Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
A couple of weeks ago, I got to try out the new XR Lab in the Neumann Library. The demonstration was just a simple VR game where we threw baseballs at numbered targets, but it effectively showed what VR could do. This experience led me to wonder what kind of educational applications are available and their capabilities. In this article, I will look at a couple of VR apps that are currently available and have loads of content, and, best of all, are free.
The first app is Within. Within is an immersive cinematic virtual reality application with an extensive entertainment and educational film library. However, rather than watching them on a flat two-dimensional screen, Within enables you to look around and see the story unfold as if you were there. One example is the Mozart 360 series, which presents a performance of Mozart's Coronation Mass from the perspective of a member of the orchestra while presenting text information about the music. Other examples include 700 Sharks and Dolphin Man, which take you into the ocean to observe marine wildlife in their natural habitat, and My Africa, the story of life in the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Kenya from the perspective of a young Samburu woman. Within films cover a variety of subjects, including History, Culture, Climate Change, and many others.
The second app is Google Expeditions. Google Expeditions allows you to travel worldwide, to cities, cultural locations, museums, natural wonders, and more, without leaving the room. Museums include the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, and the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C., among many others. Location tours include such places as the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, and many more. Google curates the content into themed tours, collections, and topics and provides a weekly highlights section to bring attention to new and currently relevant content.
Both Within and Google Expeditions provide large and unique libraries and present content in a way that only VR can. By immersing the user completely, the user doesn't just view the content; they experience it, allowing a more profound, more fulfilling experience.
To learn more about these applications or discuss how AR/VR/XR might be used to enhance your current or future teaching needs, don't hesitate to get in touch with OIT's Support Center and request a meeting with a member of the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) staff. You can reach the Support Center at 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu.
