A browser-based virtual reality programming environment introducing coding as art and developing spatial thinking
LearnMYR is a programming environment where you can make virtual reality scenes. It runs in the browser, including on phones, so you can easily use your phone as a VR headset with an inexpensive Google Cardboard-style viewer.
The MYR language is JavaScript with a custom API built on top of the A-Frame web framework.
We’ve used LearnMYR with beginning and experienced programmers from middle school through university. A research study indicated that beginning programmers may develop enhanced spatial reasoning skills after building projects in MYR.
This full innovative practice paper presents a study on the effectiveness of a computer science bridge program at a mid-sized regional public university in the Northeast United States. The program was designed for incoming first-year full-time students pursuing a degree in computer science (CS) at the university. The structure of this program differs from others with its leadership consisting of undergraduate students of varying seniority. It also features an emphasis on building a strong sense of community and seeks to inspire creativity in CS through lesson plans that are complementary with what participants learn in the university’s degree program.This study investigates the outcomes of the program after three iterations. To quantify its impact on participants, retention rates of program participants are compared with those of students who were invited to participate in the program but declined. Positive effects stemming from near-peer mentoring and the creation of a lasting digital support network for program participants are also analyzed.The researchers expected the data collected to reflect a successful impact from students’ participation in the program. Chi-square testing on the collected retention data from the first two cohorts revealed a statistically significant result for one cohort.The third iteration of the program resulted in a highly active online community of freshmen that has been supported by students of higher seniority throughout participants’ first academic school year.Based on these findings, we urge all institutions seeking to support a diverse body of students in their STEM pathways to implement summer bridge programs. We recommend engaging existing undergraduate students in developing and leading such programs, and focusing on building a community and on-going support network.
Evaluating Student Spatial Skills Learning in a Virtual Reality Programming Environment
Justin Lu*, Lauren Seavey*, Samuel Zuk*, and 2 more authors
In 2022 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Aug 2022
In this research full paper, we examine students’ improvement in spatial visualization skills when using MYR (short for "My Reality"), a browser-based, cloud-hosted programming environment for beginning through advanced programmers to create immersive, three-dimensional virtual reality scenes.The research literature suggests that there is correlation between students’ spatial abilities and their success in programming. In this study, we conducted a three-week (six hour) virtual after-school program which introduced high school students with different programming backgrounds to coding in MYR. During the program, students learned the basics of MYR, introductory CS topics, and completed individual coding projects, creating an original MYR scene.A study examined changes in students’ spatial reasoning as a result of this intervention. The students’ performance in spatial skills was measured using the Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (Revised PSVT:R) [1]. Students completed this instrument using a pre/post survey design. We analyzed the impact of the intervention using a paired samples T-test. We further developed a rubric for analyzing the sophistication of students’ MYR code and applied it to evaluating the programming expertise of our study participants.The program was hosted twice with two different groups of high school students. Most showed interest in MYR programming and expressed their creativity and learned skills in their original project. With the first group of students, we found increases in their spatial visualization performance after the intervention with MYR, though statistical significance was not reached. The second group of students had higher baseline prior experience in computing and spatial visualization skills; these students did not further increase in their spatial visualization skill.The analysis showed that the MYR has a potential to improve spatial skills and engage students’ interest in computing. We recommend that MYR and related computational environments be further studied and made available to students.
2019
MYR: A Web-Based Platform for Teaching Coding Using VR
Christopher Berns*, Grace Chin*, Joel Savitz*, and 2 more authors
In Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Aug 2019
MYR is a browser-based, educational platform built to spark student interest in computer science by allowing users to write code that generates three-dimensional, animated scenes in virtual reality. The interface consists of two primary components: (1) an integrated editor, which leverages the MYR API and the A-Frame entity-component-system, and (2) a real-time renderer that displays the corresponding scene. The scenes, which vary in complexity, are viewable using virtual reality headsets, smartphones, and any device that supports a web browser. By providing access to the specific domain of virtual reality to students, the system aims to make computer science concepts tangible for novice programmers. The MYR development team conducted pilot tests with middle school students in order to collect feedback from this audience. The larger goal of the project is to develop MYR as a research tool to gain insight into computing students’ success, motivation, and confidence in learning computing.
