BacteriAR: The role of eXtended Reality in education for understanding the structure and action of microbial toxins

The stages of cell contamination with a microbial toxin are a challenge for students to understand, and we theorise that this can be significantly mitigated by harnessing the advanced communication potential of eXtended Reality (i.e., Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality). The reason for undertaking this project at this moment in time is due to i) the developments in the affordability of XR hardware, ii) the growing availability of Software Development Kits for low code development and iii) growing widespread use of XR in education. Further, the investigation is linked to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including SDG 3 (Good health and wellbeing): bacteriology processes often underpin health and disease processes, so this application has the potential to promote healthy living or highlight the processes of cell contamination with a microbial toxin for various audiences; SDG 4 (Quality education): using this technology to create learning materials, and make them distributable to various devices will ensure the impact is as equitable as possible; thus supporting life-long learning, inclusivity, and being an agnostic technology. This investigation is best explored as a synergistic effort between Wageningen University and Birjand University of Medical Sciences, where the knowledge nexus creates a unique and timely investigation.