Presentation 1: Immersively Learning Object Oriented Programming Concepts With sCool (Full Paper #64)
Authors: Chanelle Mosquera, Alexander Steinmaurer, Christian Eckhardt and Christian Gütl
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The proposed project, sCool, is an adaptive mobile game designed for STEM education. In this work, we present a new iteration of sCool in efforts to further examine contributing factors of engagement and comprehension. The new developed game experience for acquiring object-oriented programming skills is divided into two parts: concept-learning and practical. In the concept-learning part, the users explore a virtual environment filled with puzzle-pieces hinting theoretical concepts, preparing the users for the practical part. There, the users need to solve a programming challenge in Python, directing game-objects on a checkerboard to certain fields. Conducting a study involving 39 school students and three teachers, we are able to successfully display an enhanced understanding of complex programming concepts.
Presentation 2: The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality as an Instructional Medium for Multidimensional Concepts (Short Paper #43)
Authors: Wil Norton, Jacob Sauer and David Gerhard
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This study explored the hypothesis that students using virtual reality (VR) education tools learn more effectively and efficiently when compared to conventional teaching methods. We investigated the specific situation of a course in digital logic design, and the task of simplifying Karnaugh maps. The students using VR observed the Karnaugh map as a higher-dimensional structure, while the students in the control group used a traditional pen-and-paper method. The 15 participants in the trial were administered either the VR education mechanism or the traditional education mechanism. Participants were asked to report their perceived level of comfort with various levels of solving K-maps. Preliminary results demonstrated that participants assigned to the VR test groups reported an increased level of understanding of Karnaugh maps after the trial. Further, participants using a desktop based headset were able to complete the experience quicker on average than the group using a phone based headset.
