Organic Chemistry in Virtual Reality: Bridging Gaps between Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Representations

The traditional two-dimensional representations in organic chemistry education highlighted the lack of depth and interactivity, impeding student learning, engagement, and comprehension. By emphasizing on the limitations of conventional educational materials, the research advocated for integrating Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, which enhance organic chemistry visualization. The main objective was to bridge the gap between two and three-dimensional perspectives, offering a more dynamic and interactive learning experience. The thesis aimed to assess traditional teaching methods in organic chemistry—lectures, textbooks, and laboratory exercises. It also aimed to identify their challenges in conveying complex molecular structures and reactions effectively. Additionally, it explored the integration of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) with these conventional methods. The goal had been to develop a cohesive educational framework that combined the strengths of both traditional and modern technological approaches. This blended learning model was meant to improve student engagement and understanding by incorporating dynamic visualizations into lectures as well as interactive content into textbooks. Building on this premise, the research focused on the following questions: 1. What challenges do traditional teaching methods face in teaching organic chemistry concepts adequately? 2. What advantages do VR and AR offer in organic chemistry education compared to traditional methods? 3. What impact do VR and AR technologies have on student engagement in organic chemistry compared to traditional teaching methods? 4. How can VR and AR be tailored to meet pedagogical and andragogical needs in organic chemistry education? 5. Why are VR and AR more effective than traditional methods in enhancing learning in organic chemistry? 6. What are the best strategies for integrating VR and AR into the organic chemistry curricula to enhance learning alongside traditional methods? 7. How can AR and VR in organic chemistry education be aligned with Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development to improve learning outcomes? 8. How can AR and VR be personalized in organic chemistry education to support individual learning and Piaget\u27s theory of self-learning? 9. What are the benefits and challenges of applying the \u27Ship Early, Ship Often\u27 approach to developing AR and VR tools in organic chemistry education? Upon the completion of this research, a literature review was conducted additionally as well as visual and content analyses. Based upon the research conducted, a visual solution was created to guide curriculum developers, textbook publishers, researchers, and educators in integrating VR and AR technologies into traditional organic chemistry curricula. The deliverable theory of the visual was a high-fidelity wireframe prototype created for VR and AR in Organic Chemistry, designed to enhance student engagement and understanding by combining immersive technology with traditional teaching methods. The project also featured a responsive website to inform stakeholders about the benefits of this integration, supported by print media like brochures, posters, and billboards for broader outreach and awareness. The high-fidelity wireframe prototype with the responsive website and supporting print media, were crucial elements in reshaping organic chemistry education, bridging the gap between traditional pedagogy and andragogy as well as futuristic learning paradigms

Virtual reality simulation for the optimization of endovascular procedures : current perspectives

Endovascular technologies are rapidly evolving, often - requiring coordination and cooperation between clinicians and technicians from diverse specialties. These multidisciplinary interactions lead to challenges that are reflected in the high rate of errors occurring during endovascular procedures. Endovascular virtual reality (VR) simulation has evolved from simple benchtop devices to full physic simulators with advanced haptics and dynamic imaging and physiological controls. The latest developments in this field include the use of fully immersive simulated hybrid angiosuites to train whole endovascular teams in crisis resource management and novel technologies that enable practitioners to build VR simulations based on patient-specific anatomy. As our understanding of the skills, both technical and nontechnical, required for optimal endovascular performance improves, the requisite tools for objective assessment of these skills are being developed and will further enable the use of VR simulation in the training and assessment of endovascular interventionalists and their entire teams. Simulation training that allows deliberate practice without danger to patients may be key to bridging the gap between new endovascular technology and improved patient outcomes

The virtual playground: an educational virtual reality environment for evaluating interactivity and conceptual learning

The research presented in this paper aims at investigating user interaction in immersive virtual learning environments (VLEs), focusing on the role and the effect of interactivity on conceptual learning. The goal has been to examine if the learning of young users improves through interacting in (i.e. exploring, reacting to, and acting upon) an immersive virtual environment (VE) compared to non interactive or non-immersive environments. Empirical work was carried out with more than 55 primary school students between the ages of 8 and 12, in different between-group experiments: an exploratory study, a pilot study, and a large-scale experiment. The latter was conducted in a virtual environment designed to simulate a playground. In this ‘Virtual Playground’, each participant was asked to complete a set of tasks designed to address arithmetical ‘fractions’ problems. Three different conditions, two experimental virtual reality (VR) conditions and a non-VR condition, that varied the levels of activity and interactivity, were designed to evaluate how children accomplish the various tasks. Pre-tests, post-tests, interviews, video, audio, and log files were collected for each participant, and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. This paper presents a selection of case studies extracted from the qualitative analysis, which illustrate the variety of approaches taken by children in the VEs in response to visual cues and system feedback. Results suggest that the fully interactive VE aided children in problem solving but did not provide as strong evidence of conceptual change as expected; rather, it was the passive VR environment, where activity was guided by a virtual robot, that seemed to support student reflection and recall, leading to indications of conceptual change

ILR Research in Progress 2011-12

The production of scholarly research continues to be one of the primary missions of the ILR School. During a typical academic year, ILR faculty members published or had accepted for publication over 25 books, edited volumes, and monographs, 170 articles and chapters in edited volumes, numerous book reviews. In addition, a large number of manuscripts were submitted for publication, presented at professional association meetings, or circulated in working paper form. Our faculty's research continues to find its way into the very best industrial relations, social science and statistics journals.Research_in_Progress_2011_12.pdf: 46 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Discovery and Strategic Partnership Group Concept Mapping: 2014-2015 Progress Report

In 2014, New York State received funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to begin the NYS PROMISE (Promote the Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income) research initiative. The goal of this initiative is to coordinate the system of support surrounding these youths to better catalyze their potential to transition from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to a sustainable future of living and earning as independent adults. To guide strategy and support PROMISE priorities over the course of the initiative, NYS PROMISE convened the NYS PROMISE Steering Committee, comprised of appointed liaisons from agencies who are connected to the NYS PROMISE initiative. To support sustainable partnership development for greater progress and impact on the goals of NYS PROMISE, the Steering Committee engaged in a structured, time sensitive strategic planning and partnership framework development effort. To develop the elements of a prioritized strategy, the group used Group Concept Mapping (GCM), and constructed a visual framework, or concept map, that served as the basis for prioritization and strategy development throughout the process. The GCM approach employs a group process to capture individual contributions for consensus around a given topic, using a structured approach with a specific sequence of steps that support timely and consistent engagement in the process. GCM incorporates opinions and values, and presents the results in ways that are understandable and usable. 25 individuals from 8 member agencies took part in the concept map development, contributing elements in response to the following prompt: “To yield enduring individual outcomes, a viable system to support youth with disabilities in their transition from high school to successful adult lives needs to include…

iLRN 2018 Main Conference Preface

iLRN 2018. Conferência realizada em Missoula, MT, USA, de 24-29 de junho de 2018.ILRN 2018 was the fourth annual international conference of the Immersive Learning Network. It followed on from the inaugural conference held in Prague in July 2015, the second conference held in Santa Barbara in June 2016, and the third conference held in Coimbra, Portugal, in 2017. In response to the increasingly accessible and powerful range of VR and AR technology, the vision of the iLRN is to develop a comprehensive research and outreach agenda that encompasses the breadth and scope of learning potentialities, affordances, and challenges of immersive learning environments. To achieve this, the iLRN invites and hosts scientists, practitioners, organizations, and innovators across many disciplines to explore, describe, and apply the optimal use of immersive worlds and environments for educational purposes. The annual conference aims to explain and demonstrate how these immersive learning environments best work. In 2018, 21 formal papers were received for the main conference and after a rigorous reviewing process six were selected for this Springer publication (28% acceptance rate). The authors of these papers come from institutions located in Brazil, Germany, the UK, and the USA (Florida, Texas, California). The main conference papers cover a range of interesting topics in some depth, providing useful information for other educators and researchers. Alvarez-Molina et al. report on how video games can help players develop their musical skills and illustrate this by creating and evaluating a music-video game that aims to improve the key skill of pitch recognition. Bakri et al. investigate the subjective perception of the fidelity of 3D cultural heritage artifacts on the Web and how this affects the user experience. De León reports on the promising results of utilizing problem-based learning for bridging theory and practice in teacher preparation programs through the use of immersive, ill-structured problems in a multi-user virtual environment that simulates a real school. Feenan draws upon 10 years of studies into the use of digital game-based learning as the basis of an analysis that recommends a five-pronged approach to the successful use of games to support social resiliency skills for students in a fast-changing world. Johnson and Sullivan describe a pilot study that identifies three key strategies for making students feel more comfortable and productive in an experimental game design class. Queiroz et al. present a literature review of learning outcomes from using fully HMD-based IVE in primary/K-12 education, highlighting relevant studies, identifying gaps, and providing insights for use in further research. This informative and fascinating collection of papers reflects the emerging and valuable possibilities of immersive learning research. We know you will find many points of interest and use in the well-presented reports in this collection. Finally, we strongly encourage you to join ILRN and contribute your own insights and research to the community.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio