This study examines whether eudaimonic virtual reality (VR) games are more effective than hedonic VR games, hedonic desktop games, or noninteractive, nonimmersive videos for daily stress reduction and mood management. To test this, we recruited university participants (N = 202), and randomly assigned them to one of these four conditions. Results showed that eudaimonic VR gaming, hedonic VR gaming, and hedonic desktop gaming conditions were effective for inducing positive moods, and providing recovery experiences compared to a (desktop) video-watching control condition. However, eudaimonic VR game condition performed best in terms of reducing stress and alleviating negative affect. Therefore, in addition to providing positive experiences, eudaimonic VR games also show promise especially when players seek to decrease stress and regulate negative emotions. The overall pattern for the postplay stress scores was in decreasing order from noninteractive to interactive, from nonimmersive to immersive, and from nonmeaningful to meaningful conditions for stress and negative mood and in increasing order for recovery and positive mood. This provided support to the idea that the qualities of interactivity, immersion, and meaningfulness have additive effects, and might incrementally accumulate and contribute to stress reduction. Implications and suggestions are presented, and future work is discussed.

Students regularly struggle with visualization and modeling of physical phenomena. Incorporating smartphones into teaching strategies has the potential to improve learning outcomes while simultaneously augmenting students' digital literacy skills in an applied context. This chapter discusses two smartphone applications developed by the authors and the accompanying research efforts in understanding how students might learn with this technology. The first app pairs augmented reality (AR) with smartphone magnetometers to visualize three-dimensional magnetic fields in space. The second uses light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology available on modern iPhone models to plot position-time and velocity-time graphs based on users' motions. Each was developed with the support of students, teachers, software developers, and educational psychologists. In this chapter, the authors share their perspectives and other recommendations for the use and development of similar technologies to improve learning.

While virtual reality (VR) provides a great potential for musical instrument learning, little attention has been paid to the instructional design in creating a VR musical instrument. Previous research has suggested that high embodied interaction or added visual cues (e.g., distinctive colors, flashing areas) on VR-based musical instrument may aid students' learning. In this study, we investigated the feasibility and efficacy of the embodied design (low and high level of embodiment; LoEmb and HiEmb) and visual cues (low and high level of visual cues; LoViz and HiViz) on students' musical instrument learning. Four corresponding virtual Chinese dulcimers (Yangqin) were thereby designed. A sample of 112 university students participated in our study, and they were randomly assigned into the four conditions (LoEmb & LoViz, LoEmb & HiViz, HiEmb & LoViz, and HiEmb & HiViz). Results showed that the LoEmb design benefited students' completion rate, the HiViz improved students' playing rhythmic accuracy. Both LoEmb and HiViz decreased students' playing errors and improved their overall performance. Moreover, we found that the HiViz and HiEmb designs had a combined effect on reducing students' cognitive load and improving the instructional efficiency of learning material. These findings collectively reveal that the design of VR learning materials should carefully consider the trade-off between the level of embodiment and visual cues.

Multiple assessments, including a novel videogame methodology, were used to understand how viewing a Giant Screen film in four different formats affected both science identity associated with liking science and desire to be a scientist, and learning gains on STEM content. Participants were 406 5th graders who were randomly assigned to watch the 45-min film called Amazon Adventure in either a (1) 2D Small Screen, (2) 2D Giant Flat Screen, (3) 3D Giant Flat Screen, or (4) curved Dome condition. The conditions increased in levels of immersivity as listed. In this 4 × 3 design, the first factor was viewing condition and the second was test time including pretests, posttests, and two-month followup on content knowledge tests relating to natural selection. The strongest pattern was seen at the followup time point where the three more immersive conditions (2D Giant Screen, 3D Giant Screen, and Dome) outperformed the Small Screen condition on the science identity measures of liking science and wanting to be a scientist when grown up. Additionally, two of the more immersive conditions performed significantly better at both posttest and followup on the videogame that assessed natural selection and mimicry knowledge. Significant gender effects at followup revealed that females in the two most immersive conditions (3D Flat and Dome) liked science significantly more and wanted to be a scientist more than males when grown. Interestingly, females also played the videogame significantly better than the males at both posttest and followup. These results suggest that increases in the immersivity of a film can have longer term effects on science identity, and those effects are stronger in females. Additionally, as more assessments are being designed in a gamified manner, designers/researchers should keep game-style (i.e., strategy games) and gender interactions in mind. It had not been predicted that the females would outperform the males on the STEM assessment videogame, but deduction games like the one in this study are probably capturing more than knowledge about natural selection, they may be a proxies for general intelligence or g . More research is needed on game type and gender effects during the school-age developmental span.

Data modeling and graphing skill sets are foundational to science learning and careers, yet students regularly struggle to master these basic competencies. Further, although educational researchers have uncovered numerous approaches to support sense-making with mathematical models of motion, teachers sometimes struggle to enact them due to a variety of reasons, including limited time and materials for lab-based teaching opportunities and a lack of awareness of student learning difficulties. In this paper, we introduce a free smartphone application that uses LiDAR data to support motion-based physics learning with an emphasis on graphing and mathematical modeling. We tested the embodied technology, called LiDAR Motion, with 106 students in a non-major, undergraduate physics classroom at a mid-sized, private university on the U.S. East Coast. In identical learning assessments issued both before and after the study, students working with LiDAR Motion improved their scores by a more significant margin than those using standard issue sonic rangers. Further, per a voluntary survey, students who used both technologies expressed a preference for LiDAR Motion. This mobile application holds potential for improving student learning in the classroom, at home, and in alternative learning environments.

Researchers, educators, and multimedia designers need to better understand how mixing physical tangible objects with virtual experiences affects learning and science identity. In this novel study, a 3D-printed tangible that is an accurate facsimile of the sort of expensive glassware that chemists use in real laboratories is tethered to a laptop with a digitized lesson. Interactive educational content is increasingly being placed online, it is important to understand the educational boundary conditions associated with passive haptics and 3D-printed manipulables. Cost-effective printed objects would be particularly welcome in rural and low Socio-Economic (SES) classrooms. A Mixed Reality (MR) experience was created that used a physical 3D-printed haptic burette to control a computer-based chemistry titration experiment. This randomized control trial study with 136 college students had two conditions: 1) low-embodied control (using keyboard arrows), and 2) high-embodied experimental (physically turning a valve/stopcock on the 3D-printed burette). Although both groups displayed similar significant gains on the declarative knowledge test, deeper analyses revealed nuanced Aptitude by Treatment Interactions (ATIs). These interactions favored the high-embodied experimental group that used the MR device for both titration-specific posttest knowledge questions and for science efficacy and science identity. Those students with higher prior science knowledge displayed higher titration knowledge scores after using the experimental 3D-printed haptic device. A multi-modal linguistic and gesture analysis revealed that during recall the experimental participants used the stopcock-turning gesture significantly more often, and their recalls created a significantly different Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA). ENA is a type of 2D projection of the recall data, stronger connections were seen in the high embodied group mainly centering on the key hand-turning gesture. Instructors and designers should consider the multi-modal and multi-dimensional nature of the user interface, and how the addition of another sensory-based learning signal (haptics) might differentially affect lower prior knowledge students. One hypothesis is that haptically manipulating novel devices during learning may create more cognitive load. For low prior knowledge students, it may be advantageous for them to begin learning content on a more ubiquitous interface (e.g., keyboard) before moving them to more novel, multi-modal MR devices/interfaces.

To understand how students learn while engaged in active and embodied science games, two gears games were created. Would students' gear switching skills during the game be correlated with pre- and post-knowledge tests? Twenty-three seventh graders, playing as dyads, used gestures to manipulate virtual gears in the games. The Microsoft Kinect sensor tracked arm-spinning movements. Paper and pencil gear knowledge tests were administered before and after. In Game 1 (the easier one), the in-game switching data was significantly negatively correlated with only pretest gear knowledge. In Game 2 (the harder one), switching was negatively associated with both pre- and posttests. Negative correlations mean that fewer switches were used and that demonstrated better knowledge of mechanical advantage. In-game process data can provide a window onto learner's knowledge. However, the games need to have appropriate sensitivity and map to the learner's ZPD. In ludo (or in-process) data from videogames with high sensitivity may attenuate the need for repetitive traditional knowledge tests.

Virtual reality (VR) has a high potential to facilitate education. However, the design of many VR learning applications was criticized for lacking the guidance of explicit and appropriate learning theories. To advance the use of VR in effective instruction, this study proposed a model that extended the cognitive-affective theory of learning with media (CATLM) into a VR learning context and evaluated this model using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Undergraduate students ( n = 77) learned about the solar system in a VR environment over three sessions. Overall, the results supported the core principles and assumptions of CATLM in a VR context (CATLM-VR). In addition, the CATLM-VR model illustrated how immersive VR may impact learning. Specifically, immersion had an overall positive impact on user experience and motivation. However, the impact of immersion on cognitive load was uncertain, and that uncertainty made the final learning outcomes less predictable. Enhancing students’ motivation and cognitive engagement may more directly increase learning achievement than increasing the level of immersion and may be more universally applicable in VR instruction.

Covid-19 has prompted a surge of data visualizations that have been published for public consumption, yet, many have not had broad appeal or may have not been well-understood by laypeople. A data storytelling platform called Flow Immersive has been created to successfully engage both laypeople and experts in understanding complex information. This tool integrates emerging technologies [e.g., augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)] with a multiplatform, multiuser publishing approach. From October 2020 to December 2020, Flow’s Covid-19 AR videos captured 9 million (9,000,000) views, and have been used in multiple professional presentations. This paper documents the journey from development to deployment, and some user feedback which all led to breakthroughs in scalability and higher levels of engagement.

This article highlights several game design choices made during the creation of a browser-based game on mitigation strategies for Covid-19. Additionally, it presents a within group comparison of learning gains and self-reported behavioral changes after playing the game. Results show that the short COVIDCampus game has the potential to change college-age players' Covid-19 related mitigation behaviors and it significantly increased players' confidence in asking important health-related questions (Cohen's d=.27). Some implications are discussed.

We explore how an AR simulation created by a multidisciplinary team evolved into a more interactive, student-centered learning game. The CovidCampus experience was designed to help college students understand how their decisions can affect their probability of infection throughout a day on campus. There were eight decision points throughout the day. Within group comparisons of immediate learning gains and self-reported behavioral changes were analyzed. Results revealed a significant increase in confidence in asking safety-related questions. Post-play, a significant majority of players listed new actions they would take to increase their safety; players were more agentic in their choices. This game allowed players to go back and replay with different choices, but only 7% chose to replay. Short, interactive desktop games may be an effective method for disseminating information about how to stay safer during a pandemic. The game appeared to positively change most players' health behaviors related to mitigation of an infectious disease. Designers of interactive health games should strive to create multi-disciplinary teams, include constructs that allow players to agentically make decisions, and to compare outcomes over time.

This study investigated changes in learners' motivation, engagement, performance, and spatial reasoning over time and across different levels of virtual reality (VR) immersion. Undergraduate participants explored a virtual solar system via a moderately immersive or highly immersive VR platform over three sessions. In a third condition, participants initially learned with moderate immersion and transitioned to higher immersion after the second session. Following research on novelty effects, we explored whether subjective experiences and performance would decline over time (e.g., decreasing motivation or performance) as participants became familiar with the virtual environment and tools. However, we hypothesized that transitional immersion (i.e., switching from moderate to higher immersion) might lead to a renewed sense of novelty. Results suggested that both moderate and higher levels of immersion were motivating, engaging, and supportive of learning. In contrast to predictions based on novelty effects, these outcomes did not decline overall as learners gained familiarity with the systems. However, transitional immersion emerged as a promising and testable pedagogical approach for future VR education. All participants also showed gains in spatial reasoning.

Objective: Smoking is a major cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. Evidence-based intervention programs to help young adults quit smoking are largely lacking; identifying targets for intervention is therefore critical. A candidate target is inhibitory control, with previous studies on Go/No-Go trainings showing behavior change in the food and alcohol domain. The current study examined the mechanisms of change of HitnRun, a Go/No-Go game, in a smoking population that was motivated to quit. Method: A 2-armed experimental study (n = 106) was conducted and young adults (Mage = 22.15; SDage = 2.59) were randomly assigned to either play HitnRun or to read a psychoeducational brochure. Prior to and directly following the intervention period, smoking-specific and general inhibitory control, perceived attractiveness of smoking pictures, and weekly smoking behavior were assessed. Results: Results indicated that Go/No-Go training seems to decrease evaluations of smoking stimuli rather than top-down smoking-specific and general control processes. Similar reductions for weekly smoking were found in both groups. Conclusions: Go/No-Go training did not differentially influence smoking-specific inhibitory control, general inhibitory control and weekly smoking behavior. Go/No-Go training might be able to decrease evaluations of smoking stimuli, yet based on the current study we cannot rule out the possibility of regression to the mean. More research and iterative design is needed to better understand the potential role of Go/No-Go training in smoking cessation interventions, as well as exploring other evidence-based mechanisms (e.g., peer processes, self-efficacy) that might be an important addition to smoking cessation interventions for young people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Citation: Johnson-Glenberg MC (2021) Editorial: Compelling COVID-19 Graphical Simulations. Front. Comput. Sci. 3:779793. doi: 10.3389/fcomp.2021.779793

Augmented Reality (AR) presents many opportunities to design systems that can aid students in learning complex chemistry concepts. Chemistry is a 3D concept that student soften have trouble visualizing using 2D media. AR-some Chemistry Models is an AR application to visualize complex chemical molecules. Our app can generate 3D interactive molecules from chemical names, handdrawn and printed line-angle structures of complex molecules. Allowing for handwritten input gives a student instant feedback on their self-generated understanding of a molecule and can improve knowledge retention. Students have the opportunity to visualize molecules from lecture notes, or even homework problems. Our application allows the student to interact with this molecule using simple touch screen commands to zoom in, zoom out, rotate and move the molecule in AR to understand the spatial relationship among the components. Our application also highlights and displays relevant textual information about a molecule's functional groups when they are tapped to further improve student learning. We present an affordable and accessible study tool to help students with their learning of chemistry molecules.

Experiences in immersive 3D virtual reality (VR) are more presence-inducing, and so it may be tempting to claim that content will be learned better in VR. This randomized control trial study on natural selection challenges that assumption. This study answers the question of whether learning STEM in an immersive 3D VR environment is always superior to learning via a 2D monitor (PC). This is a 2 x 2 x 3 design. The first factor is platform immersivity (low = 2D PC, or high = 3D VR), the second factor is level of embodiment (lower = watching playback video, or higher = using mouse/controller to agentically manipulate content), and the third factor is test time (pretest, posttest, and follow-up). There was a significant main effect for embodiment, the high embodied and agentic groups learned the most. There was not a main effect for platform, because the participants in the low embodied VR group performed significantly worse than the three other groups. Although, the one high embodied, VR group learned and retained the most knowledge. A path-analysis revealed that the effect of platform was significantly mediated by presence, agency, and engagement. The smaller learning gain in the low embodied VR condition suggests that participants come to the immersive VR experience with expectations about agency and control of the virtual content, and when those expectations were not met, the disconnect was deleterious for learning. More agentic and interactive control of manipulable virtual content is encouraged. Design is critical, and platform is not destiny.