Multimodal Affordances of Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) for Visualising and Learning Molecular Interactions

Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly being used as an educational tool to help students visualise complex structures and phenomena. The use of VR is particularly useful for science animation that involves sub-microscopic and abstract processes in a 3D environment, such as the interactions of molecules, electrons and forces. However, few research studies have explored how immersive VR can support science visualisation compared to existing tools, notably computer animation on a flat screen. The study in this chapter used a semiotic perspective to examine the multimodal affordances of a ‘virtual’ mode of representation made possible by VR technology. The study involved the design and development of a VR animation to show the structure and reaction of an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase. A group of chemistry undergraduates was recruited to take part in a learning activity using the VR animation in pairs. Based on an analysis of the learners interacting with the VR animation, this chapter reports on the affordances of VR compared to other tools in five specific areas: viewing, sequencing, modelling, scaling and manipulating. Through the use of case studies, it also illustrates and discusses how these affordances facilitate student learning of molecular interactions