As immunology continues to evolve, many educational methods have found difficulty in conveying the degree of complexity inherent in its basic principles. Today, the teaching-learning process in such areas has been improved with tools such as educational software. This article introduces "Virtual Immunology," a software program available free of charge in Portuguese and English, which can be used by teachers and students in physiology, immunology, and cellular biology classes. We discuss the development of the initial two modules: "Organs and Lymphoid Tissues" and "Inflammation" and the use of interactive activities to provide microscopic and macroscopic understanding in immunology. Students, both graduate and undergraduate, were questioned along with university level professors about the quality of the software and intuitiveness of use, facility of navigation, and aesthetic organization using a Likert scale. An overwhelmingly satisfactory result was obtained with both students and immunology teachers. Programs such as "Virtual Immunology" are offering more interactive, multimedia approaches to complex scientific principles that increase student motivation, interest, and comprehension.

The use of computers as a pedagogical resource is currently on the rise. In the case of immunology, students present difficulties in visualizing molecular phenomena. Thus the use of animations and simulations available on the internet might facilitate the learning of complex immunological concepts. In this context, it is important to map and assess the currently available resources that may be used for educational purposes. This study comprises the search and analysis of educational immunology software freely available on the internet, which can aid students and health professionals in effective learning and continuing education scenarios. A detailed search in English on the existence of free software was carried out on websites and scientific databases. The results clearly indicate a lack of freely available and scientifically validated immunology educational software, despite the existence of several software programs that could be used as auxiliary teaching tools.

Immunology is a knowledge area of paramount importance in life sciences and health care professional education with diverse applications, as well as for a general public understanding of issues related to vaccination. However, many concepts are complex and difficult to be understood based only on conventional classes or static images. The use of tools, such as educational software, may enhance the learning of dynamic molecular phenomena that occur in our bodies. Virtual Immunology is a software that aims to facilitate the learning of certain complex immunology concepts. Herein, we present the "antigen-antibody interactions" module that was used and evaluated by 127 students and three teachers from medical schools from two universities, one public and one private, both in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pre-test/post-test research design was used to assess student learning in a randomized sample. To evaluate user perceptions concerning software quality, 14 statements were analyzed using a Likert scale. Results indicate suitable evaluations from both students and teachers concerning the "antigen-antibody module" as an auxiliary tool in immunology teaching. The software was well rated an educational resource since it allows dynamically viewing immunological phenomena. In addition, its ease of use and immunological process visualization were the best-evaluated parameters by the students, which recommended this software module as an auxiliary learning tool. The use of the evaluated software may motivate students and aid in the understanding of immunology-related concepts, becoming a complementary tool that may enhance the teaching-learning process.