Using Virtual Worlds in the General Chemistry Classroom

The 3D environments of virtual worlds like Second Life (SL) have much to offer a general chemistry classroom instructor, especially when teaching chemistry concepts like VSEPR theory and the 3D nature of molecules. Students can benefit from a variety of synchronous and asynchronous activities within a virtual world, including office hours, videos, simulations, games, quizzes and interactions with virtual chemical species. An extensive mixed methods study compared test results of students who finished three VSEPR-related activities in SL to the results of a control group who did the same activities on paper. Findings showed subtle but significant differences in increased student ability by the SL group for interpreting routine 2D presentations of 3D chemical structures using solid lines, dashed lines and wedges. Although the experimental group attitudes toward SL were split on whether SL was a good idea for a chemistry course, the potential benefit of SL in chemistry classrooms was demonstrated.