10k: A platform for immersive science communication

PROJECT SUMMARY Recent advances in scientific research and communications technology have brought us to the cusp of a new era in biomedical science research. Now more than ever, there is a need for a diverse set of young, innovative researchers to take full advantage of this opportunity; yet recruiting and training scientists remains a challenge. Technology such as virtual reality (VR) is demonstrated to have a significant effect on learning factors like engagement, motivation, and affect, all of which are associated with scientific achievement and interest in STEM careers. However, quality VR experiences for scientific learning remain time-consuming and expensive to create. Dynamoid has built a prototype platform, 10k, with the goal of allowing anyone with scientific or educational expertise to create immersive, interactive 3D experiences: no software development or design skills necessary. This project seeks to a) demonstrate a viable pathway to a critical mass of such users, b) show how such a mixed user base, including scientists and educational experts motivated by their own communication needs, can quickly produce effective content that others can repurpose for their own work, and c) show how this open-source collaboration will catalyze the development of cost-effective content for presenting science to learners and other non-scientists. The proposed research will first incorporate researchers directly into the immersive experience production process by engaging young scientists in a bootcamp where they will learn to produce VR experiences that visualize their own datasets. The research will then demonstrate how these base visualizations can be adapted by learning design specialists to create educational VR experiences that adhere to national educational standards. Our second aim is to demonstrate that 10k-produced immersive experiences appeal to the target educational audience and positively affect engagement with science and interest in pursuing STEM careers, through a study comparing the educational VR experiences with a traditional 2D, multimedia video. The outcomes of this research include the full public launch of the 10k Viewer on the Oculus Quest and the SteamVR platforms, which will feature the VR experiences produced as part of the work. Also, the 10k platform’s overall usability will be improved for creators, and it will be made freely-available for researchers and educators to produce their own experiences, viewable on the 10k Viewer. Last, the results of the study will add to the growing body of research on VR and learning science, laying the groundwork for future studies that will evaluate 10k on more platforms, including PC/Mac and planetarium domes, and leveraging 10k’s growing analytics capabilities to gain valuable insights into user behavior and performance.