Elsevier

Computers & Education

Volume 51, Issue 2, September 2008, Pages 584-593
Computers & Education

Full immersive virtual environment CAVETM in chemistry education

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2007.06.014Get rights and content

Abstract

By comparing two-dimensional (2D) chemical animations designed for computer’s desktop with three-dimensional (3D) chemical animations designed for the full immersive virtual reality environment CAVETM we studied how virtual reality environments could raise student’s interest and motivation for learning. By using the 3ds maxTM, we can visualize the chemical phenomena easily and quickly without knowing any special computer language and export the application to files which are compatible with the CAVETM (Object or OpenGL files). After the participation in 3D animations at the CAVETM students comprehended the molecules’ structure and their changes during a chemical reaction better than during the 2D animations on the computer’s desktop, as the limitations of human vision had been overcome. Furthermore, the students were enthusiastic, as they had the feeling that they were inside the chemical reactions and they were facing the 3D molecules as if they were real objects front of them.

Section snippets

Virtual reality environments-CAVETM

In the last decade, virtual reality environments in which the user has the feeling of being present in systematic environment have emerged. virtual reality (VR) incorporates high-speed three-dimensional graphics, audio feedback, psychology and special peripheral devices to produce “realistic” computer generated interactive environments that are indistinguishable from reality. The display devices which are used in the virtual reality environments are characterized by the level of immersion in

Virtual reality and learning

“Virtual environments can provide a rich, interactive, engaging educational context, supporting experimental learning” (Mantovani, 2003). Burner (1996) pointed out that VR can provide a medium to learn by doing, through first-person experience enhancing the learning procedure. First-person experiences play a central role in his/her interaction with the world. The learners construct their own reality through interpretation of personal perceptual experiences. The reality is constructed in their

Chemistry education

“Chemistry is a conceptual subject and in order to explain many of the concepts teachers use models to describe the microscopic world and relate it to the macroscopic properties of matter (Taber, 2002)”. According to Johnstone (1997), chemistry consists of three forms which can be thought of as corners of a triangle. No form is superior to another, but each one complements the other. These forms of the subject are: (i) the macro and tangible: what can be seen, touched and smelt; (ii) the sub

Investigation

In our investigation we compared 2D chemical animations designed for computer’s desktop with 3D chemical animations designed for a full immersive virtual reality environment and we studied how virtual reality environments could raise student’s interest and motivation for learning and promote chemistry learning. This research was held in the Centre for virtual reality of Salford University (UK) and we presented the two different kinds of chemical animations (2D and 3D) to the same group of

Animations

The two different kinds of animations (2D and 3D) which we developed by using the 3ds maxTM were about

  • 1.

    the reaction of methyl orange with acid and its behavior in the water.

  • 2.

    the air and the formation of acid rain.

The animations were designed following the cognitive load theory aspects which assumes that the human cognitive system consists of two distinct channels for representing and controlling knowledge: an auditory-verbal channel and a visual–pictorial channel (Mayer & Moreno, 2002) and a

Introductory part

In order for students to have the same background when they observed the animations, we introduced them to the cognitive subject of (i) acid–base, indicators and the structure of methyl orange and (ii) the composition of air and the formation of acid-rain using Power-Point presentation. These topics were well-known to students as they have been taught them during their studies. Thus, the students were informed about the topics and they could focus on the chemistry of 2D/3D animations knowing

Results–discussion

The aim of the chemistry questionnaire was to establish whether the students better understood the chemical topics after their participation in the full immersive virtual environment compared to the computer’s desktop application. By processing the data of the correct answers (ANOVA statistic analysis) we found that there was a significant difference between the students’ answers after their participation in the classroom and the CAVETM (Table 1). Thus, although the limitations of the human

Conclusion

“Chemistry is a conceptual subject and in order to explain many of the concepts teachers use models to describe the microscopic world and relate it to the macroscopic properties of matter (Taber, 2002)”. However, many times there is a conflict between chemical science and the student’s every-day experience and use of language (Bradley and Brand, 1985, Garratt et al., 2000, Nakhleh, 1992, Ozkaya et al., 2003, Peterson and Treagust, 1993). The full immersive virtual reality Environment CAVETM

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Prof. J.C. Whitehead (School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom) for useful suggestions during the manuscript preparation.

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