{"id":1084,"date":"2021-01-26T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.leonardopavanatto.com\/3di\/?p=1084"},"modified":"2021-01-27T13:09:07","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T18:09:07","slug":"learning-immunology-in-ivr-a-story-of-neutrophils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/2021\/01\/26\/learning-immunology-in-ivr-a-story-of-neutrophils\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning Immunology in IVR: A Story of Neutrophils"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2020\/10\/Immunology-VR.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1086\" width=\"289\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2020\/10\/Immunology-VR.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2020\/10\/Immunology-VR-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2020\/10\/Immunology-VR-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 289px) 100vw, 289px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We created this immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience with specifically embedded concepts about human&nbsp;immunology&nbsp;to investigate how different levels of interactivity and different storytelling designs in VR could affect a user&#8217;s learning experience and knowledge gain.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine being able to experience a battle between your own immune cells and the pathogens you come into contact with every second from the viewpoint of a single immune cell. You are a foot soldier protecting the body against foreign invaders at all costs. You would view yourself traveling through blood vessels until you sense the invading pathogen and then migrate through tight spaces in tissues until you come into contact with the pathogen and unleash an arsenal of toxic chemicals or \u201ctraps\u201d to kill the pathogen. It is an amazing viewpoint and you have more than five thousand of these cells in every droplet of your blood! Without the immune system, humans would die within one day because they are exposed to pathogens everywhere in the environment. However, those incredible immune cells and their fantastic journeys inside human body and battles with pathogens can only be observed under microscopes in lab settings and are not easy to be accessed by common people. Moreover, the complexity of how human immune systems work adds difficulty to the understanding of some important immunology concepts in college biology classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To visualize what happens in human immune systems in an educational way, we developed an immersive virtual reality (IVR) experience that integrates elements of storytelling, gaming mechanisms, principles of learning sciences and instructional design to promote learning of specific immunology concepts through rich interactions and engaging narratives within a virtual environment. During the experience, a user will be taking on the role of a specific immune cell called neutrophil inside human body and experiencing its migration process from blood vessels to a site of infection in body tissues and killing pathogens there with three different killing mechanisms (phagocytosis, granulation, NETS). &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Immunology VR intro video 0430\" width=\"1778\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/itwNgg0mSDM?modestbranding=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Study I.&nbsp;Exploring Effects of Interactivity on Learning with Interactive Storytelling in Immersive Virtual Reality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Immersive virtual reality (VR) holds great potential for learning, but it is unclear how VR experiences should be designed to maximize learning potential. &nbsp;In this study, we explored how the level of interactivity in an educational VR storytelling experience affects a user\u2019s learning gains. We defined interactivity in our application context as the interactive features of a VR experience that support embedded learning concepts through learners\u2019 actions. In particular, interactivity provided by the VR experience should give a learner freedom in navigation, the ability to select virtual objects and apply intended effects, and the ability to access specific learning information in the environment. Based on the proposed definition, we created three versions of our Immunology VR experience with low (system automates as many actions as possible), medium (a combination of system automation and user-controlled actions), and high (as many user-controlled actions as possible) levels of interactivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Informed by studies on interactivity and Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) in interactive instructional media research, we hypothesized that a moderate level of interactivity may be the \u201csweet spot\u201d for learning in immersive VR. We therefore proposed three hypotheses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. Level of interactivity will significantly affect a user\u2019s learning gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Users will achieve the most learning gains in the medium interactivity condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. Increased levels of interactivity will significantly increase a user\u2019s engagement in the learning experience. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although data from pre and post-tests showed no significant difference in students\u2019 learning gains due to interactivity level, questionnaire and interview data suggest that interactivity in the experience significantly affects students\u2019 engagement in learning, attention, and focus on learning material. Participants also perceived that they could learn better and more effectively in a VR experience with a higher level of interactivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Study II.&nbsp;Exploring Levels of Storytelling on Learning with Interactive Storytelling in Immersive Virtual Reality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Work-in-Progress) We are currently working on an empirical study that focuses on the investigation of how different levels of storytelling elements (eg. character setup and story structures) affect acquisition and retention of new learning concepts in an interactive storytelling VR experience. Our hypotheses for the study are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. Stories with higher levels of character setup and structures will engage the learners more in an educational VR experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. The learners will retain intended learning concepts from the advanced level of story for the longest period of time compared to lower levels of storytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below is a video on the most recently developed study prototype.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Immunology VR  Storytelling Project Version 2.0 (2021 Update)\" width=\"1778\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Tt5WIlR7Azg?modestbranding=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"teachpress_pub_list\"><form name=\"tppublistform\" method=\"get\"><a name=\"tppubs\" id=\"tppubs\"><\/a><\/form><div class=\"teachpress_publication_list\"><h3 class=\"tp_h3\" id=\"tp_h3_conference\">Conferences<\/h3><div class=\"tp_publication tp_publication_conference\"><div class=\"tp_pub_info\"><p class=\"tp_pub_author\">Lei Zhang; Doug A Bowman<\/p><p class=\"tp_pub_title\">Exploring Effects of Interactivity on Learning with Interactive Storytelling in Immersive Virtual Reality <span class=\"tp_pub_type tp_  conference\">Conference<\/span> <\/p><p class=\"tp_pub_additional\"><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_booktitle\">Virtual Worlds and Games for Serious Applications (VS-GAMES), <\/span><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_organization\">ACM <\/span><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_publisher\">ACM, <\/span><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_address\">Vienna, Austria, <\/span><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_year\">2019<\/span>.<\/p><p class=\"tp_pub_menu\"><span class=\"tp_abstract_link\"><a id=\"tp_abstract_sh_8\" class=\"tp_show\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('8','tp_abstract')\" title=\"Show abstract\" style=\"cursor:pointer;\">Abstract<\/a><\/span> | <span class=\"tp_bibtex_link\"><a id=\"tp_bibtex_sh_8\" class=\"tp_show\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('8','tp_bibtex')\" title=\"Show BibTeX entry\" style=\"cursor:pointer;\">BibTeX<\/a><\/span><\/p><div class=\"tp_bibtex\" id=\"tp_bibtex_8\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"tp_bibtex_entry\"><pre>@conference{328,<br \/>\r\ntitle = {Exploring Effects of Interactivity on Learning with Interactive Storytelling in Immersive Virtual Reality},<br \/>\r\nauthor = {Lei Zhang and Doug A Bowman},<br \/>\r\neditor = {Caroline N Jones},<br \/>\r\nyear  = {2019},<br \/>\r\ndate = {2019-09-01},<br \/>\r\nbooktitle = {Virtual Worlds and Games for Serious Applications (VS-GAMES)},<br \/>\r\npublisher = {ACM},<br \/>\r\naddress = {Vienna, Austria},<br \/>\r\norganization = {ACM},<br \/>\r\nabstract = {&lt;p&gt;Immersive virtual reality (VR) holds great potential for learning, but it is unclear how VR experiences should be designed to maximize learning potential.  In this study, we explored how the level of interactivity in an educational VR storytelling experience for immunology learning affects a user&rsquo;s learning gains. We created three versions of the VR experience with low (system automates as many actions as possible), medium (a combination of system automation and user-controlled actions), and high (as many user-controlled actions as possible) levels of interactivity. We hypothesized that too much or too little interactivity would result in smaller learning gains than a medium level of interactivity. Although data from pre and post-tests showed no significant difference in students&rsquo; learning gains due to interactivity level, questionnaire and interview data suggest that interactivity in the experience significantly affects students&rsquo; engagement in learning, attention, and focus on learning material. Participants also perceived that they could learn better and more effectively in a VR experience with a higher level of interactivity.&lt;\/p&gt; <br \/>\r\n&lt;p&gt; &lt;\/p&gt;},<br \/>\r\nkeywords = {},<br \/>\r\npubstate = {published},<br \/>\r\ntppubtype = {conference}<br \/>\r\n}<br \/>\r\n<\/pre><\/div><p class=\"tp_close_menu\"><a class=\"tp_close\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('8','tp_bibtex')\">Close<\/a><\/p><\/div><div class=\"tp_abstract\" id=\"tp_abstract_8\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"tp_abstract_entry\">&lt;p&gt;Immersive virtual reality (VR) holds great potential for learning, but it is unclear how VR experiences should be designed to maximize learning potential. &amp;nbsp;In this study, we explored how the level of interactivity in an educational VR storytelling experience for immunology learning affects a user&amp;rsquo;s learning gains. We created three versions of the VR experience with low (system automates as many actions as possible), medium (a combination of system automation and user-controlled actions), and high (as many user-controlled actions as possible) levels of interactivity. We hypothesized that too much or too little interactivity would result in smaller learning gains than a medium level of interactivity. Although data from pre and post-tests showed no significant difference in students&amp;rsquo; learning gains due to interactivity level, questionnaire and interview data suggest that interactivity in the experience significantly affects students&amp;rsquo; engagement in learning, attention, and focus on learning material. Participants also perceived that they could learn better and more effectively in a VR experience with a higher level of interactivity.&lt;\/p&gt; <br \/>\r\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;\/p&gt;<\/div><p class=\"tp_close_menu\"><a class=\"tp_close\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('8','tp_abstract')\">Close<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"tp_publication tp_publication_conference\"><div class=\"tp_pub_info\"><p class=\"tp_pub_author\">Lei Zhang; Doug A Bowman<\/p><p class=\"tp_pub_title\"><a class=\"tp_title_link\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('9','tp_links')\" style=\"cursor:pointer;\">Enabling immunology learning in virtual reality through storytelling and interactivity<\/a> <span class=\"tp_pub_type tp_  conference\">Conference<\/span> <\/p><p class=\"tp_pub_additional\"><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_booktitle\">Human-Computer Interaction International (HCII), <\/span><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_organization\">Springer <\/span><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_publisher\">Springer, <\/span><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_address\">Orlando, FL, <\/span><span class=\"tp_pub_additional_year\">2019<\/span>.<\/p><p class=\"tp_pub_menu\"><span class=\"tp_abstract_link\"><a id=\"tp_abstract_sh_9\" class=\"tp_show\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('9','tp_abstract')\" title=\"Show abstract\" style=\"cursor:pointer;\">Abstract<\/a><\/span> | <span class=\"tp_resource_link\"><a id=\"tp_links_sh_9\" class=\"tp_show\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('9','tp_links')\" title=\"Show links and resources\" style=\"cursor:pointer;\">Links<\/a><\/span> | <span class=\"tp_bibtex_link\"><a id=\"tp_bibtex_sh_9\" class=\"tp_show\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('9','tp_bibtex')\" title=\"Show BibTeX entry\" style=\"cursor:pointer;\">BibTeX<\/a><\/span><\/p><div class=\"tp_bibtex\" id=\"tp_bibtex_9\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"tp_bibtex_entry\"><pre>@conference{327,<br \/>\r\ntitle = {Enabling immunology learning in virtual reality through storytelling and interactivity},<br \/>\r\nauthor = {Lei Zhang and Doug A Bowman},<br \/>\r\neditor = {Caroline N Jones},<br \/>\r\ndoi = {doi:10.1007\/978-3-030-21565-1_28},<br \/>\r\nyear  = {2019},<br \/>\r\ndate = {2019-07-01},<br \/>\r\nbooktitle = {Human-Computer Interaction International (HCII)},<br \/>\r\npublisher = {Springer},<br \/>\r\naddress = {Orlando, FL},<br \/>\r\norganization = {Springer},<br \/>\r\nabstract = {&lt;div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\"&gt; &lt;div class=\"layoutArea\"&gt; &lt;div class=\"column\"&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size: 9.000000pt; font-family: textquoterightTimesNewRomanPSMTtextquoteright\"&gt;Immunology concepts typically taught at the college level involve both factual and process-based knowledge and present learning barriers to col- lege students. Immunology knowledge can be difficult for students to visualize and relate to. To help students better understand specific immunology concepts and increase their learning motivation and engagement, we designed the Immu- nology virtual reality (VR) application. Immunology VR leverages the rich in- teractivity and immersion offered by virtual reality systems to create a highly interactive and narrative-driven immersive VR experience that takes students on an exciting journey inside the human body. In this paper, we describe the design of the Immunology VR experience, focusing on our use of an interactive digital storytelling approach to enable learning.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt; <br \/>\r\n &lt;\/div&gt; <br \/>\r\n\t&lt;\/div&gt; <br \/>\r\n&lt;\/div&gt; <br \/>\r\n&lt;p&gt; &lt;\/p&gt;},<br \/>\r\nkeywords = {},<br \/>\r\npubstate = {published},<br \/>\r\ntppubtype = {conference}<br \/>\r\n}<br \/>\r\n<\/pre><\/div><p class=\"tp_close_menu\"><a class=\"tp_close\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('9','tp_bibtex')\">Close<\/a><\/p><\/div><div class=\"tp_abstract\" id=\"tp_abstract_9\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"tp_abstract_entry\">&lt;div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\"&gt; &lt;div class=\"layoutArea\"&gt; &lt;div class=\"column\"&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size: 9.000000pt; font-family: textquoterightTimesNewRomanPSMTtextquoteright\"&gt;Immunology concepts typically taught at the college level involve both factual and process-based knowledge and present learning barriers to col- lege students. Immunology knowledge can be difficult for students to visualize and relate to. To help students better understand specific immunology concepts and increase their learning motivation and engagement, we designed the Immu- nology virtual reality (VR) application. Immunology VR leverages the rich in- teractivity and immersion offered by virtual reality systems to create a highly interactive and narrative-driven immersive VR experience that takes students on an exciting journey inside the human body. In this paper, we describe the design of the Immunology VR experience, focusing on our use of an interactive digital storytelling approach to enable learning.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/p&gt; <br \/>\r\n &lt;\/div&gt; <br \/>\r\n\t&lt;\/div&gt; <br \/>\r\n&lt;\/div&gt; <br \/>\r\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;\/p&gt;<\/div><p class=\"tp_close_menu\"><a class=\"tp_close\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('9','tp_abstract')\">Close<\/a><\/p><\/div><div class=\"tp_links\" id=\"tp_links_9\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"tp_links_entry\"><ul class=\"tp_pub_list\"><li><i class=\"ai ai-doi\"><\/i><a class=\"tp_pub_list\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/doi:10.1007\/978-3-030-21565-1_28\" title=\"Follow DOI:doi:10.1007\/978-3-030-21565-1_28\" target=\"_blank\">doi:doi:10.1007\/978-3-030-21565-1_28<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><p class=\"tp_close_menu\"><a class=\"tp_close\" onclick=\"teachpress_pub_showhide('9','tp_links')\">Close<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div>\n<h2>Sponsor<\/h2>\n<div class=\"sponsor\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/icat.vt.edu\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/themes\/3disensational\/images\/sponsors\/icat.png\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We created this immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience with specifically embedded concepts about human&nbsp;immunology&nbsp;to investigate how different levels of interactivity and different storytelling designs in VR could affect a user&#8217;s learning experience and knowledge gain.&nbsp; Imagine being able to experience a battle between your own immune cells and the pathogens you come into contact with <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/2021\/01\/26\/learning-immunology-in-ivr-a-story-of-neutrophils\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":332,"featured_media":1086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[39,48,68,71],"ppma_author":[397,391],"class_list":["post-1084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-projects","tag-games","tag-immersive-virtual-reality","tag-science-education","tag-storytelling"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2020\/10\/Immunology-VR.jpg","authors":[{"term_id":397,"user_id":332,"is_guest":0,"slug":"leiz","display_name":"Lei Zhang","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2020\/10\/ID-Photo_Lei-Zhang.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2020\/10\/ID-Photo_Lei-Zhang.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""},{"term_id":391,"user_id":331,"is_guest":0,"slug":"dbowman","display_name":"Doug Bowman","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2021\/01\/professional_photo2_2019-cropped-square-smaller-scaled.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/141\/2021\/01\/professional_photo2_2019-cropped-square-smaller-scaled.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/332"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1084"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2361,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions\/2361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/3digroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}