Virtual Reality in Online Graduate

Instruction: A Seven Year

Overview

This presentation highlights seven years of integrating virtual reality into online

education courses to build community, share work, create virtual conferences

and poster sessions, and develop collaborative projects. A new course has

students beginning to design their own complex virtual environments.

Suggestions on effective virtual usage to be shared too.

Eileen O’Connor, Ph.D. - Empire State College eileen.oconnor@esc.edu

Pictorial overview in conjunction with

presentation – September 2014

Agenda

Poll audience – experience with virtual reality?

Basics & orientation

Examples from my work and my students

Suggestions for use & getting started

Segue into sharing & collaborating / more discussions

WARNING: a picture-heavy presentation

Why Virtual Reality?

Community building

Collaboration Study /

simulations / visits

Creation / programming

Education & conceptual frameworks abound – motivation, constructivism, “authentic learning,” community of practice, assessment, analytics, evaluation, learning goals, objectives, outcome, simulations, Piaget, Vygotsky, dual coding, digital natives, scaffolding, training, project-based learning, problem-based learning, 21st century approaches, immersive experiences

Ways to procure your own virtual

experiences

Virtual Usage Approaches (join communities)

Second Life / Active Worlds / other providers

Rent islands

Get advanced avatar w/ small land

Sharecrop / field trips

Or, get Open Source (code from SL)

Stand alone or

hypergrid

Types of viewers

Try on your computer

Various platforms today

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSimulator

http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page

New providers are emerging; lower

cost but stability?

http://www.kitely.com/

http://www.dreamlandmetaverse.com/

Joining

community

groups http://www.avacon.org/blog/

More “world” providers are becoming available quickly;

look at the HyperGrid Business for upcoming ideas

http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/

Example

from the

Sept 2013

conference

My pathways into virtual

Initial motivation – to create an education

platform that could have the potential for

intrinsically motivating experiences that

could be shared across geography for K12

STEM (science, technology, engineering,

mathematics)

If World of Warcraft has their minds, why

can’t we?

To bring in pre-service teachers

Many applications emerged

To start other virtual reality developers

K12

Teacher Ed

Virtual developers

As work in virtual space continued,

more adventuresome work began

Virtual collaborative projects, used:

“Pod” development

Integrated science project (demonstrated through project

websites)

Final project presentations

Study and publications on the work, showed the collaborations

supported more effective project outcomes

Research related to and within the virtual environment, although

focused on the collaboration components

User group & website

Finally . . .

I began teaching a class on working & designing in

virtual reality

For the MALET program (Master of Arts in Learning and

Emerging Technology) at Empire State College

Students are now creating / designing amazing new

virtual spaces

Most are using some orginal design and some

purchased items

Using ESC island now

Working on next steps – open-source / others / ???

Private class website – for documenting & sharing ongoing progress

My resource website

Composite resource website

Virtual classroom created by student – used as an ag-tech meeting space

Virtual classroom created by student – used a GPS tractor simulation too (YouTube inside the simulation)

Virtual – learning by doing / trampoline

Virtual – artistic & musical creation

Virtual – dorm management - meetings & classroom

Virtual – dorm management- residence area

Virtual – dorm management- Penthouse & simulation

Virtual – dorm management

My sabbatical too –healthcare simulation for middle school instruction/ work w/ Africa – private island

Examples & resourceshttps://sites.google.com/site/3dvirtualexamples/

Education (K12 example) Corporate / Retail Gov / social

Setting – real K12 building w/ common

rooms, labs, gyms,

cafeteria, etc.

Board room; factory or

offices; stores

Civic or military setting;

conference center;

hospital, social work

Setting – phantasy Areas that simulate the

content areas taught

Envisioning area – for

customers & products;

future resort or building

A futuristic government

or social environment

Meetings / Events Students in “classic” room;

teacher meetings; parent-

teacher office

Board room ; product

development; human

resources; professional

development

Town park w/ band-

shell; police barracks;

lab safety training

meeting;

Role playing /

enactments

Students enact history or

science activities; school

play

Enactment of working

with an irate customer,

a manufacturing

problem, a new

showroom opening

Enactments of intake

screening (social work);

emergency

management training

Simulations Any of the backgrounds for

the content areas

Any of the events or

product developments

for the enterprise

A “real” scene or event

that the organization

oversees

Shared experiences Students visit Shakespeare

or journey through an

atom together

Avatars take a team-

spirit building trip to

the virtual Eiffel Tower

Conference-like

planning & workshop

sessions; virtual case

studies

http://www.interactivelearningsolutions.net/virtual/courseIntro/VirtPract-sp2014-example.html

Ways to procure virtual experiences

Virtual Usage Approaches (join communities)

Second Life / Active Worlds / other providers

Rent islands Get advanced

avatar w/ small land

Sharecrop / field trips

Or, get Open Source (code from SL)

Stand alone or hypergrid

Types of viewers

Try on your computer

Examples of Virtual Reality (many videos); the link to this website will be shared

Title & clickable link Min. Description of Virtual Reality (VR) applications, video, and presentations

VP course overview 3 Overview of Virtual Practicum (VP) course

View VR creations / development ideas 2 Simulations & uses created by students sp 2014; explains VP course too

Designing complex VR apps A document that describes all aspects of designing a complex virtual

Planning VR healthcare/K12 apps 3 Explains the education theories behind a K12 VR STEM application

Repurposing islands to make VR 4 Using available objects & open-sim islands for rapid development

Middle-school VR project - science 3 Reviews a virtual island being created for middle-school STEM project

Middle school student projects in VR 6 Research on middle school work in VR on STEM topic; students present too

Plans for sabbatical w/ VR & STEM 4 Conceptual planning for healthcare application using a VR mobile van

Faculty preparing for a presentation 2 Faculty member will come later to meet students / prepping

Student VR project – Zippo 3 VR of plant floor created by ESC student

History of VR & new features 2 Highlights the development of VR & current advances

VR & K12 / teacher education 4 Teacher ed. & K12 at ESC; video from actual work & presentations

Poster session & votes in VR 3 Science-ed students present posters in VR; faculty visit & peers vote

MALET & use of VR 3 Conceptual overview of VR uses in new emerging-tech program

Video view & discuss w/in VR 3 Students observe & discuss video in VR / “loop” into discussion board

VR overview & business apps 55 Presentation (done in VR) about future applications – Hypergrid Business

Overview of VR in grad school Presentation on VR in education

Overview of VR in K12 & grad Presentation of K12 & graduate uses of VR / differences considered

Research on VR & project development Presentation on research published about STEM collaborations in VR

Securing a VR space

Create / acquire

Second Life

Open Sim

Visit

SUNY

Other island

Borrow

Eileen.oconnor@esc.edu

Virtual Reality in Online Graduate Instruction: A Seven Year Overview

Eileen O’Connor, Ph.D. - Empire State College eileen.oconnor@esc.edu