Virtual immunology: an educational software to encourage antigen-antibody interaction learning

Immunology is a knowledge area of paramount importance in life sciences and health care professional education with diverse applications, as well as for a general public understanding of issues related to vaccination. However, many concepts are complex and difficult to understand based only on conventional classes or static images. The use of tools, such as educational software, may enhance the learning of dynamic molecular phenomena that occur in our bodies. Virtual Immunology is a software that aims to facilitate the learning of certain complex immunology concepts. Herein, we present the "Antigen-antibody interactions" module that was used and evaluated by 127 students and 3 teachers from medical schools from 2 universities, 1 public and 1 private, both in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pretest/posttest research design was used to assess student learning in a randomized sample. To evaluate user perceptions concerning software quality, 14 statements were analyzed using a Likert scale. Results indicate suitable evaluations from both students and teachers concerning the "Antigen-antibody module" as an auxiliary tool in immunology teaching. The software was well rated as an educational resource since it allows dynamically viewing immunological phenomena. In addition, its ease of use and immunological process visualization were the best-evaluated parameters by the students, who recommended this software module as an auxiliary learning tool. The use of the evaluated software may motivate students and aid in the understanding of immunology-related concepts, becoming a complementary tool that may enhance the teaching-learning process.