Crystal vision: Designing and evaluating a virtual reality game for teaching crystallography

Bejjarapu, Dhanush Sahasra

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121374 Copy

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.

Graduation Semester

2023-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121374

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Dhanush Sahasra Bejjarapu

Owning Collections