The winter term marked the Experiential Learning Hub’s (ELH) first full semester operating since its launch in October of 2023. We asked four instructors who innovatively incorporated virtual reality (VR) into their courses this past term to share their reflections on their experience working with the ELH.
Peggy Hartwick Assistant Professor, School of Linguistics and Language Studies
- Explored a VR platform designed for language learners and teachers with two MA students. Their goal was to untangle the limitations of the traditional classroom environment by experiencing learning in an immersive space.
Brian Greenspan, Associate Professor in the Department of English
- Used an Indigenous Futurist VR experience in his grad seminar (10 students). The course focused on the pre-history and theory of VR and compared science-fictional representations of Virtual Reality with existing VR experiences.
Laura Pickell, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Health Sciences
- Incorporated a VR experience into a third-year course (35 students) called Diseases of Aging, where students experienced different types of age-related vision loss, just as older adults with these pathologies would experience.
Prashant Waghmare, Associate Professor; Associate Dean, MEng Program
- Developed a laboratory experiment in VR on fluid dynamics for his grad course. Students visited the ELH to try out the experience multiple times across the term.
What worked well?
Peggy: We appreciated the hands-on nature of the project and the support from the ELH team. Without this support, the experiences would have been compromised as the learning curve – initially – is steep.
Brian: It all worked really well, with just a few glitches, which is to be expected with any early adoption. The VR experiences were memorable for the students and clearly had a strong impact on them.
Laura: I had never tried VR before and came to them with only a vague idea of what I wanted to try. The ELH made it happen, providing technical, logistical, and even pedagogical support. They worked with me to bring my vision to fruition.
Prashant: The distribution/management system to get the files to all headsets was easy and efficient. We appreciated the locked-down version of the software that the students got access to as it avoided any significant issues for the first time and newer VR users getting lost in the system. The designated areas that each student had to perform the experience worked well and the optional seated or standing setup was used often.
What was your students’ response?
Peggy: My students were very grateful for this opportunity to experience something that otherwise is not possible in the regular course offerings. They explored a non-traditional learning space.
Laura: The engagement from the students in the experience was beyond my expectations. They came back from the experience talking about it and unanimously wrote that they enjoyed the experience as a different and engaging way of learning. In their reflections, some students also indicated that they had a better understanding of the pathologies causing age-related vision loss compared to only reading about it or seeing pictures, and that they had greater empathy for those living with vision loss.
Prashant: In general students found it to be a unique experience that added a fun factor to otherwise normal laboratory experiments. Overall, we received a lot of valuable feedback that will be implemented into all VR experiences going forward.
What words of advice would you give to someone who’s never taught in the ELH or is a newbie to teaching with XR?
Peggy: Allow for time, some motion sickness, be open minded, ask questions, don’t try to do too much.
Laura: Just try it! I had never tried VR before and only had a vague idea of what I wanted to try in my classroom, but our ELH made it happen. Also, start small. There is no need to re-vamp your entire course, rather, start with a short activity students could try and build from there!
Brian: Don’t assume that students are all new media experts: they aren’t, and many are quite trepidatious about new technologies. Nor will they necessarily have the metalanguage to discuss these media, so come prepared to contextualize and theorize. Even with TLS support, a VR workshop isn’t an easy teaching day.
Also, have a backup plan. Assign readings to go along with VR so that students will have some way of contextualizing their experiences, and something to talk about in-between VR sessions, or should the tech fail.
Prashant: As always with a newer use of technology, the development process will have significant struggles with bugs and errors all the way through. Although this technology is being used to educate on specific course material you should also use it as an opportunity to educate yourself and your students about XR technology and enjoy the freedom that XR brings to learning.
If you are interested in integrating virtual reality into your course, join us for the next Experiential Learning Hub Orientation happening July 16th or reach out via the TLS support portal to book a visit or consultation.