Institutions are looking to find the best learning technologies to deliver anatomy curricula to diverse student populations, often working with financial and time-based constraints. Visualization techniques, particularly the widespread use of virtual reality headsets, have made once-impossible learning experiences possible. This thesis explores the effect of different learning modalities (virtual reality headset, computer screen, and 3D-printed models) and environments (clinical context or context-free) on knowledge acquisition and learning experiences for a pelvic floor anatomy module. We investigated how these factors, along with mental rotation ability and stereoacuity, impact various aspects of learning, including performance on anatomy tests, perceived workload (measured using the NASA Task Load Index), cybersickness (measured using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire), and engagement during learning (measured using the User Engagement Scale). Significant interactions were found between modality and environment for test scores and workload, a significant main effect of modality and environment for cybersickness, and a significant main effect of modality for engagement. Importantly, though significant differences were found between modalities and environments, participants reported concerningly high levels of workload and cybersickness across all conditions. High levels of engagement were also reported across all learning conditions. The lack of meaningful differences between intervention groups emphasizes the importance of curricular design over the implementation of new technologies and the need to be critical of the impression that a one-size-fits-all solution exists. Theories of cognitive load, constructivism, syncretion, visuospatial ability, cybersickness, and embodied learning in the context of technology-enhanced anatomy education are discussed as the foundation upon which design decisions should be made. A multi-faceted approach focused on aligning learning objectives with learning activities is outlined as a means of driving more impactful research and improving anatomy education. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Institutions are looking to find the best learning technologies to deliver anatomy curricula to diverse student populations, often working with financial and time-based constraints. Visualization techniques have been at the forefront of this innovation, and the widespread use of virtual reality headsets has made once-impossible learning experiences achievable. This thesis explores the effect of different learning modalities and environments on learning with a pelvic floor anatomy module. We investigated how these factors, along with mental rotation ability and stereoacuity impact test performance and the perception of workload, cybersickness, and engagement. The results emphasize the importance of curricular design over the implementation of new technologies and the need to be critical of the impression that a one-size-fits-all solution exists.

Working around conveyor belts is the cause of numerous accidents each year that are costly to the mining industry. Current safety training practices generally include the use of slide show presentations, lectures, videos, and paper material before sending each worker onto site with an experienced person for on-the-job task training. These training methods are passive in nature and do not allow for an actual realization of consequences resulting from ignoring safety practices during interaction between the employee and the environment. It is with this in mind that virtual reality (VR) is being proposed as an added effective method of safety training. In order to prove this hypothesis, a working VR prototype application of a mining environment has been developed. The application is designed in two modules. The first consists of an instructional based module, where the user is given all relevant information based on background research dealing with safety issues, hazard awareness, conveyor maintenance, and conveyor components and assemblies. The second module is a task-based training session that then tracks the user's performance as they complete assigned tasks. An evaluation scheme was performed on the prototype to determine the usability and usefulness and identify areas in need of improvement. First, industry professionals were presented the application in an informal setting where the types of information and overall concept were examined and perceived usefulness was discussed. Secondly, users, both novice and industry professionals, were asked to go through the prototype training application and rate their agreement with statements based on the user interface and usability of the application. Finally, subjective interviews were performed to record perceived benefits of the virtual reality application over typical training material. This final stage consists of using both industry professionals and novice experience individuals and documenting their perceptions of benefits and challenges of using both typical methods of training and the designed prototype. This document consists of an explanation of the research steps and papers that are published (or in press) detailing certain areas of the research, compiled findings, conclusions, and future research suggestions. / Master of Science

For the last five years, East Tennessee State University’s Department of Digital Media has partnered with the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in downtown Knoxville to create a collection of training modules for their nursing staff. Dozens of students have devoted thousands of hours both inside and outside of the department’s various production courses to build the eleven modules currently in use today. However, development has not been without its hurdles, particularly in moving from one project to the next. Poor documentation and miscommunications compounded with faults in the projects’ design philosophies to repeatedly delay production. While each deliverable was playable by the end of the given semesters, there were often bugs and other quality issues left unaddressed. Luckily, graduate assistants and interns were brought on to help direct students in class, and to finish the projects on off-semesters. As one of those graduate assistants, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Stephanie Nicely, our project manager and hospital liaison to build on the works of past developers, assist in managing the development of current projects, and lay groundwork for future growth.

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Orbital is a virtual reality gaming experience designed to explore the use of traditional narrative structure to enhance immersion in virtual reality. The story structure of Orbital was developed based on the developmental steps of 'The Hero's Journey,' a narrative pattern identified by Joseph Campbell. Using this standard narrative pattern, Orbital is capable of immersing the player quickly and completely for the entirety of play time. / Master of Fine Arts / <i>Orbital</i> is a virtual reality video game, in which an astronaut must navigate an asteroid field and reach a nearby space station prior to running out of fuel. The control of this astronaut was bound to a player’s head mounted display, which tracked the direction a player was looking and placed the player in the immersive experience. This experience was designed as an exploration of how traditional long-form narrative structure (films/books) could be applied to a short virtual reality experience. In the hope that it could provide a more immersive experience for the player. The story structure of <i>Orbital</i> was developed based on the developmental steps of ‘The Hero’s Journey,’ a narrative pattern identified by Joseph Campbell. Using this standard narrative pattern, <i>Orbital</i> is capable of immersing the player quickly and completely for the entirety of play time.

Immersive and interactive storytelling in virtual reality (VR) is an emerging creative practice that has been thriving in recent years. Educational applications using immersive VR storytelling to explain complex science concepts have very promising pedagogical benefits because on the one hand, storytelling breaks down the complexity of science concepts by bridging them to people's everyday experiences and familiar cognitive models, and on the other hand, the learning process is further reinforced through rich interactivity afforded by the VR experiences. However, it is unclear how different amounts of storytelling and interactivity in an interactive VR storytelling experience may affect learning outcomes due to a paucity of literature on educational VR storytelling research. This dissertation aims to add to the literature through an exploration of interactivity and essential storytelling elements in educational VR storytelling experiences and their impact on learning. We designed a working prototype of interactive and immersive VR storytelling experience, Immunology VR, that focuses on the learning of specific immunology concepts: neutrophil transmigration and killing mechanisms. Based on the initial prototype, we further developed six variations that allowed us to conduct two major experiments below. Our first experiment explored designs of three different levels of interactivity, low, medium, and high, in the VR storytelling experiences and their effects on immunology learning. We found subjective evidence to support our research hypothesis that increased level of interactivity will lead to increased engagement in VR learning. Our finding suggests that interactivity is a key design element in VR learning design for effective learning and should be considered in all VR learning applications. Our second experiment focused on the designs of the level of storytelling richness and their effects on learning. Specifically, we designed three storytelling conditions, minimal storytelling, basic storytelling, and advanced storytelling, and investigated how each of them affected immunology learning. Subjective evidence from our user interview data suggested that participants from higher levels of storytelling conditions were more likely to perceive storytelling elements as the most useful features in the VR experience that helped with their learning. It is also suggested that higher levels of richness in essential storytelling elements may trigger certain emotions and empathy in more users and positively affect their learning. / Doctor of Philosophy / Immersive and interactive storytelling in virtual reality (VR) is an emerging creative practice that has been thriving in recent years. Educational applications using immersive VR storytelling to explain complex science concepts have very promising pedagogical benefits because on the one hand, storytelling breaks down the complexity of science concepts by bridging them to people's everyday experiences and familiar cognitive models, and on the other hand, the learning process is further reinforced through rich interactivity provided by the VR experiences. However, it is unclear how different amounts of storytelling and interactivity setup in an interactive VR storytelling experience may affect learning outcomes due to a paucity of literature on educational VR storytelling research. In this dissertation, we explored interactivity and essential storytelling elements in educational VR storytelling experiences and their impact on learning.