Abstracts

On-boarding HE students for immersive experiences: The need for an XR ‘driving test’
Gary Burnett, Professor of Digital Creativity, Loughborough University

A significant barrier to the use of Extended Reality (XR) in Higher Education (HE) is the usability of the technology itself. For most students, headset-based XR is still novel and complex to use when compared with well-established computing devices used in HE. Consequently, it can be challenging to train/prepare students, so they are sufficiently far along the learning curve to be focused on the learning outcomes of the teaching session, rather than how to operate the hardware/software. At Loughborough University, over the last year we have been exploring how best to on-board students for XR classes – and my presentation will focus on lessons learnt. In particular, I shall introduce our concept of an XR ‘driving test’ where students have to demonstrate a level of competency with the technology before they are permitted to use XR in an actual learning session. Our work with the XR test is on-going – but to date we have built and utilised an on-boarding virtual world, where specific activities (avatar design, moving, selecting, interacting, creating etc.) have to be undertaken in turn by students before a link can be followed to join the class. To conclude my presentation, I will outline the pros and cons of students using XR technology together in a physical room/lab (the developing norm for most campus-based universities) versus remote access in which borrow headsets for an extended period.

Developing Students' Digital Creativity through Virtual Reality: Approaches to Balancing Open-Ended Exploration with Readily Available Experiences,
Katie Gardner, Lecturer in Arts-based Pedagogical Practices, University of Leeds

In this session, I will share my approach to and experiences teaching with a range of VR applications and experiences (including VictoryXR and Gravity Sketch) to scaffold and encourage students' confidence in experimenting and taking creative risks in VR and MR environments. The session will explore the pedagogy behind my selection and design of VR in the classroom and reflections on how these designs have changed in response to five years of student feedback.

“What immersive learning budget?” – Designing and delivering education-focused immersive learning activities in a time of higher priorities
Owen Crawford, Digital Learning Manager, Cardiff University

This session will present an overview of 3 larger-scale immersive learning activities from Cardiff University School of Medicine that were implemented with minimal costs, followed by a reflection (and tips) on how it is possible to implement such learning activities under budget constraints, within existing structures, and without a guiding strategy being available for immersive learning.

A window on the world: using immersive virtual reality
Michael Detyna, Learning Technologist, King's College London

This interactive talk will cover an innovative investigation into the use of virtual reality for educational use conducted at a London art gallery and university. A viewing of an Impressionist landscape painting was also experienced as a 3D virtual reality experience. The intention was to consider if this immersive experience could help with learner engagement, conception and understanding of artworks. This is both an original approach, and should be of interest to the audience, as it relates to the student engagement possibility of ‘stepping inside’ a painting. The aim of this research was to provide an immersive, three-dimensional experience of the landscape and locations of selected paintings to student to increase engagement, and to connect a view of the past with a view of the present in this specific way is a novel and original approach.

The talk looks at a specific immersive learning experience and looking at both an immersive experience of a landscape and genuine painting, thus providing a link to the chosen thematic area. There are a number of implications of the findings for the learning and teaching community which will be discussed.

Immersive experiences can potentially provide greater engagement for both learners in art institutions and universities and for viewers in art galleries. The use of immersive environments and virtual reality has expanded into new disciplines, specifically art with this talk. There are ways to implement this technology with a constrained budget, using more basic tools and free galleries. Apart from high cost, there are other potential constraints, and this talk will cover how these can be overcome.

There is an existing literature on using virtual reality (VR) in art galleries (eg Singh and Atta (2021), Dewdney (2018), Shehadeet al (2020)) and on using VR in teaching (Radianti et al (2020)). However, there is a gap in the literature combining the use of assessing learning objectives with VR in an art context looking at immersive landscapes. This research aims to fill that gap. The project helps understand how we can investigate the viewers’ feelings and perceptions of the gallery paintings if connected to an immersive experience of the wider world. "

An 8-year journey from immersive dream to immersive reality
Jamie Daniels, Educational Software Developer, Anna Chistyakova, UX Designer and Dean Collins, User Experience Designer, The Open University

The Open University’s Learning Innovation team has had over 8 years of experience exploring the potential of Virtual Reality in teaching and learning. We will discuss our journey of adopting immersive technology and share the lessons we have learned since we spoke at the last UCISA immersive environments event.

The scope of our work has taken us from producing simple Google Cardboard VR apps to complex and fully featured touch-based VR products and desktop-based immersive simulations. Hear about the barriers we faced and how we overcame them. We will discuss and share the tools and frameworks we found needed to be developed along the way and the user research we have conducted to support them. Despite not always moving us forward, we will demonstrate how every step we took ultimately led to us developing a more robust, realistic, and pragmatic approach to adopting scalable immersive environments. Our commitment to creating impactful learning experiences has only grown stronger, and we are excited to share how these lessons can help others create their own meaningful experiences.