Using VR experience to show new subjects to undergraduate students: HalDron Project.

Abstract

Abstract The present research aimed to test if immersive technologies would help STEM undergraduate students from Ecuador to conceptualize and connect with new subjects. An application was developed for Oculus Quest 2 on Introduction to Radioactivity. The test subjects were presented with a questionnaire containing a theoretical assessment and then were exposed to a short, interactive experience about the topic with audio and video explanations from a Virtual Learning Companion and animations with small interactions and hyper-lapses in the fashion of a futuristic laboratory. A majority of the test subjects were not gamers and had little exposure to virtual reality outside of smartphones or 3D films before the experience. In a posterior questionnaire, results show that regardless of their prior experience, the users obtained a high degree of immersion that helped them understand and develop an interest in the topic. None of the students reduced their initial grade on the questionnaire, 44.8% increased their grades from one to two times, and 44.8% increased their grades 2 times or higher. Another questionnaire was presented to learn about their user experience to understand better how the immersion and their previous exposition, or lack thereof, helped them conceptualize the concepts presented.