An overview of seven years working in virtual reality. Addresses the history of virtual reality teaching (since Second Life and moving into open source) and presents Dr. O'Connor's work in this field - in teacher education, K12 applications and technology education.

1. Virtual Reality in Online Graduate
Instruction: A Seven Year
Overview
Eileen O’Connor, Ph.D. - Empire State College eileen.oconnor@esc.edu
Pictorial overview in conjunction with
presentation – September 2014
 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.

2. 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

3. 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
Why Virtual
Reality?
Community
building
Collaboration
Study /
simulations /
visits
Creation /
programming

4. 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

5. Various platforms today
http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSimulator

7. New providers are emerging; lower
cost but stability?
http://www.kitely.com/
http://www.dreamlandmetaverse.com/

8. Joining
community
ghrtotp:u//wpwws. avacon.org/blog/

9. More “world” providers are becoming available quickly;
look at the HyperGrid Business for upcoming ideas
http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/

10. Example
from the
Sept 2013
conference

11. 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

24. 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

30. User group
& website

31. 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 / ???

32. Private class
website – for
documenting &
sharing ongoing
progress

33. My resource
website

34. Composite
resource
website

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

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

37. Virtual – learning by doing / trampoline

38. Virtual – artistic &
musical creation

39. Virtual – dorm
management - meetings
& classroom

40. Virtual – dorm management
- residence area

41. Virtual – dorm management
- Penthouse & simulation

42. Virtual – dorm management

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

44. Examples & resources
https://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

45. 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

46. 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

48. Securing a
VR space
Create /
acquire
Second Life
Open Sim
Visit
SUNY
Other
island
Borrow
Eileen.oconnor@esc.edu

49. Virtual Reality in Online Graduate
Instruction: A Seven Year Overview
Eileen O’Connor, Ph.D. - Empire State College eileen.oconnor@esc.edu