Fresno State professor uses virtual reality to help students learn parts of the brain, sees success

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno State professor is seeing success by having her students learn with the help of virtual reality.

Fresno State Biology Professor and neuroscientist Anahit Hovhannisyan teaches students about human brain anatomy, which can be a complicated class.

"For me, it was always like, this thing, what can I do to help them to learn?" Hovhannisyan said.

That's why when she saw a syGlass virtual reality demonstration at a conference, she figured it could help.

She borrowed virtual reality headsets from the engineering department, the school had high-end laptops for students to use, and she solicited funding for the program.

One thing she didn't predict was the learning curve.

"There is a misunderstanding in general that because the students nowadays are so technology-driven, it will be easier for them to learn to use the technology. It's not true." Hovhannisyan said.

She says it took quite a bit of time for students to understand how to operate the technology, but once they figured that out, the impact on learning was obvious.

For instance, students typically identify parts of the brain by matching dissected pieces to a picture on paper.

Virtual reality forces students to go into the brain and identify the parts instead of just matching them.

"They had the goggles on; they would actually turn the brain around, cut it and find, locate those structures that they have to find on the actual brains," Hovhannisyan said.

She says the VR's added work helps students retain the information better.

Hovhannisyan says medical school students will also use virtual reality, so it's beneficial that they start working with the technology sooner rather than later.

"It would be nice at least that they are introduced to those types of tools already at the university so that when they go to much higher levels of their education, or they get higher, they already know what it is, so it's easier for them," Hovhannisyan said.

The plan is to implement virtual reality into the neuroanatomy class in the spring. It's pending funding approval.

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