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2014 » Papers » Volume 1 » Prototyping a 3D MMO Virtual Environment for Chemistry Learning 1. PROTOTYPING A 3D MMO VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR CHEMISTRY LEARNING Authors: Ahmad Shudayfat Eman, Moldoveanu Florica Volume 1 | DOI: 10.12753/2066-026X-14-003 | Pages: 24-32 | Download PDF | Abstract
Many methods and tools used to teach traditional chemistry in laboratories no longer meets the educational needs of students, in terms of scale and intensity of practice. There is a need to develop efficient learning tools and methods, making the best use of modern technologies.
In this paper we present our initial work in prototyping a 3D virtual chemistry laboratory and studying the students' interaction with it.
The virtual chemistry lab was created using OpenSim. Any student can enter the virtual laboratory in the form of an avatar; he can then interact with different objects (chemical materials, recipients, periodic table, equations, etc.) from the 3D environment in order to perform the learning tasks, for example to make chemical reactions. Besides the pure 3D objects and actions, rich multimedia information (e.g. videos) is also embedded in the 3D environment.
Our virtual laboratory resembles traditional chemistry laboratory with all its contents such as chemical materials, but offers more sources of information and live interactions. Chemical experiments are presented in a fun and exciting way, making the learning process enjoyable.
We conducted an experiment with the prototype with a group of 20 students. The way that they interacted with the system was observed and, at the end, they filled several questionnaires regarding their experience in using the system. Both students and teachers reacted favorably to the virtual chemistry laboratory, showing interest, excitement and enjoyment in using this environment.
Several important observations regarding the design of the 3D space for optimal interactions were made during the experiments, which are indicated at the end of this paper and set the directions for our future work. | Keywords
3D virtual space, virtual laboratory, immersive learning |
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