for Teaching about Enzymes

Abstract

Self-study is an integral part of chemistry learning, whereby the students consume knowledge outside of the classroom environment. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified the need for efficient methods of synchronous and asynchronous instructional content delivery worldwide. Virtual reality (VR) presents a prospective technological solution to aid asynchronous content delivery, particularly for visual subjects such as chemistry. We investigate the feasibility of using carefully designed VR-based content to assist offline instruction about enzymes and the differences in their types. They are an essential concept in biochemistry due to their comprehensiveness and the similarities between their amino acid sequences responsible for their different functions. We compare the efficacy of VR-aided selfstudy against self-study assisted by recorded video lectures. An experiment is conducted to simulate self-study in three scenarios, i.e., conventional text-based self-study (1) without any additional aids, (2) assisted by recorded video lectures, and (3) with VR aids. Our findings indicate that VR can assist asynchronous content consumption leading to better learning and satisfaction.

A Roadmap to Support the Development of Chemistry Virtual Reality Learning Environments Merging Chemical Pedagogy and Educational Technology Design

“…Several chemistry VRLEs allow users to physically reach and grab molecules, ,,,,, providing a bridge to the submicroscopic world and making molecules tangible, interactable, and dynamic (for additional VRLE examples, see Tables S6–S11). By taking advantage of behavior consistency, environment display, environment control, and object manipulation (see Table ), VRLEs can exceed the bounds of physical reality and allow developers to create worlds where the laws of space and time can be broken …”

“…Synthesized from literature reviews, − we identified 89 fully immersive virtual reality (VR) environments (between 2000 and 2023) detailing potential applications for teaching or learning chemistry. ,− Among the significant volume of VR tools developed over the past two decades, only 26 of them mention educational frameworks as the foundation for their design, development, and/or assessment (see refs , , , , , …”

“…A smaller number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of VRLEs as educational tools. 4,11,13,14,30,43,48,51,[58][59][60][61]64,87,89,97 Furthermore, the majority of chemistry VR publications mentioning potential applications for teaching or learning chemistry are not grounded in pedagogical or theoretical frameworks (see Table 1).…”

“…Presently, the majority of VRLE publications are focused on either introducing a new technology, ,,,,,,,,, , ,,,,− ,,,, measuring its usability, ,,,− ,,,,,,, , ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, or surveying students’ attitude toward the VRLE ,,,,,,,,, , ,,,,,,,,,, (see Table ). A smaller number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of VRLEs as educational tools. ,,,,,,,,− ,,,, Furthermore, the majority of chemistry VR publications mentioning potential applications for teaching or learning chemistry are not grounded in pedagogical or theoretical frameworks (see Table ).…”

HPLC Training for All: Integration of Multi-Language Artificial Intelligence (AI) Avatars in Virtual Reality (VR) Digital Twin Laboratories

“…1 VR can provide users with immersive, highly specialised training simulations, which have been shown to enhance engagement with learning materials and improve knowledge retention. [2][3][4][5][6][7] The applications of VR within scientific education have been many, allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of complex scientific concepts by way of visualisation, 8 such as within molecular visualisation. [9][10][11][12][13][14] Additionally, VR has excelled as a way of providing occupational training programs such as training in virtual organic synthesis laboratories, [15][16][17][18] and training for medical students across a large spectrum covering both clinical operations and medical procedures, to patient care.…”