Technology acceptance of a VR e-learning application addressing the cellular transport mechanisms

Abstract

Over the last decades, research has shown that students of all ages experience difficulties in understanding cellular transport mechanisms, especially when it comes to processes on the molecular level such as osmosis and diffusion. One major difficulty in the comprehension of these basic concepts is their abstract nature along with the demand for high spatial ability. To address this problem a virtual reality-based application has been developed, which allows students to freely explore molecular transport mechanisms across the cell membrane by interacting with the environment and manipulating the molecule concentration or initiate transport mechanisms by actively moving molecules. An accompanying study showed an increase in the understanding of osmosis and diffusion after using the e-learning application.