How Is Virtual Reality Being Used at Other Universities?

Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the new Extended Reality (XR) Lab that the Neumann library is building as part of its current renovation project. In that article, I discussed the three main types of technology that fall under the term Extended Reality: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). In this article, I will focus on Virtual Reality and its use at other universities.

During the pandemic, Penn State University Landscape Architecture Professor Travis Flohr found that teaching a studio course over Zoom made it difficult for his students to communicate and collaborate as they had in face-to-face courses. Flohr worked with colleagues Tim Johnson and Ken Tamminga to create an online VR studio that replicates the on-campus studio space. The VR space is a 360-degree reproduction that allows students to explore the area and includes people, furnishings, and even sounds the students would experience in the actual studio. The VR studio also consists of four workspaces, including desks, pin-up spaces, a lecture hall, and a lounge.

At the University of Maryland, Dr. Rashawn Ray is working with Google to develop a VR police training program. The program aims to train police to deescalate situations by interacting with a VR person programmed using an algorithm designed to replicate human behavior. Dr. Ray hopes to reduce the rate of fatal police shootings, particularly for Black Americans.

Stanford University has recently introduced a course that will be taught entirely online. The Communications course, called “Virtual People,” uses software called ENGAGE that allows instructors and students to interact and build their own virtual environments. Professor Jeremy Bailenson and teaching assistant Cyan DeVeaux have students engage in such activities as visiting a guided meditation in space, building imaginary scenes, and even creating performances using virtual avatars. Bailenson and DeVeaux are using the course to collect data to help develop the use of VR environments in education.

These are just a few examples of the ways universities are using VR to create new educational opportunities. In future articles, I plan to look at how Augmented and Mixed Reality are being used as well.

References

Burton, R. (2021, November 30). University of Maryland researchers, Google to offer virtual reality police training. WJLA.

Dietrich, K. (2021, November 4). Stuckeman School professor uses virtual reality to expand studio environment. Penn State News.

Kornfein, A. (2021, December 2). Stanford launches first class taught completely in virtual reality. The Stanford Daily.