Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience of food science undergraduate students was reached during the project period. These students were composed primarily of UC Davis and University of Maine undergraduates in the food science major that were taking introductory or upper division food processing courses. Additionally, food science educators were reached via presentations on project methodology and results. Additional educators will be reached through a publication from the project that has been submitted. Changes/Problems:The timeline for the project was altered due to the pandemic and an inability to gather in person and share head-mounted virtual reality hardware for much of the original project period. As a result, a no-cost extension was utilized to allow for restrictions to relax to accommodate the original virtual reality activities. However, the pandemic offered a unique opportunity to deploy the virtual environments for use on personal computers and to compare student perceptions and learning using the virtual environment activities with those of student who later engaged the in-person versions of these same activities. This work is described above. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two postdoctoral scholars and one graduate student gained professional development and training under this project. Specifically, these researchers contributed to the development of the virtual reality learning modules and evaluation approaches. Additionally, they participated in pilot demonstrations of the learning modules to improve and understand them ahead of deployment in trials with undergraduate participants. They spearheaded the in-person trials and played a major role in data acquisition and analysis related to participants' technical performance and perceptions of the learning modules. In this way, they have gained experience in new pedagogical techniques involving virtual reality and have learned strategies to evaluate the efficacy of such techniques. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of our previous work, which demonstrated enhanced student preference, perceived understanding, and interest in food processing in response to virtual environment learning tools, was adapted to a manuscript that has been submitted to the Journal of Agricultural Education. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Several virtual environments were developed, deployed, and evaluated in food science courses at UC Davis and University of Maryland. These environments spanned several food processing topics (systems definitions, mass balance, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer) and were able to be used on personal computer, mobile, and virtual reality platforms. The virtual environments represented varying levels of complexity and interactivity ranging from a virtual tour to a fully interactive equipment setup where students could manipulate virtual switches and values and read virtual gauges and meters during the simulated process. At UC Davis, these environments were incorporated into several virtual lab exercises in an upper division food processing course during the pandemic. They were also incorporated into a lower division food science course at University of Maryland. Surveys were conducted to understand students' perceived understanding of the concepts taught by the virtual environment modules as well as their motivation to learn the material when engaging the virtual environments. There was consensus among the participants that the virtual environments effectively conveyed the technical concepts and that students were more interested to learn the material via the virtual environments compared to static images or videos showing the same processes. Furthermore, an analysis of assignment scores across classes that separately used the in-person and virtual environment versions of the same assignments showed similar scores for both modes, indicating that virtual environments may be a valid substitute for certain in-person food processing activities. Additionally, a new virtual reality learning module was developed to demonstrate mass transport concepts in a food processing context. This module shows how chlorine concentration is modeled in a flume system for washing produce in response to advection, diffusion, and degradation processes. The results of the modeling are represented as color maps of chlorine concentration that are projected into a virtual reality representation of the flume system. In this way, the 3-dimensional nature of the concentration data are shown in a more authentic way than can be achieved with conventional 2-dimensional images. Moreover, a questionnaire for evaluating student understanding of the the mass transport phenomena was developed in addition to training materials for the assistants that will help manage the experiments. Participants were given a brief primer on the use of flume systems to wash and sanitize produce using a dilute chlorine solutinon. There were also given an overview of the experimental flume setup used to generate empirical data on chlorine concentration distrubtion in a continuously running flume system. From there, participants were asked to review the chlorine concentration using either a virtual reality representation or using traditional 2-D color maps. Data from this experiment showed that the most pronounced effect of the virtual reality learning method was that participants felt more interested in the material and indicated greater motivation to learn compared to reviewing data using 2-D graphics.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Yi, J; Lungu, B; Morrissey, S; Fletcher, A; Patra, D; Tikekar, R; Nitin, N; and C Simmons. Using Virtual Food Processing Environments to Promote Experiential Learning. Journal of Agricultural Education (submitted).
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:During this reporting period, we reached several target audiences, including undergraduate students in food science degree programs and food science educators. Changes/Problems:The timeline for the project was altered due to the pandemic and an inability to gather in person and share head-mounted virtual reality hardware for much of the original project period. As a result, we are now in a no-cost extension period. Safety precautions have relaxed and we are now able to conduct the in-person trials as originally proposed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two postdoctoral scholars and one graduate student have gained professional development and training under this project. Specifically, these researchers have contributed to the development of the virtual reality learning modules and evaluation approaches. Additionally, they have participated in pilot demonstrations of the learning modules to improve and understand them ahead of deployment in trials with undergraduate participants. In this way, they have gained experience in new pedagogical techniques involving virtual reality and have learned strategies to evaluate the efficacy of such techniques. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Undergraduate food science students engaged the virtual environment learning modules at the investigators' institutions. The modules were incorporated into course assignments related to food processing unit operation design, mass balances, and fluid mechanical energy balances. Additionally, a manuscript was submitted that describes the development methodologies and student perceptions for the virtual environmental learning modules. This article is geared to food science educators. Additionally, instructional videos and template documents for creating virtual environments were posted online as additional tools to assist food science educators. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will hold in-person trials to compare student understanding of mass transport concepts in response to conventional educational materials or novel virtual reality learning materials. Specifically, participants (undergraduate food science majors) will receive instruction about the modeling of the spatial distribution of chlorine in a produce washing flume using conventional 2D images or 3D virtual reality environments that show color maps of chlorine concentration distribution in the flume. Participants will then be tested on their qualitative and quantitative understanding of the material to determine if there are differences in understanding based on teaching method. Participants will also be surveyed on their interest in the module concepts and perceived efficacy of the educational materials to identify any differences between the teaching methods.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The results of our previous work, which demonstrated enhanced student preference, perceived understanding, and interest in food processing in response to virtual environment learning tools, was adapted to a manuscript that has been submitted to the Journal of Agricultural Education. Additionally, a new virtual reality learning module was developed to demonstrate mass transport concepts in a food processing context. This module shows how chlorine concentration is modeled in a flume system for washing produce in response to advection, diffusion, and degradation processes. The results of the modeling are represented as color maps of chlorine concentration that are projected into a virtual reality representation of the flume system. In this way, the 3-dimensional nature of the concentration data are shown in a more authentic way than can be achieved with conventional 2-dimensional images. Additionally, a questionnaire for evaluating student understanding of the the mass transport phenomena was developed in addition to training materials for the assistants that will help manage the experiments.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Yi, J., Lungu, B., Fletcher, A., Patra, D., Tikekar, R., Nitin, N., and Simmons, C. (2022) Using Virtual Food Processing Environments to Promote Experiential Learning. Journal of Agricultural Education (in review)
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences reached during this reporting period include undergraduate students studying food science. Changes/Problems:The COVID-19 pandemic presented major challenges to deploying the virtual environments as originally planned. With social distancing restrictions and no in-person instruction, we were unable to deploy our virtual reality headsets (which would require students to share devices that are proximal to exhaled aerosols) to depict the virtual environments. Moreover, we were not able to provide in-person tutorials on using the virtual environments as we originally intended. As a result, we focused on versions of the virtual environments that could be viewed on personal computers and developed associated assignments that would not require in-person assistance to engage the virtual environments. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The virtual food processing environments were used in an upper division food processing course at UC Davis (FST110L). In this course, 60 food science undergraduates engaged the virtual environments as part of class assignments to enhance education in food processing unit operations and their analysis. Additionally, a graduate student was trained on the design and production of virtual environments, including methods for modeling and programming to create online virtual environments that can be viewed through either virtual reality or personal computer hardware. Similarly, video tutorials and template files were created and posted online to serve as training resources for others. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated to other food processing instructors at UC Davis and University of Maryland. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue development of the virtual environment learning modules, including completion of the pump fluid mechanics modeling exercise, which will complement the associated virtual environment, and development of an additional heat exchanger module. Additionally, we will deploy the virtual reality forms of the virtual environment (as opposed to the personal computer versions used in the present reporting period) as soon as COVID-19 restrictions are loosened to allow for sharing of virtual reality headsets among students. Additionally, there is a manuscript in preparation describing the evaluation of virtual environments in food processing undergraduate courses; we intend to publish this study during the next reporting period.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Several virtual food processing environments were developed and posted online. Specifically, the project team completed 3D modeling and programming for virtual environments representing several food processing systems and concepts: 1. A virtual tour of a peach processing line; 2. A virtual pumping system for assessment of pump efficiency; 3. A virtual steam-jacketed kettle for heat transfer analysis; 4. A virtual pumping system for viewing fluid mechanics modeling results. The first three environments were used in a food processing course at UC Davis as part of several virtual lab exercises. Additionally, a survey was used to gauge the efficacy of the virtual environments in the class. The survey measured students' perceptions of understanding and interest in course topics depicted in the virtual environments. Survey data showed that the majority of students felt the virtual environments improved their understanding compared to text, image, and video depictions of food processing equipment. Additionally, the survey responses indicated that the majority of students felt that the virtual environments motivated them to learn the material.
Publications
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