MANAGEABLE MOLECULAR MINERALOGY: DEVELOPING A USER-FRIENDLY INTERACTIVE MINERALOGY GAME FOR MOBILE DEVICES

In this digital age, pedagogy falls short with methods of teaching mineralogy being stuck in the past. This project addresses the problem documented in the chemistry community and anecdotal in the geology community: students cannot visualize crystal structure. In the geoscience community, there are papers published on students having difficulty with the visualization of structural geology and ways to solve this problem. However, with respect to molecular mineralogy, the struggle students have with the material has not been documented. Nonetheless, anecdotally, there is teacher dissatisfaction with the poor retention of material from mineralogy classes.

Research has found that information relayed through images is retained better than information relayed through text. In fact, three-dimensional (3D) models and visuals have been shown to be the most effective methods for teaching and have results of greatest student retention of material. Due to the great leap in technology in the last decade, reports on the use and effectiveness of virtual reality and games in education has taken off.

Here we describe the design of an interactive game to teach crystal structure to undergraduates. Game-like elements engage the user, while touch-manipulated 3D models allow students to play with the structure of a mineral at the molecular level. Starting from an outcrop and zooming into minerals, then to individual atoms, students will be able to build different silicate minerals by rearranging silicon tetrahedra to see how different structures affect the outward appearance of the crystal. We believe this game will improve student learning of minerals and their structure and will help bridge the technology gap between the outdated ball and stick models and today’s digital native undergraduates. By using up-to-date technology we can combine text, audio, video, and user-manipulated 3D models to better help students understand the molecular world with a game for mobile smart devices.