Virtual Reality for Learning Human Anatomy

The application and use of virtual reality in the classroom develop curiosity in students by virtually introducing them inside an organism. VR apps create curious students interested in knowing more, in analyzing and wondering, relating what they observe, with a detailed explanation of the topic by the teacher, resulting in more meaningful learning.

Virtual Reality for Learning Human Anatomy
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Using virtual reality in the classroom generates in students the curiosity to know more about what they observe, doing more in-depth analysis and questions.

Virtual reality technologies are increasingly used as teaching tools within the classroom. It is an immersive experience that introduces students to a new world around them by using special lenses, visors, or helmets. But what is the real benefit of using this technology for learning? Will students learn more or better using this technology? To answer these questions, we decided to implement a virtual reality project with sophomore high school students in the class, “Health and Society.” In this article, we share our experiences and findings.

“Curiosity is a powerful way to awaken our attention and our interest in certain content; it pushes us to inform ourselves and to want to know more.”

– Prioretti 2018 –

At Tecnológico de Monterrey the use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) offers students the possibility to experience moments that improve their learning using digital elements that facilitate interactions in situations characterized by being difficult to access in real-life contexts (Edu Trends, 2017).

For the development of this project, we selected the topic, “Nervous System,” for two reasons:

  1. The complexity of the topic.

  2. The videos used represent the anatomical functions and structures addressed in class educationally and interactively.

Since students were already familiar with the use of virtual reality glasses because they had previously used them in other courses, they had high expectations for the material they would be reviewing in the Health and Society course.

Before the teacher began explaining the topic, students reviewed two virtual reality programs with the support of the glasses. They were able to observe the neural activity and a brief explanation regarding the nervous system.

The virtual reality applications used in this activity as part of the topic review are free and are as follows:

  • InCell VR: a journey through human cells.

  • Anatomyou: a journey through the human body in different systems (respiratory, digestive, etc.).

  • Anatomy 4D: a study of the human body.

  • INMind VR: a journey through the human brain and neurons.

  • VR Video for Education: a journey through the human body

  • Journey to the interior of the brain: a 3D video.

We conducted an exploratory type study with a qualitative approach directed toward collecting and analyzing the necessary information to identify skills and the learning acquired by students using the glasses in their class sessions.

“Teachers perceived more active participation by the students of the control group as they asked more questions and were motivated to understand what they were observing with the virtual reality glasses.”


Image 1: Activity that students did in the “Health and Society” course during while the teacher explained the subject.

Image 1: Activity that students did in the “Health and Society” course during while the teacher explained the subject.

The universe or study population was defined as “the total set of elements that constitute an area of analytical interest,” presenting common characteristics (Zorrilla,2002). The total population of this study was 120 students in the second semester of high school, divided into four groups of 30 students each. The study was conducted in the semester of January-May 2019. During this period, the students were taking the classes Health and Society, Thinking Skills, and Logical and Computational Thought as part of their academic requirements.

Only one of the four existing groups was taken as a control group, i.e., 30 students, who would use the glasses before the explanation of the subject by the teacher. That only one sector of the total population would use the glasses would allow identifying whether or not there would be a difference in the learning acquired through the post-class evaluation that would be applied to the students. This evaluation would be the same among the four groups, regardless of whether or not they had used the glasses, and, therefore, it would also produce data indicating the students’ interest during the time the subject was explained by the teacher.

Group one of the study was made up of students who are part of the multicultural curriculum of the high school’s degree program, and the rest of the study groups were in the bicultural program. It is important to highlight one general characteristic of the first group because these are students who have a higher score on their entrance exam; thus, they had to have higher academic skills than the students who entered the bicultural program. This is a characteristic that will be reviewed later in this article when analyzing the results that were obtained in the activity.

“The students who did use the VR glasses expressed that they could spend less time studying because they felt safe from what they had learned, a situation that did not happen in the rest of the groups who had to prepare very well due to the complexity of the subject.”

To gather data, we applied a test to evaluate the learning obtained and made a comparison of the averages obtained in each group independent of whether the glasses were used within the class or not. The questions included in this evaluation were closed and multiple choice. The students were also provided immediate feedback to learn about the grade they obtained, and they could identify their mistakes.

During the implementation of the activity, and exclusively with the control group, the teacher began with a general explanation of the subject. At the same time, the students were using the viewers (see Figure 1). At this point in the activity, the teacher’s role was to be a guide for the video that the students were watching, where the students were identifying the principal structures that make up the central nervous system and its primary functions.

Subsequently, all students performed an online activity. To respond to it, they could use their textbooks or the internet, to have more information on the topic that would eventually be explained in detail by the teacher who taught with the support of a projection, such as usually occurs in the rest of the classes. This activity was done by all the groups regardless of whether or not they used virtual reality viewers.


Table 1: Results by group.

Table 1: Results by group.

Finally, and in a later session, students were assessed with a final exam. The test was the same for all groups; it contained the same type and number of questions. At this point, it is important to emphasize that all groups had the same support materials and the presentation used by their teacher so that they could prepare for the test. The results obtained allowed making the comparative analysis among the groups corresponding to whether they used the glasses (viewers) or not. These results can be seen in Tables 1 and 2.


Table 2: Graphical comparison of the averages by group.

Table 2: Graphical comparison of the averages by group.

When analyzing the results, we can observe that there is not a significant difference in the overall averages in each group. Group one was the group that showed a higher average relative to the rest. Here we remember what was mentioned previously about the academic characteristics or skills presented by the students who belonged to group one, which could directly influence the overall average of the group above the rest.

A decisive factor in determining the similarity of results was that all students eventually did the same activity, having the opportunity even to research the same sources, presentations, and other resources that teachers used to explain the subject. While they prepared for their examination based on this material, they all had the same possibility of obtaining favorable grades.

However, even though the results of the exam were not significantly different, what stands out in the control group comes from the qualitative evaluation: The teachers identified a more active participation during the explanation of the topic; the students who used the glasses asked more questions due to a greater motivation to understand what they were observing. After the test, students expressed they had to spend less time studying the subject; some even confessed having not studied at all, because they felt more confident about what they had learned. This situation did not occur in the rest of the groups that had to prepare very hard due to the complexity of the subject.

“Virtual reality videos facilitated the comprehension of the next topics, unlike students who did not use virtual reality glasses.”

The application and use of the glasses in class was then primarily focused on provoking students’ curiosity by virtually introducing them inside of their organism; creating a greater interest in knowing more, analyzing and questioning, relating what they observed and, finally, clarifying all their questions during the teacher detailed explanation of the subject, resulting in more meaningful learning.

The interest in the subject by the students who used the VR glasses before hearing the teacher’s explanation was noteworthy because their teachers said that participation and curiosity were higher than in previous semesters when they taught the subject without having used the VR viewers. They also reported that during the explanation of the topic, several students questioned whether the processes or structures being explained to them were the ones that appeared in the videos. The use of the VR glasses influenced the other two topics on their exam that were not seen in the videos, as the connection of what students had learned facilitated a better understanding of the topics.

Concerning the grade on the final examination, there was no significant difference among the groups. Those who did not participate in the activity could only study their notes or presentations given to them by their teachers. However, they did not have the same initiative or curiosity as the rest of their colleagues who did use the glasses. This allows us to conclude that learning is more significant when there is a connection between previous knowledge about a subject, the doubts, and questions that arise when reviewing the videos, and, finally, the explanation of the subject.

Guerrero and Valero (2013) present an important consideration in the use of Virtual Reality (VR). The authors indicate that its impact on the individual should be evaluated since, when used intensively or when abused, it can have adverse health effects. These effects have been termed as “cyber-anxiety and include visual disturbances, disorientation, postural instability, nausea, headache, and postural pains, etc. In our activities, there were no significant inconveniences for the students when the glasses were worn. It should be mentioned that the activities were designed for a duration of no longer than 30 minutes.

In the virtual stores, Playstore (Android) and Appstore (Apple), can be found a myriad of virtual reality applications, many of them focused on very diverse topics in education. Google has apps like Google expeditions and Google Arts & Culture that can be brought to the classroom to improve the learning experience and motivate students. As for the virtual reality glasses, we can find them in different models at very affordable prices from 250 pesos online that fit almost all smart mobile devices on the market. For our project, it was decided to acquire SHINECON 3D glasses, mostly for their compatibility with iPhone, Android, and Windows devices having screens from 4.7 to 6 inches. You can also get cardboard lenses like the Google Glass Cardboard model, which costs around 200 Mexican pesos. In the future, there is even the possibility to build our own virtual reality viewers.

Working with virtual reality has been a good experience, and it is worth introducing this technology in class as long as we are clear about the objectives and competencies that we want to achieve, we pre-plan the experience, and test the applications before taking them to the classroom.

About the authors

Arlette Audiffred Hinojosa (arlette.audiffred@tec.mx) is a teacher at Prepa Tec Morelia, where she teaches courses in Training and Development. She collaborates on social entrepreneurship projects with the communities of Cherán Michoacán and NOVUS projects of educational innovation at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Fernando Patricio Pantoja Bedolla (fernando.pantoja@tec.mx) is a tutoring teacher at Prepa Tec Morelia, teaching Training and Development. He has 14 years of teaching experience.

 

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0