Augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and extended reality are becoming prominent in science education. However, in many reports on the matter, there is no clear differentiation between these different technologies. We comment on potential distinctions to avoid confusion and recommend a clear separation and naming of technology, as…

Digital learning tools and laboratory simulations have been an area of great interest not only due to the advancements of at-home learning but also by allowing students and institutions access to experiences they would not have otherwise due to the high cost of commercial instrumentation. The need for online learning tools became especially…

Augmented reality (AR) filters are digital interactions applied to users' faces or environment to add to or change what they are seeing in the real world. By using free software, it is possible to easily make many AR filters for learning chemistry. Here I show how to make AR filters of molecular models and post them on social media in just two…

Application of modern technologies, including virtual reality (VR) and eye-tracking (ET), to educational practice has been vigorously researched over the past decade with a focus on enhancing and improving school and university educational process and students' results. The main aim of this technological report is to describe an implementation of…

The latest developments in virtual reality (VR) are gaining attention in education as they are expected to provide risk-free, hands-on learning experiences. However, the use of VR in laboratory settings is still in its early stages of adoption. Therefore, it remains unclear whether these technologies will be widely adopted to educate students in…

One way of triggering students' interest in chemistry is making chemistry education more meaningful. Four characteristics of meaningful chemistry education (MCE) were identified in projects that involved a redesign of curriculum materials: daily life context, the need-to-know principle, students' input, and the macro--micro connection. Chemistry…

Studies have demonstrated that visual-spatial skills correlate with student performance and success in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The ability to reason with spatial information is essential for conceptual subjects like chemistry, a deep understanding of which requires dealing with the invisible world of atoms and molecules…

The three-dimensional nature of macromolecules is often difficult for undergraduate students to grasp. This leads to difficulties in understanding key concepts in Biochemistry, such as protein function and conformational change. Virtual reality (VR) technologies, which can aid students in three-dimensional visualizations, have been shown to…

Laboratory safety has received heightened attention due to a series of devastatingly tragic accidents in both academic and nonacademic settings. Consequently, chemistry departments at various academic institutions now offer some form of formal training in laboratory safety for entering graduate students. Although the extent of this training varies…

We developed a gas-phase Fourier Transform InfraRed Scientific Instrument Simulator (FTIR-SIS, https://ftir.rastonlab.org/) in response to the unavailability of one during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown of 2020. It features an interactive interface that encourages students to explore different components of a typical FTIR, and it allows them to…

Teaching through experiments has always been an indispensable teaching method in chemistry and other STEM disciplines. Letting more students have access to experiments at the frontier of scientific research is essential to stimulating students' interest in chemistry. With the advancement of computer technology, virtual simulation experiments…

Interactive molecular dynamics in virtual reality (IMD-VR) simulations provide a digital molecular playground for students as an alternative or complement to traditional molecular modeling kits or 2D illustrations. Previous IMD-VR studies have used molecular mechanics to enable simulations of macromolecules such as proteins and nanostructures for…

This work presents an immersive molecular simulation tool (Manta) based on virtual reality technology, which enables students to explore "real" molecular structures and chemical reactions on-the-fly. Manta can work as a virtual classroom and even a playground for chemistry education, where students learn the progress of chemical…

Computer simulations hold great potential for enhancing chemistry instruction. However, effectively integrating simulations in instruction depends in part on teachers' pedagogical reasoning about simulation affordances and instructional decisions within specific classroom contexts. The objective of this study was to investigate how two chemistry…

There is little doubt that motivation influences the extent to which individuals engage with online learning experiences. With the increasing role of digital technologies within chemistry higher education, this study illustrates how an augmented reality (AR)-supported educational escape activity (EEA), based on topics of inorganic stereochemistry,…