Nov
2021
Digital Literacy for St. Cloud State University
Zoom, Teams, Skype, and FaceTime all became daily fixtures, and many of us quickly became fatigued by seeing our colleagues, students and far-away loved ones almost exclusively in 2D. Most video conferencing solutions were not designed to be online classrooms. what is missing from the current video platforms that could improve online teaching: tools to better facilitate student interactions, including enhanced polling and quizzing features, group work tools, and more.
While universities continue to increase in-person and HyFlex courses, hoping to soon see campuses return to normalcy, there is mounting evidence that the increased interest in digital tools for teaching and learning will persist even after the pandemic.
We should move beyond 2D solutions and take advantage of what extended reality (XR) and virtual reality (VR) have to offer us.
Professor Courtney Cogburn created the 1,000 Cut Journey, an immersive VR research project that allows participants to embody an avatar that experiences various forms of racism. Professor Shantanu Lal has implemented VR headsets for pediatric dentistry patients who become anxious during procedures. At Columbia Engineering, professor Steven Feiner’s Computer Graphics and User Interfaces Lab explores the design and development of 2D and 3D user interfaces for a broad range of applications and devices. Professor Letty Moss-Salentijn is working with Feiner’s lab to create dental training simulations to guide dental students through the process of nerve block injection. Faculty, students and staff at Columbia’s Media Center for Art History have created hundreds of virtual reality panoramas of archaeology projects and fieldwork that are available on the Art Atlas platform.
In spring 2020, a group of Columbia students began to build “LionCraft,” a recreation of Columbia’s Morningside campus in Minecraft. Even though students were spread out around the world, they still found creative and fun ways to run into each other on campus, in an immersive online format.
the department had implemented a relaxation VR program in its waiting room
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More on virtual reality and mindfulness in this blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Virtual+reality+mindfulness
an understanding of how to harness the emotional appeal of e-learning tools is a central issue for learning and instruction, since research shows that initial situ-ational interest can be a first step in promoting learning
several educational theories that describe the affective, emotional, and motivational factors that play a role in multimedia learning which are relevant for understanding the role of immersion in VR learning environments.
the cognitive-affective theory of learning with media (Moreno and
Mayer 2007),
and
the integrated cognitive affective model of learning with multimedia
(ICALM; Plass and Kaplan 2016)
control-value theory of achievement emotion CVTAE
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-09239-007
Presence, intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, and control and active learning are the affective factors used in this study. defintions
The sample consisted of 104 students (39 females and 65 males; average age =23.8 years)
from a large European university.
immersive VR (Samsung Gear VR with Samsung Galaxy S6) and
the desktop VR version of a virtual laboratory simulation (on a standard computer). The
participants were randomly assigned to two groups: the first used the immersive VR
followed by the desktop VR version, and the second used the two platforms in the opposite
sequence.
The VR learning simulation used in this experiment was developed by the company Labster and designed to facilitate learning within the field of biology at a university level. The VR simulation was based on a realistic murder case in which the participants were required to investigate a crime scene, collect blood samples and perform DNA analysis in a high-tech laboratory in order to identify and implicate the murderer
we conclude that the emotional value of the immersive VR version of the learning simulation is significantly greater than the desktop VR version. This is a major empirical contribution of this study.
According to a 2021 report, 75% of business leaders anticipate using Augmented or Virtual Reality by 2023. VR Training solutions have become a powerful way to revamp traditional training methods, and it’s as cost-effective
A Baylor study took 20 subjects and taught them a fire safety procedure. Half with traditional methods (video presentation and reading) and half with a VR training experience. A week after their training they were all given a memory test with mock scenarios, and 70% of the VR group performed the right sequence of steps compared to 20% of the video group.
With VR, virtual environments can house as many pieces of hardware at whatever scale you’d like all at the same cost. Especially once a framework has been developed, adding new procedures, objects, or environments to your training can be designed and deployed within a few days.
Another one of the benefits of VR training is the ability for trainees to learn what they need to at their pace. If a certain training scenario is a challenge, it’s easy to reset a scenario from the beginning. If a trainee is confident in a process, they can jump to a final procedure test.
Virtual Reality allows for a risk-free environment, allowing learners to prepare themselves and train in these stressful situations without the possibility of danger.
During a VR experience, trainees can be exposed to stressful situations in safe conditions. Over time, these experiences reduce the stress or fear response of that stimuli, allowing learners to gain confidence in real scenarios. The increased multi-sensory aspect of an immersive experience can be incredibly similar to real-life stressors. In addition, there exists the ability to have controlled exposure of these situations based on the learner’s own limits.
As more sophisticated data collecting methods are being developed, such as eye or facial tracking, more metrics can be used to understand how people are reacting to VR training. This is probably most sought after in soft skills training, where emotional input plays a larger role.
VR headsets can be implemented remotely, greatly reducing the requirement for in-person training.
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More on virtual reality training in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Virtual+reality+training
link to MS Teams Sharepoint document (request access from David Anderson)
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/file/7FD2597A-20AB-4728-94D4-3BA0724BEB70?tenantId=5011c7c6-0ab4-46ab-9ef4-fae74a921a7f&fileType=pdf&objectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmnscu.sharepoint.com%2Fteams%2FSCTCC-NSFRETTL-Team-GrantDevelopment%2FShared%20Documents%2FGrant%20Development%2FiPRES2019_proceedings_lischerkatz_etal_2019.pdf&baseUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmnscu.sharepoint.com%2Fteams%2FSCTCC-NSFRETTL-Team-GrantDevelopment&serviceName=teams&threadId=19:56820ef92d7c4744934f39a97343e864@thread.tacv2&groupId=58ac49c7-7eea-4abf-9832-0904398577be
link to the notes and highlight in Hypothes.is (request access from Plamen Miltenoff)
https://hyp.is/go?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmnscu.sharepoint.com%2Fteams%2FSCTCC-NSFRETTL-Team-GrantDevelopment%2FShared%2520Documents%2FGrant%2520Development%2FiPRES2019_proceedings_lischerkatz_etal_2019.pdf%3FCT%3D1633943670366%26OR%3DItemsView&group=P8vZV2ra
Link to the the PDF document:
an interdisciplinary group of librarians and researchers from Virginia Tech, Indiana University,
and the University of Oklahoma convened to develop a series of three national forums on this topic, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as a project titled Developing Library Strategy for 3D and Virtual Reality Collection Development and Reuse (LIB3DVR) [8]
in addition to these ethical and legal concerns, there are also intellectual property issues identified that could impact how VR content is used in the future.
3. Participants identified a range of possible preservation strategies for dealing with these challenges and preservation considerations. Selection and documentation were seen as important activities for ensuring the long-term preservation of 3D/VR content.
https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2021/augmented-reality-helping-build-store-of-the-future/
Augmented Reality Helping Build Future!https://t.co/2j6KnCKgDv#AR #augmentedreality #future #immersivetech #VR pic.twitter.com/YbA3DwSinm
— Alfred Taren (@Alfred_G_Taren) October 6, 2021
AR can also be utilized in-store, Ripert said, to show different variations of products without having to carry multiple models and take up precious stockroom space or to make shopping more interactive with scavenger hunts and virtual experiences.
The rise of the metaverse, or immersive virtual worlds where people gather, work and socialize, also makes it crucial for retailers to adopt AR technology now so as to avoid getting left behind.
https://axonpark.com/how-effective-is-vr-training-13-case-studies-and-examples/
https://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/94636/virtual-reality-collaboration-transforming-veteran-health-care/
Augmented reality can be a valuable therapeutic tool for Veterans. Through a previous three-year evaluation of Veterans using Waya Health’s VR tools in inpatient and long-term care settings at the Western North Carolina VA Health Care System (WNCVAHCS), in Asheville, N.C., 84 percent of Veterans reported reduction in discomfort, 89 percent reported reduction in stress, 96 percent reported enjoying their experience, and 97 percent said they would recommend it to their peers.