A practical guide to developing virtual and augmented reality exercises for teaching structural biology

Abstract

Although virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) techniques have been used extensively in specialized laboratories, only recently did they become affordable, reaching wider consumer markets. With increased availability, it is timely to examine the roles that VR and AR may play in teaching structural biology and in experiencing complex data sets such as macromolecular structures. This guide is suitable for those teachers of structural biology who do not have a deep knowledge of information technologies. This study focuses on three questions: 1) How can teachers of structural biology produce and disseminate VR/AR‐ready educational material with established and user‐friendly software tools?; 2) What are the positive and negative experiences reported by test participants when performing identical learning tasks in the VR and AR environments?; and 3) How do the test participants perceive prerecorded narration during VR/AR exploration? © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(1):16–24, 2018.

Investigating Immersive Virtual Reality as an Educational Tool for Quantum Computing

“…In these scenarios, simply being able to easily view an object from different angles can enhance learning. Garcia-Bonete et al [11] made similar propositions after investigating VR (and AR) in a structural biology learning environment. The authors suggest that VR technologies allow students to easily observe complex structures (e.g.…”

Augmented Reality Application to Develop a Learning Tool for Students: Transforming Cellphones into Flashcards

“…AR is being applied in teaching neurobiology, cardiology, and structural biochemistry [9,[15][16][17]. Most of the recent application of AR, virtual reality (VR), mixed, and extended reality aim to provide an immersive and interactive experience, which involves 3D modeling.…”

An idea to explore: Use of augmented reality for teaching three‐dimensional biomolecular structures

“…This type of AR, which we will refer to as handheld AR, allows the viewer to look through a screen to see a holographic image superimposed in the environment . However, since the size of the image is limited to that of the smartphone or iPad screen, the experience may not seem noticeably different from observing the structure on a computer screen . Alternatively, there is what we will refer to as immersive AR, with clear untethered AR visors such as Microsoft HoloLens and Magic Leap One.…”

“…Depending on the AR hardware employed, different apps or programs are required for viewing molecular structures. Several different methods has been described for viewing small molecules and large macromolecules using handheld AR . Since immersive AR headsets such as HoloLens and Magic Leap One have only become available in the last three years, fewer methods have been developed for visualization of chemicals and macromolecules and they can be constrained by the size of the file.…”