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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Discounted Prototyping of Virtual Reality Solutions for Science Education

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Science education requires experimental work for learners to achieve the intended learning outcomes, which sometimes involve abstract concepts by nature. Advances in digital technology can help learners to undertake experimental work, which would otherwise be costly, either due to the scarcity of laboratory equipment or safety requirements. However, one of the major concerns resides into how to design usable learning solutions from the users’ perspective. That would require the involvement of users at all stages of design and development process, even if the technology itself could still be in its infancy. It can be very helpful to present the new design concepts to potential users at a very early stage, with rough models or low fidelity prototypes just to communicate the solution ideas. Such a prototype helps to better understand users’ needs and requirements as well as to test and evaluate perceived usability as well the user experience at early stages of the human-centred design process. This work presents a cost-effective approach to low fidelity prototyping for virtual reality based solutions. Virtual reality is modelled through physical objects to allow sample users feel and experience the learning of chemistry concepts through active experimentation. The prototype is made out of everyday components to create an experience of virtual reality in a real physical world. That included paper, prints, boxes, bottles and a book to represent a chemical bonding experiment in an outdoor scenario. User testing proved this prototyping technique to be very practical as well as cost effective.