Crystal vision: Designing and evaluating a virtual reality game for teaching crystallography
Bejjarapu, Dhanush Sahasra
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121374
Description
Title
Crystal vision: Designing and evaluating a virtual reality game for teaching crystallography
Author(s)
Bejjarapu, Dhanush Sahasra
Issue Date
2023-07-18
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Garg, Nishant
Department of Study
Civil & Environmental Eng
Discipline
Civil Engineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
Virtual Reality
Crystallography
Game-based Learning
Spatial Comprehension
Abstract
The resurgence of Virtual Reality (VR) has been propelled by significant advancements in
computer graphics and hardware capabilities, marking a transformative era for this technology. In
addition to its widespread adoption in the gaming industry, VR has emerged as an exceptionally
potent instrument for imparting knowledge, particularly in domains involving intricate 3D spatial
arrangements, such as crystallography. While existing research has explored the integration of VR
in crystallography education, an essential aspect has been largely overlooked: the incorporation of
gamifying elements to enhance the learning experience. Moreover, the effect of game design
elements on the user experience has not been previously evaluated. In our study, Crystal Vision, a
VR game designed to teach crystallography, has been developed and tested on 85 undergraduates.
The experiment was conducted in 7 sessions, where each session included a brief lecture, pre-VR
quiz, VR experience, post-VR quiz, and surveys. One of the key findings of our study was a significant improvement in quiz scores. We observed an average increase of 7% in quiz scores when comparing the performance of participants before and after their VR experience. This suggests that VR has the potential to enhance knowledge retention and comprehension in crystallography. Additionally, we discovered a substantial reduction in quiz completion time associated with the use of VR. Participants completed the quizzes 20% faster, indicating that VR can help streamline the learning process and make it more efficient.Furthermore, we investigated the participants' perceptions of VR as a platform for spatial comprehension. Impressively, 77% of the participants expressed a positive view of VR in this regard, acknowledging its ability to facilitate a deeper understanding of complex 3D spatial concepts. Moreover, a majority of the participants (76%) regarded VR as a valuable supplementary tool for crystallography education. They recognized the potential of VR to enhance their learning experience beyond traditional teaching methods. Furthermore, 68% of the students agreed that their conceptual understanding had been improved through the use of VR. This finding underscores the educational benefits of VR in crystallography instruction. However, when we explored the mixed response received regarding the impact of VR on
participants' interest in working with crystallography, we identified a crucial factor: the comfort level
experienced during movement within the VR environment. Participants who reported higher levels
of comfort showed higher levels of agreement for all the user experience survey questions. This
indicates the importance of minimizing motion sickness and ensuring user comfort to obtain higher
user satisfaction in VR educational games. These findings suggest that VR-based educational games have the promising potential to act as tools in the context of complex 3D spatial concepts. Additionally, the discovered association between user satisfaction and game design elements, such as the level of comfort during movement, emphasizes the need for efficient game design to make VR experiences more engaging and enjoyable.
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