E77: Building Empathy and Confidence in the Classroom through Virtual Reality

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So when I think of the VR experience for the students, it's helped me to be
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able to connect the material on a deeper level.
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And I don't think I could do that before.
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And so it's been extremely helpful for the students to get to that next level
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where they can now experience the empathy.
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They can understand some of the trials and tribulations that individuals are
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going through and starting to come up with, how do I treat this individual?
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This is Learning Innovation, the teaching and learning podcast,
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also known as LITL-Pod.
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We are created by Lethbridge Polytechnic's Centre for Teaching,
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Learning and Innovation and located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada,
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on the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
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In the spirit of equity, diversity, inclusion and Niitsitapi’ksimpstaan,
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or Real Thinking, we play host to a spectrum of guests from the teaching and learning community.
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As we highlight and explore innovation in education, we hope to kindle warm
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conversations, expand perspectives, and foster lasting partnerships today, tomorrow, and beyond.
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The future of learning starts now.
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Oki and welcome. I am your host, Donna McLaughlin, and I am a Work Integrated
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Learning Coordinator at Lethbridge Polytechnic.
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Virtual reality, or VR, gets a
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lot of hype, but does it truly enhance the learning journey for students?
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And, as an instructor, how much work is it to integrate VR into your classroom?
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Our guests today share their perspectives.
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They expand on what it looks like to use VR to build student confidence,
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deepen empathy, and support skill development without overcomplicating teaching.
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From helping students manage public speaking anxiety to gaining new insight
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into mental health in criminal justice studies,
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this is an honest conversation about how virtual reality is helping to make
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learning sticky for students.
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We have Jill Burrows, a psychology professor at Lethbridge Polytechnic,
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Dean Kolebaba, an instructor and the program chair for the School of Justice
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Studies at Lethbridge Polytechnic, and Lyle Ruggles, an e-learning specialist
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at Lethbridge Polytechnic.
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Welcome, everyone. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
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All right. So I have tried out Ovation VR, and I thought it was pretty cool.
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I tried out the podcast one, of course.
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And so I'm really excited to hear about your VR projects.
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So Dean, can you start us off? What VR project have you been working on?
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Well, for this project, we wanted to implement VR in one of our public speaking courses.
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In the School of Justice Studies, we obviously provide education for future
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police officers, correctional officers.
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Interpersonal communication is a key tool in that industry.
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In our program, we start off simply with public speaking and then throughout
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the semesters, it becomes more dynamic in the interpersonal communication.
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So we thought that this was a good fit to use an app like Ovation.
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What I really liked about Ovation and what stuck with me is when Lyle introduced
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me to it is the feedback, the sense of immersion that you're in a classroom,
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you can control the audience, who can control the laptop, the projector.
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These are all things that our students have access for.
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So we meet kind of the obvious connection. If our students can go in and rehearse
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in VR, it should reduce some of that anxiety that most of us experience with public speaking.
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We're looking to tap into the VR component where the repetitiveness.
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It's easy to put a headset on, speak in front of 30 people.
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It's difficult to get an actual classroom with 30 people in the audience to rehearse.
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So instead of speaking in front of the mirror or your friends and family for
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a rehearsal, it's just another tool, another option for our students to help
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practice that public speaking and again, ultimately reducing that anxiety.
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Yeah, and I know when I tried it myself, I did find that feedback really amazing.
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It gives you a lot of information about how you're speaking.
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It does. It's really impressive.
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I'm always questioning AI and how legitimate and accurate it is.
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And that speculation is reducing with me through these projects.
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And it's quite accurate. I think you still need the human touch.
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You still need that instructor, mentor, someone to kind of guide you along.
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But again, it's more impactful than practicing in front of a mirror.
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It's more impactful than talking to yourself when you're driving to school.
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So, again, it's just another tool that that can help those students self-correct and improve.
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And again, ultimately reducing that anxiety and apprehension about public speaking.
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Well, it sounds like an excellent use of VR. Jill, can you share your perspective?
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What VR projects have you been involved with?
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So I've been involved with using VR in the classroom.
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So what we've done here at the college is that we have introduced two VR scenarios.
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One is a schizophrenia VR and the other one is an autism VR,
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where the students are now allowed to be able to understand and gain insight
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about what it would be like to have one of these disorders.
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And so it's very intriguing for them because they're placed in the shoes of
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an individual who is struggling. And again, it's not going to be exact,
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but it gives them a basic understanding.
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And so the goal or reason for doing this is to be able to help individuals to
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reduce stigma within our community and understand the disorders on a deeper level.
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That's really quite amazing. One of the things I remember when I took my ed
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degree was doing some experiential things where we stepped in the shoes of,
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you know, someone who's visually impaired and that was really impactful.
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So I can't imagine with VR how much more impactful that must be.
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And so in talking with the students, they absolutely love the project.
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So this is the third year we've ran it.
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So what we are currently doing now is integrating it into the classroom.
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And so it has worked extremely well with the VR component because the IT team
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is coming into the classroom and assisting the students so that they can get
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the best experience possible.
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Oh, that's nice. So they're already there. They're not having to go somewhere to do that.
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No. Originally what we did is we had it set up in the library and it worked okay.
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But now what we're doing is we're moving into the classroom with the IT team
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and it has worked extremely well.
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Wonderful. So Lyle, you must be playing more of that support role then.
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And can you share what that looks like for you and your team with the VR technology?
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Yeah. Yeah. So it really depends on the VR initiative, but for Dean's VR initiative, Ovation.
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Is a great app but the challenge is that you need an individual space for each individual student,
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and so what worked great is the interview rooms in in CJ and we had six students cycle through.
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In each of the six rooms we had.
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It provide support for networking and.
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We had the library Tyson provide
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support and curtis in it provide facilitation support
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there and we also
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had lxd so we had Craig provide
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support with developing surveys and
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provide that curriculum connection with the
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vr experiences and yeah
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i think that were great there's of course
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troubleshooting that comes up we found out that the wireless
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was a little sketchy at times
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there but we we came up with a creative solution we
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pulled the students out into the hallway closer to
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the access point or the wi-fi hub and we
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had it connected and then students would go back into the
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the breakout rooms and on the flip side for
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jill's experience we collaborated also
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with start so that's tyler and Austin
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and yeah we cycled the students
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through but as a bigger group because we were
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using starts headsets so we had 10 headsets
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there and we had half doing the autism experience and the other half doing the
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schizophrenia experience and we learned some things there there was a lot going
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on and so for the next round we're focusing on each individual experience and
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that it's less It's overwhelming for the students.
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Which provides a better, better outcome. Yeah.
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Sounds like there's a lot involved then in getting this all set up.
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So were there any interesting insights that you've gained or seen in the technology?
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Yeah. I mean, we were using older headsets for the 360 experiences.
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So that's the autism and schizophrenia experience.
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So the students don't have to vocalize anything.
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It's experiential. So they put on the headset and so we can have everyone in the same room.
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Whereas ovation they're public speaking and so if they were all in the same
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room well that would be quite overwhelming and you would you pick up on other
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conversations and then the ai would actually,
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respond to other people and so that's why you needed a an individual experience
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whereas yeah i think each individual vr experience has to you kind of have to
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figure out the space depending on what classroom is available and also how many
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students you're running.
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Just want to go back to Jill's experience. So one thing, it was really insightful that.
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We might have been a little bit flustered with that initial experience because
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we had two experiences and we had a lot of students cycling in.
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But at the end of the day, the students really had a great experience.
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And so from a facilitation standpoint, we're like, oh, I'm wondering how the
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students are going to react.
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And based on the survey and even people taking off the headsets,
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they all seem really engaged.
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In spite of our little bit of chaos when students were coming in the room and
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leaving, they still had a beneficial experience.
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And so that was really good.
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Well, that's fantastic. And likely the students maybe aren't aware of that because
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they wouldn't know all of the setup. So that's great.
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So you mentioned an older headset and newer ones. So how are you seeing the technology evolving?
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Yeah, well, in the last couple of years, there's been a lot of changes.
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I mean, with AI and in other advancements, it's moving fast and most people aren't ready for it.
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I think, I mean, right now in the library, we have 12 MetaQuest 3S headsets
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available for students to come in.
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Once they do the VR Nano credential, they're able to check out a headset and
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take it somewhere on campus and use it. I think that's where we're going.
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And that's where I think we should be going. We should be giving the tech to
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the students and letting them roll with it.
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As long as we have the subscription or the content available and it's purposeful,
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it should be available for them for their learning. now as far as industry I
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think we're going to have slimmer headsets.
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We'll also have AI driven experiences. So you put on a headset and you might
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prompt it and it will put you in that virtual space, which is kind of scary.
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But, you know, you could your your imagination is your only limit where things are going.
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The problem with that, of course, is then you don't have an expert driving that.
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And so if someone says, hey, I want to do this thing, well, you don't know if it's accurate.
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There's no check.
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So I think that will be the key with developing new VR experiences is making
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sure that AI isn't just taking the wheel,
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having experts guiding that and making sure and doing that check to make sure
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the experiences that students are using are accurate.
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Yeah, I guess there's a balance to be found with that.
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So speaking of experts such as yourself, can you share a little bit more about
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the work you do as an e-learning specialist?
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Yeah, so as e-learning specialist, I'll work with faculty and see how we can
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incorporate innovative technology in their class.
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So whether that is facilitating VR.
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Or going out into the field and developing 360 videos or virtual tours or creating
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photogrammetry using a camera or a drone and then 3D printing a model.
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It really depends what project comes about.
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But I guess the most important thing is that it's purposeful.
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So we're not just using VR or using drones just because it's cool,
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making sure that it connects with the learner outcomes of the course and that
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it also benefits the instructor.
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It's purposeful, but you get to play with all the fun toys.
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Yeah, it's constantly changing and evolving and it's great to...
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To get hands-on with whatever new tech comes our way.
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So what I was going to say is that Lyle was talking a lot about how we have
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to really kind of make sure that it's purposeful.
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And so I just have some letters of support from some of my students that have actually sent in.
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And so one of the students said to me specifically, I wouldn't have been able
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to understand without it.
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Being placed in an environment that an individual with schizophrenia lives in
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provided me with a perspective I wouldn't have known.
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This experience has helped me to check my biases regarding the struggles that someone might face.
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I appreciated the VR experience as this was the first time I was immersed in
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understanding the impacts.
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And it led me to ask how society could be more accommodating for individuals
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who have these illnesses.
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And so when Lyle's saying to us that it really needs to fit with our course
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and our course outcomes, when I hear the feedback from my students saying.
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Wow, I never expected to be able to think about this from someone else's perspective.
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And so when we were doing the autism scenario afterwards, I said to some of
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the students, what would it be like to go in for a job interview when you had
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some of these sensory stimulations that are happening?
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And the students are like, wow, I never thought about that experience.
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And so that's really changing their perspective. And there's no other way that
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I can teach this in the class.
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So it brings my class to a deeper level and being able to understand how do
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we respond? How do we connect?
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And so for me, that has been such a great kind of connection that has happened.
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And it really shows that the more that we're looking at technology and how to
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get to those deeper levels, it definitely helps out our students.
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Jill, that's really incredible feedback.
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That's amazing to hear and.
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Yeah, it really speaks to the
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effectiveness of this work. So that leads to the next question as well.
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What problem does VR solve for students and I guess instructors as well?
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I think the problem that VR can solve for our students, specifically in the
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criminal justice programs, is that we can put them in dangerous situations.
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We can put them in situations that cost a lot to replicate and situations that
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are difficult to replicate. This was explained to me early on in this project,
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and it really stuck with me, how we can harness VR.
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And again, for the public speaking, it's a small step. It's an introductory
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phase into communication within our program, but it builds the foundation for it.
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The problem that it solves specifically for our program, I think,
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is that self-confidence, that to go into a room full of strangers and stand
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up and speak for whether it's a five-minute presentation or a 10-minute presentation,
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if you're comfortable doing that,
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you're more likely to be comfortable when you're in a dynamic situation and
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emotions are heightened.
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So again, it's solving the problem of that confidence for a future police officer
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or correctional officer to go into a situation and use their voice as the most
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effective tool that they have.
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It's it's essential skill all of
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our partnership agencies stress how important communication is
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it solves the problem of interpersonal communication it allows our students
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a safe place to practice there's little risks cost is probably less than actually
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having to do it in reality and it's a safe environment for them and they can
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do it as many times as they want so again it's solving the problem of confidence when speaking.
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That's wonderful. And Jill, coming back to you, I know you spoke to it a little
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bit with your student, but are there other ways that you see this solving a
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problem for your students and perhaps yourself as well?
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So definitely one of the key things is helping students to gain experience in
00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:15.959
a safe environment, just like we were talking about a second ago.
00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:22.439
But sometimes when we think about the individuals who have schizophrenia or
00:18:22.439 --> 00:18:27.379
an individual who has autism at that time period, with the schizophrenia,
00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:29.139
they could be going through a psychosis.
00:18:29.139 --> 00:18:33.659
And so they're coming into the hospital and being able to understand that potentially
00:18:33.659 --> 00:18:38.639
we need to leave some door space because of the hallucination that could be there,
00:18:38.659 --> 00:18:43.019
because we truly don't know what that individual is seeing or hearing because
00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:44.939
it targets every single sense.
00:18:44.939 --> 00:18:50.639
And so one individual could have an auditory, someone else could have a visual component.
00:18:50.659 --> 00:18:55.279
And so it allows students to understand all of the different psychosises,
00:18:55.499 --> 00:18:59.499
whether it's an auditory or a verbal component that's coming through.
00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:03.939
And so hopefully this will help students to be able to understand.
00:19:03.979 --> 00:19:08.359
And when they get in the field, they will respond differently to the individuals
00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:09.619
that they're working with.
00:19:09.619 --> 00:19:14.959
And so ultimately, the main goal is to be able to foster that empathy,
00:19:15.259 --> 00:19:20.559
the compassion, developing the deeper understanding of individuals who are struggling
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.539
with many different types of disorders.
00:19:23.636 --> 00:19:26.676
That's really amazing because I don't know how else you would,
00:19:27.256 --> 00:19:29.996
you know, unless you have that condition, how else you would know what that
00:19:29.996 --> 00:19:31.516
feels like. So that's really amazing.
00:19:31.676 --> 00:19:36.216
And I'm actually curious now to try it myself because I've tried the ovation.
00:19:36.216 --> 00:19:40.316
So I understand kind of how that works. So I'm curious with that as well.
00:19:41.136 --> 00:19:44.856
And so Lyle, for you, what does that look like?
00:19:45.136 --> 00:19:49.376
What kind of problems do you see VR solving for students and instructors and
00:19:49.376 --> 00:19:51.016
perhaps yourself as well? Yeah.
00:19:51.356 --> 00:19:56.896
So the problem that we try to solve for students, it really depends on the experience
00:19:56.896 --> 00:19:59.336
and it depends on the purpose.
00:19:59.596 --> 00:20:05.956
For Jill's VR experiences, so those are the autism and schizophrenia experiences,
00:20:06.856 --> 00:20:12.036
really empathy and building a connection. That is so important.
00:20:12.836 --> 00:20:21.896
Especially, you need the students to feel what it's like to have schizophrenia or autism.
00:20:22.396 --> 00:20:31.956
Chris Milk, so he's a VR pioneer, so he coined the phrase that VR is an empathy machine.
00:20:32.716 --> 00:20:41.136
That's where the true power of VR is. From a story and narrative-driven VR experience
00:20:41.136 --> 00:20:44.936
is that you can be put in someone else's shoes.
00:20:46.078 --> 00:20:52.118
Or you could experience what someone else or a third-party perspective, right?
00:20:52.338 --> 00:20:59.398
So whether it's subjective or objective, you can be in that virtual space and
00:20:59.398 --> 00:21:05.218
feel, you know, the anger, the sadness, the happiness.
00:21:05.218 --> 00:21:07.998
You know, it could be both positive or negative.
00:21:09.178 --> 00:21:16.218
And so that's just empathy. So on the other side, we have Dean's VR initiative with ovation.
00:21:16.218 --> 00:21:24.618
So you get that training, you get to be thrown in an interview or deliver a
00:21:24.618 --> 00:21:30.078
public speech or even deliver a pitch to investors.
00:21:30.078 --> 00:21:38.618
There's so many options there and you really get to be hands-on in those situations
00:21:38.618 --> 00:21:41.278
where you normally don't get, right?
00:21:41.398 --> 00:21:46.718
You might have a class of 30 and, well, yeah, maybe there will be those times
00:21:46.718 --> 00:21:50.938
where you do a public speech, but you don't have that.
00:21:50.938 --> 00:21:53.918
You won't get asked the types of questions
00:21:53.918 --> 00:21:56.778
that you will with the AI because whatever you
00:21:56.778 --> 00:22:00.878
say the AI will analyze
00:22:00.878 --> 00:22:04.058
that and then formulate a
00:22:04.058 --> 00:22:06.738
specific type of question so you can
00:22:06.738 --> 00:22:10.138
actually dial in the AI to ask really hard questions
00:22:10.138 --> 00:22:15.678
or ask it from a parent's perspective or a lawyer's perspective so it really
00:22:15.678 --> 00:22:21.038
depends on what you're looking for and then on the other side so we actually
00:22:21.038 --> 00:22:29.598
got started in VR back in 2016 with developing 360 videos for the wind turbine.
00:22:30.478 --> 00:22:40.598
And so for them, we couldn't send a student up on a wind turbine until they were certified.
00:22:41.018 --> 00:22:49.358
And so they came to us with that problem and said, well, we can do a 360 video.
00:22:49.358 --> 00:22:55.698
So it gives them a little feel of what it's like to be 300 feet in the air.
00:22:55.698 --> 00:23:04.118
And so that was a great way of doing safety training in a safe environment without
00:23:04.118 --> 00:23:06.518
putting them in any danger.
00:23:06.778 --> 00:23:10.098
That's really amazing. It's been going for 10 years. You've been using VR in
00:23:10.098 --> 00:23:13.918
quite a wide range of subject areas. Yeah.
00:23:14.198 --> 00:23:19.918
And I guess the one other thing is we have the massage therapy students and
00:23:19.918 --> 00:23:22.238
therapeutic recreation students.
00:23:22.418 --> 00:23:30.018
So they actually come and will use Organon and Sharecare VR and they'll explore
00:23:30.018 --> 00:23:35.958
the body. And so they'll learn about a particular illness in the heart or lungs.
00:23:36.018 --> 00:23:42.938
And so they can actually look inside the lungs, see what it looks like. And that really.
00:23:43.909 --> 00:23:49.009
Enhances what they're already learning. And I think that's the big thing here
00:23:49.009 --> 00:23:53.449
is we're not taking away from the class. We are adding to it.
00:23:54.329 --> 00:23:57.329
That's a great point. You look like you were going to say something, Dean.
00:23:57.469 --> 00:24:01.309
I was going to say something back to what both Jill and Lyle were talking about with the empathy.
00:24:01.449 --> 00:24:05.589
And I think that's so important because Jill, I've taught diversity courses
00:24:05.589 --> 00:24:07.989
and we've talked about people suffering from schizophrenia.
00:24:08.729 --> 00:24:11.589
And here I am, someone who's never suffered from schizophrenia,
00:24:11.609 --> 00:24:14.349
trying to tell my students what they're going to experience.
00:24:14.549 --> 00:24:16.209
I may find a TED talk or a video.
00:24:16.569 --> 00:24:20.609
We've even had people from the Schizophrenic Society come in and share their
00:24:20.609 --> 00:24:22.709
personal experiences. It was all wonderful and great.
00:24:23.029 --> 00:24:26.929
But again, until you feel it, you don't know. And we talk about empathy,
00:24:26.929 --> 00:24:28.669
always, you know, shoes on the other foot.
00:24:28.849 --> 00:24:34.009
What's that person experiencing? I think it's such great insight for all students,
00:24:34.249 --> 00:24:38.189
especially I focus on the policing, the School of Justice Studies students.
00:24:38.189 --> 00:24:42.049
I think it's such a great skill that they can start developing and anything
00:24:42.049 --> 00:24:43.529
we can do with that, I think is wonderful.
00:24:44.189 --> 00:24:48.609
That's fantastic. Jill, you've already mentioned some of the amazing feedback
00:24:48.609 --> 00:24:53.189
from students, but was there anything that surprised you about how students
00:24:53.189 --> 00:24:55.449
engaged with their VR experiences?
00:24:55.909 --> 00:25:00.329
And I guess the second piece to that question is, how might you change your
00:25:00.329 --> 00:25:03.749
VR projects going forward to accommodate any challenges?
00:25:04.516 --> 00:25:09.116
So some of the key things that have happened in the VR is the first time that
00:25:09.116 --> 00:25:11.736
I ran it, I did it all by myself in the library.
00:25:11.936 --> 00:25:16.316
I booked two kind of or three breakout rooms in there.
00:25:16.516 --> 00:25:22.236
And then I supervise students starting at eight in the morning and going till about 530 at night.
00:25:22.476 --> 00:25:27.016
And so I felt that I truly wanted to give them the experience.
00:25:27.016 --> 00:25:32.216
And I realized from a sustainability standpoint, doing that for two days straight
00:25:32.216 --> 00:25:36.536
in between teaching wasn't a practical thing that I could continue doing.
00:25:36.756 --> 00:25:41.436
And so that's when I started to talk to, of course, my chair.
00:25:41.616 --> 00:25:46.936
And Marta said, yeah, you know what? Let's look at bringing in specialists that
00:25:46.936 --> 00:25:49.316
can help you to be able to administer that.
00:25:49.316 --> 00:25:53.696
And so it was nice to have the support of Marta and, of course,
00:25:53.776 --> 00:25:58.236
Kevin in that way and saying, yes, we believe that this is important and we're
00:25:58.236 --> 00:26:01.576
going to fund within our department this experience.
00:26:02.056 --> 00:26:07.916
And so one of the key things that I think about from students' standpoint is
00:26:07.916 --> 00:26:14.796
the human experience, is that one of the greatest things is being able to connect humans together.
00:26:14.958 --> 00:26:19.418
With each other. And so afterwards, doing a little bit of debrief and being
00:26:19.418 --> 00:26:24.498
able to talk and share the personal experience has been extremely great.
00:26:24.778 --> 00:26:29.338
Because afterwards, some students will say, I didn't realize that I would be this dizzy.
00:26:29.538 --> 00:26:33.878
Some students have had headaches. So we've had to kind of address some of the
00:26:33.878 --> 00:26:37.138
issues. A lot of students said that they wouldn't be able to do VR.
00:26:37.418 --> 00:26:41.658
But because these scenarios are super short, we're not putting somebody into
00:26:41.658 --> 00:26:43.498
a VR headset for half an hour.
00:26:43.658 --> 00:26:48.538
We're putting them in for two minutes at the most to be able to have that simulation.
00:26:48.798 --> 00:26:54.378
And when you think of living in kind of that experience for two minutes and
00:26:54.378 --> 00:26:58.778
students coming out going, wow, is usually the first words that I hear,
00:26:58.978 --> 00:27:03.358
you know that it's meaningful. You know that it's changing their perspective.
00:27:03.598 --> 00:27:08.798
And so when I think of how we've moved forward, we've definitely made a lot
00:27:08.798 --> 00:27:11.478
of adjustments in how we're facilitating it.
00:27:11.598 --> 00:27:15.738
We even tried it the one semester, just having students pick up a headset.
00:27:16.218 --> 00:27:20.198
Coming into the library and having a space set up for them to be able to do it.
00:27:20.478 --> 00:27:26.078
But ultimately, the best experiences is within the classroom so that then we
00:27:26.078 --> 00:27:30.778
can do a proper debriefing afterwards and have the students share their experience
00:27:30.778 --> 00:27:34.478
and talk about how we can make changes in the future.
00:27:35.398 --> 00:27:39.478
Yeah, I guess after any sort of experiential education, you want to have that reflection.
00:27:39.718 --> 00:27:44.018
I didn't realize the experience was so short. That's amazing that there's so
00:27:44.018 --> 00:27:46.198
much gained from just that two minutes.
00:27:46.638 --> 00:27:52.918
So what turns out to be really nice is that we can run, usually I have classes of 40.
00:27:53.338 --> 00:27:59.378
And this semester it depended. That was my biggest one that Lyle had to work with and his team.
00:27:59.578 --> 00:28:03.398
And so to run 40 students in in one class is quite...
00:28:04.651 --> 00:28:08.991
How do I want to say it? It's quite, you know, the organization on their part.
00:28:09.171 --> 00:28:11.691
And so how they set it up worked wonderfully.
00:28:11.991 --> 00:28:16.511
We had headsets across the tables and I would send them down from the classroom
00:28:16.511 --> 00:28:18.971
in groups of 10 because we only had 10 headsets.
00:28:19.151 --> 00:28:22.731
And then once those 10 were done, we would send another group of 10.
00:28:22.731 --> 00:28:28.171
And so that gave us the opportunity to be able to separate it into the four
00:28:28.171 --> 00:28:30.431
pod groups because we had the 40 students.
00:28:30.611 --> 00:28:35.051
So 10 students would be working on this activity, 10 would be doing this activity,
00:28:35.051 --> 00:28:39.591
and then I had a short quiz. And so it depended on which experience or which
00:28:39.591 --> 00:28:43.491
group you were in, which kind of experience that you were going to have.
00:28:43.511 --> 00:28:48.931
Because what I didn't want to waste was a full class period where we just waited for 10 minutes.
00:28:49.071 --> 00:28:52.431
Somebody goes in and does the VR experience and then they're done for the day.
00:28:52.611 --> 00:28:57.471
No, we'll do 10 minutes and then the other group will be able to sit and discuss.
00:28:57.711 --> 00:29:01.951
And then some of them were watching a video, just learning more about the disorders.
00:29:02.191 --> 00:29:04.291
And so it worked extremely well.
00:29:04.876 --> 00:29:09.636
That's incredible. That's a lot of logistics and planning. Dean, what about for you?
00:29:09.816 --> 00:29:13.516
Was there anything that surprised you about how students engage with the VR
00:29:13.516 --> 00:29:17.096
experiences? And is there anything that you would change going forward?
00:29:18.136 --> 00:29:21.356
Yeah, the student feedback was great. Right at the start of the semester when
00:29:21.356 --> 00:29:25.456
I said we're going to be involved in this pilot project, you guys will get some experience with VR.
00:29:25.996 --> 00:29:29.756
They were very excited about it. I was constantly badgered throughout the semester
00:29:29.756 --> 00:29:30.796
when we're getting in there.
00:29:31.256 --> 00:29:34.756
I talked it up. I said, guys, this is a cool app.
00:29:34.936 --> 00:29:40.316
I shared experiences and projects going on around campus with VR and just sort
00:29:40.316 --> 00:29:44.136
of how it's becoming the front runner. It's making its way up in education.
00:29:45.216 --> 00:29:50.016
Because of that excitement, I thought everything was going to unfold well.
00:29:50.316 --> 00:29:55.796
However, and I believe it was procrastination that kind of hurt my project with this.
00:29:56.756 --> 00:30:00.816
The way it was set up, logistically similar to Jill, we had challenges.
00:30:00.816 --> 00:30:04.676
The amount of headsets, we were limited by 12.
00:30:04.916 --> 00:30:08.356
But then furthermore, we only had six interview rooms. We chose the interview
00:30:08.356 --> 00:30:12.016
rooms because they're soundproof. They're kind of not open to the public.
00:30:12.176 --> 00:30:15.476
We would have better luck booking those for the times we needed.
00:30:16.102 --> 00:30:19.522
However, that kind of staggered everything as we went through.
00:30:19.682 --> 00:30:23.202
The students needed to get some training, the VR nano credential.
00:30:23.542 --> 00:30:27.202
They had to create an Ovation account. They had to sort of check a couple of
00:30:27.202 --> 00:30:28.882
boxes before they could get into it.
00:30:29.542 --> 00:30:33.302
So that kind of complicated things as well. It made it logistically difficult
00:30:33.302 --> 00:30:37.222
to introduce this into our course at the same time having our normal course
00:30:37.222 --> 00:30:38.482
content that we have to cover.
00:30:39.602 --> 00:30:43.482
When I designed the final assignment, which was a 10-minute presentation for
00:30:43.482 --> 00:30:47.362
our students, this is when ovation was meant to come into play. And it did.
00:30:47.462 --> 00:30:50.822
We had some challenges with police cadet training using the interview room.
00:30:50.882 --> 00:30:53.042
So we had to push it back, I think by a week or two.
00:30:53.782 --> 00:30:57.022
I don't know if that would have changed things because of that procrastination.
00:30:57.242 --> 00:31:01.302
I had the presentations all due on a Friday. Students were going to start presenting.
00:31:02.542 --> 00:31:06.822
They were supposed to use ovation in the week or two leading up to the final
00:31:06.822 --> 00:31:11.002
due date. But I think knowing students, having heard some feedback where students
00:31:11.002 --> 00:31:15.442
were, Dean, I really wanted to do this, but I was busy. I left my project to the last minute.
00:31:15.802 --> 00:31:18.162
So they didn't have the opportunity to rehearse.
00:31:18.622 --> 00:31:24.082
To do it again, I would say presentations are due a week before the actual presentations.
00:31:24.282 --> 00:31:28.062
And then that way I know everyone has their PowerPoints, they've had their scripts
00:31:28.062 --> 00:31:33.562
worked out, and then it gives them that full seven days to get into the interview rooms and rehearse.
00:31:33.562 --> 00:31:36.362
I think there's a lot we could do
00:31:36.362 --> 00:31:39.502
differently talking to other faculty about VR again
00:31:39.502 --> 00:31:42.362
the amount of projects applied research projects going
00:31:42.362 --> 00:31:45.282
on involving VR everyone has ideas
00:31:45.282 --> 00:31:48.302
like Lyle said earlier it's fascinating because it's that we could use it for
00:31:48.302 --> 00:31:51.902
this and this and this so I think from having conversations with other instructors
00:31:51.902 --> 00:31:56.142
that teach the same class that I teach that teach some of the further communication
00:31:56.142 --> 00:32:00.122
courses in our program we would like to see if we can implement specifically
00:32:00.122 --> 00:32:03.062
ovation to help with the behavior descriptive interviews,
00:32:03.462 --> 00:32:06.922
just the interview process with getting into industry. Yeah.
00:32:07.568 --> 00:32:11.528
Right now, some of our instructors are doing 10-minute interviews with every student.
00:32:11.808 --> 00:32:14.728
This takes up a huge amount of time. They're going into the evenings,
00:32:14.908 --> 00:32:17.388
obviously the weekends. Their workload is increased.
00:32:17.828 --> 00:32:20.128
Ovation would be great for this because the students, again,
00:32:20.768 --> 00:32:24.048
could sit down with a panel interview. They could go through the questions.
00:32:24.268 --> 00:32:26.788
Then the instructor can come back and just look through the responses.
00:32:27.208 --> 00:32:32.428
I think there's a ton of potential for that application of Ovation specifically.
00:32:33.048 --> 00:32:37.308
I think another area we would like to focus on, again, is that interpersonal communication.
00:32:37.948 --> 00:32:42.548
As students work through the, we introduce more dynamics. It's not just public speaking.
00:32:42.668 --> 00:32:46.588
Now they'll, they'll go into our crisis apartment where there'll be live actors
00:32:46.588 --> 00:32:48.308
and there'll be a domestic situation.
00:32:48.468 --> 00:32:51.448
The students have to function on their feet. Again, even with Ovation,
00:32:51.588 --> 00:32:55.268
I think we could control an experience similar to this.
00:32:55.668 --> 00:32:58.988
One of the things I did notice, and I think added to the excitement with,
00:32:59.068 --> 00:33:03.248
with my students was during the training session with Lyle, I had created teacher
00:33:03.248 --> 00:33:06.668
Dean and the students would go into Ovation and they would sit down in a living
00:33:06.668 --> 00:33:08.788
room and they would have a conversation with teacher Dean.
00:33:09.308 --> 00:33:15.768
And I was playing with the settings of my avatar and I had dad humor turned up to 11 and sarcasm.
00:33:15.968 --> 00:33:17.968
And I just kind of made it silly.
00:33:18.788 --> 00:33:21.668
And I think that may have hurt the students a bit because it kind of made it,
00:33:21.688 --> 00:33:24.368
it made it funner and more of a game.
00:33:24.388 --> 00:33:27.868
And it kind of detached from that. This is a tool to help you with public speaking.
00:33:28.528 --> 00:33:32.548
So I think there needs to be more control in how we introduce it to the students.
00:33:32.648 --> 00:33:34.288
That may have been an error on my part.
00:33:34.448 --> 00:33:37.388
I was trying to make it light and fun, but then I think I change their perspective
00:33:37.388 --> 00:33:39.508
of what they're using this tool for.
00:33:41.102 --> 00:33:44.502
Yeah, Dean, those are amazing insights. And I mean, you know,
00:33:44.562 --> 00:33:48.042
I guess when you're using any kind of tool or technology, particularly if it's
00:33:48.042 --> 00:33:53.162
new, there's always learning and different approaches that you can take.
00:33:53.642 --> 00:33:57.942
Absolutely. And one thing I hope for, too, in the future is that VR is going
00:33:57.942 --> 00:34:01.302
to become more universal. More and more people are going to be exposed to it.
00:34:01.622 --> 00:34:05.462
The students who had had experience in VR, whether they have a headset at home
00:34:05.462 --> 00:34:12.182
or they went to one of the VR arcades, I think they engaged with the experience better.
00:34:12.622 --> 00:34:14.682
Whereas the ones where it was their first time in a headset,
00:34:14.922 --> 00:34:16.562
this is cool. Look, I can turn around.
00:34:16.702 --> 00:34:21.322
I can zoom across the room. I can talk to my instructor. And so I think the
00:34:21.322 --> 00:34:24.762
more exposure our students have coming into the classroom setting is going to
00:34:24.762 --> 00:34:28.942
benefit the experience because it's no longer such a novelty. It's now a computer.
00:34:29.202 --> 00:34:31.882
It's something that's going to help them with their educational experience.
00:34:32.422 --> 00:34:35.502
Yeah, that's a really great point because then they're focusing on the experience
00:34:35.502 --> 00:34:38.882
and not, you know, the novelty of it, as you say. Yeah.
00:34:39.282 --> 00:34:41.182
And Lyle, what about for you?
00:34:42.022 --> 00:34:46.882
Are there things that surprise you? And are there challenges that you would
00:34:46.882 --> 00:34:52.422
address as you're supporting all of these programs? Yeah.
00:34:52.882 --> 00:34:57.922
Yeah. When we get a request to facilitate, there's always a number of challenges
00:34:57.922 --> 00:35:00.562
because each experience is a little bit different.
00:35:00.862 --> 00:35:06.442
I had touched base earlier just about space being an issue.
00:35:07.182 --> 00:35:10.282
Usually you have to go by the schedule of the class
00:35:10.282 --> 00:35:13.942
making sure that it aligns with class
00:35:13.942 --> 00:35:16.642
time because we kind of have
00:35:16.642 --> 00:35:19.862
to juggle like we we don't
00:35:19.862 --> 00:35:22.742
want to take away from class time and so
00:35:22.742 --> 00:35:25.582
we want to be aware of that and we
00:35:25.582 --> 00:35:30.282
have to make sure that we're giving students the opportunity to go to that lecture
00:35:30.282 --> 00:35:37.442
but also giving them the opportunity to use vr for their class so it's always
00:35:37.442 --> 00:35:42.902
a juggling game and finding the right space so.
00:35:43.703 --> 00:35:50.123
Individual space for ovation, group space for the schizophrenia and autism,
00:35:50.363 --> 00:35:53.083
and other experiences that we come across.
00:35:53.643 --> 00:35:59.483
And sometimes there's other challenges that arise that we don't account for.
00:35:59.983 --> 00:36:03.123
Wi-Fi, sometimes it works.
00:36:03.583 --> 00:36:08.083
And, you know, over the years, it's actually gotten a lot better.
00:36:08.803 --> 00:36:14.483
There's a lot more coverage now than there was in the past. And having our headsets
00:36:14.483 --> 00:36:17.483
on a special network goes a long way.
00:36:18.003 --> 00:36:22.543
And so we're not fighting with other devices on the network because they are
00:36:22.543 --> 00:36:28.083
isolated on another network for these types of devices, which helps a lot.
00:36:29.003 --> 00:36:36.543
Having a team to collaborate with goes a long way. So collaborating with IT
00:36:36.543 --> 00:36:43.303
and LXD and Start and the library just makes it so much easier.
00:36:43.563 --> 00:36:50.343
So it's not just me, it's me and a team, which helps a lot and faculty, right?
00:36:50.763 --> 00:36:53.183
Because without faculty, we wouldn't.
00:36:53.858 --> 00:36:57.498
We wouldn't know exactly the purpose behind it.
00:36:57.838 --> 00:37:02.058
And having that faculty connection goes a long way.
00:37:02.318 --> 00:37:06.918
And just making sure that it is connected to that course outcomes and making
00:37:06.918 --> 00:37:09.818
sure that we are benefiting the student.
00:37:10.478 --> 00:37:14.078
Yeah, I'm not sure if that answers kind of what you're... Yeah, absolutely.
00:37:14.358 --> 00:37:17.758
And I think, I mean, your role is really pivotal because, you know,
00:37:17.838 --> 00:37:21.318
the instructors have their subject matter expertise and the curriculum and the
00:37:21.318 --> 00:37:26.598
pedagogy, But then they don't have to worry so much about the technology and the logistics.
00:37:26.598 --> 00:37:30.158
Is it going to work when we need it to work? And how do we set that all up?
00:37:30.718 --> 00:37:35.018
Yeah, yeah. I can add to that, too. I consider myself to be a layperson when
00:37:35.018 --> 00:37:38.298
it comes to technology. I did go out and get a headset.
00:37:39.038 --> 00:37:42.698
My kids were showing me how to navigate the things. But if it wasn't for Lyle
00:37:42.698 --> 00:37:46.278
and his team, I would not have gotten through the door with any of this.
00:37:46.358 --> 00:37:49.138
So they were wonderful to have their support and knowledge and expertise.
00:37:50.018 --> 00:37:56.578
That's fantastic. So talking about teaching with VR, how does VR change the
00:37:56.578 --> 00:37:58.438
teaching experience for instructors?
00:37:58.998 --> 00:38:02.558
I think VR has helped me in my role, specifically in this class,
00:38:02.638 --> 00:38:03.698
a public speaking class.
00:38:04.458 --> 00:38:07.278
No one likes public speaking. No one does.
00:38:07.458 --> 00:38:10.118
I think people that do, there might be something wrong with them.
00:38:10.278 --> 00:38:15.718
So it was an added tool to, again, help reduce that anxiety that our first-year
00:38:15.718 --> 00:38:17.918
students will experience in public speaking.
00:38:19.678 --> 00:38:23.118
It enhanced the teaching. I don't think it'll ever replace it because even the
00:38:23.118 --> 00:38:26.878
feedback that is generated in ovation, it's AI based.
00:38:27.078 --> 00:38:30.258
I think it needs that set of human eyes. Is it actually hitting the points that
00:38:30.258 --> 00:38:32.978
we want it to hit? It's no different than...
00:38:33.873 --> 00:38:37.513
Than other technology, having Wi-Fi in the classroom or students being able
00:38:37.513 --> 00:38:39.913
to research documents right then and there.
00:38:40.793 --> 00:38:44.653
It's going to improve the classroom, I think. It's a matter of time.
00:38:44.813 --> 00:38:48.253
It's so new, like any new technology, it's got to find its place.
00:38:48.373 --> 00:38:51.053
There's going to be bumps in the road with logistics and costs.
00:38:51.273 --> 00:38:54.613
But I think overall, it will absolutely enhance teaching.
00:38:54.873 --> 00:38:58.473
Not for every subject, but for the wind turbine technicians.
00:38:58.673 --> 00:39:02.073
Again, repeating something that costs a lot is dangerous and is difficult to
00:39:02.073 --> 00:39:05.353
repeat. I think it's going to fill that void. very well in post-secondary,
00:39:05.453 --> 00:39:06.573
in all education, actually.
00:39:06.853 --> 00:39:10.433
Yeah, yeah, that's a really excellent point. And what do you see, Jill?
00:39:10.793 --> 00:39:15.913
So when I think of the VR experience for the students, it's helped me to be
00:39:15.913 --> 00:39:19.393
able to connect the material on a deeper level.
00:39:19.533 --> 00:39:21.973
And I don't think I could do that before.
00:39:22.193 --> 00:39:26.273
And so it's been extremely helpful for the students to get to that next level
00:39:26.273 --> 00:39:29.033
where they can now experience the empathy.
00:39:29.253 --> 00:39:33.173
They can understand some of the trials and tribulations that individuals are
00:39:33.173 --> 00:39:37.973
going through and starting to come up with how do I treat this individual?
00:39:38.273 --> 00:39:43.933
So one of the big things from a pedagogy standpoint is we focus a lot on kind
00:39:43.933 --> 00:39:48.233
of three domains, being able to look at what is the cause of the disorder.
00:39:48.453 --> 00:39:52.413
So now students can go, okay, what caused that to happen?
00:39:52.613 --> 00:39:58.053
And then they can look at how would a diagnosis come into play and how would we look at treatment?
00:39:58.333 --> 00:40:03.393
And so when they can actually see it from that individual standpoint and what's
00:40:03.393 --> 00:40:07.913
going on, when we start to apply some of the techniques and talk about it, they go,
00:40:08.113 --> 00:40:12.473
I get how this would work, how we need to reduce some of the stressors within
00:40:12.473 --> 00:40:17.353
that environment, how we have to focus in on some of the self-talk that's going on.
00:40:17.453 --> 00:40:21.993
So we start to look at a lot of the cognitive behavioral components that come
00:40:21.993 --> 00:40:24.733
in to the treatment modalities.
00:40:25.430 --> 00:40:29.450
Yeah, so it's really bridging that, you know, helping achieve what you're hoping
00:40:29.450 --> 00:40:31.050
to achieve with your course.
00:40:33.290 --> 00:40:39.110
So the next part of this question, what can an instructor do if they are interested
00:40:39.110 --> 00:40:42.410
in trying out VR in their classroom? What are the resources?
00:40:42.990 --> 00:40:47.650
Should they seek out Lyle first? So I guess what was your journey to,
00:40:47.930 --> 00:40:50.850
you've talked a little bit about it, but what was your journey and what advice
00:40:50.850 --> 00:40:52.130
would you give to other instructors?
00:40:52.790 --> 00:40:56.230
Talk to other faculty, talk to Lyle and his team. When we first got involved
00:40:56.230 --> 00:40:59.810
in this project, we kind of had an idea of like a virtual tour of a correctional
00:40:59.810 --> 00:41:01.570
center and the different types of units.
00:41:02.350 --> 00:41:04.630
And then talking to Tyler Heaton, I think brought it up.
00:41:05.120 --> 00:41:09.840
He said, well, we could just do a tour. I could walk through the gel and videotape
00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:12.120
the facility and we can watch it on TV.
00:41:12.460 --> 00:41:15.080
That's a really good point. What is the purpose of doing that?
00:41:15.720 --> 00:41:19.800
So I think Lyle mentioned it earlier, you know, there's endless possibilities.
00:41:20.420 --> 00:41:23.740
Everyone's imagination is firing and, hey, I could do this and this and this.
00:41:24.140 --> 00:41:27.980
From this project and from other projects, there's always a cost.
00:41:28.080 --> 00:41:30.260
There's always sort of something and they're like, yeah, it's doable,
00:41:30.540 --> 00:41:31.980
but it will cost this much money.
00:41:32.100 --> 00:41:35.140
And then what's the end goal? What are we trying to meet? Is there an alternative
00:41:35.140 --> 00:41:38.160
way to do this that maybe doesn't involve VR?
00:41:38.500 --> 00:41:41.680
It's a more effective way to get it into the classroom.
00:41:42.180 --> 00:41:46.180
Yeah. And Jill, what about for you? I think what Dean was saying,
00:41:46.380 --> 00:41:48.540
talking to your colleagues is one of the most important.
00:41:48.720 --> 00:41:50.680
But don't stop, right?
00:41:51.020 --> 00:41:56.540
Keep believing, keep pushing. And so right now, that's my big push is that I
00:41:56.540 --> 00:42:03.020
want to see this grow, is that being able to now experience the autism scenario.
00:42:03.880 --> 00:42:08.220
Now students can actually understand what it's like to also have a panic attack
00:42:08.220 --> 00:42:14.080
because the experience is so intense that it leads towards the understanding of a panic attack.
00:42:14.440 --> 00:42:18.920
So now what I want to be able to do is to bridge that even further.
00:42:19.100 --> 00:42:21.720
And so keep communicating is the key.
00:42:22.080 --> 00:42:26.060
Keep talking to people. Look for, you know, grant money. Look for,
00:42:26.260 --> 00:42:28.620
you know, anything that's out there on the web.
00:42:29.000 --> 00:42:33.320
And so the sky is the limit. Again, it's just the funding component that comes
00:42:33.320 --> 00:42:37.640
in, but there is funding available is just a matter of finding it.
00:42:38.285 --> 00:42:44.425
That's great advice. And Lyle, from your perspective, what would you recommend for instructors?
00:42:44.965 --> 00:42:49.465
Don't rush out and buy headsets. That is never the solution.
00:42:50.265 --> 00:42:55.465
Ever. And on the flip side, if you have already rushed out and bought headsets,
00:42:55.685 --> 00:42:58.365
hopefully you have a team to support you.
00:42:58.725 --> 00:43:05.185
And just because we buy 100 headsets doesn't mean we'll have 100 licenses for
00:43:05.185 --> 00:43:07.605
a specific software to support your students.
00:43:08.265 --> 00:43:13.705
A lot of these VR subscriptions are quite expensive.
00:43:14.285 --> 00:43:18.765
And so it's really hard to justify the cost if there's no purpose.
00:43:19.145 --> 00:43:23.485
So there's really two avenues. You either hire a developer to develop it for
00:43:23.485 --> 00:43:29.045
you or find software already out there and purchase it.
00:43:29.245 --> 00:43:37.285
And a lot of these subscription models, it's never pay and you're good forever, right?
00:43:37.545 --> 00:43:44.025
Now it's like, well, now you need maintenance and updates. And so it's usually
00:43:44.025 --> 00:43:47.785
by yearly and sometimes it's by student.
00:43:48.205 --> 00:43:54.625
And that can get quite expensive, especially if your students are only using it once per semester.
00:43:55.105 --> 00:44:01.945
And so, yeah, I would definitely come chat with me, others on my team,
00:44:02.425 --> 00:44:07.825
maybe VR is a solution, maybe a video is, or maybe an infographic,
00:44:07.825 --> 00:44:10.325
it really, it really depends,
00:44:10.925 --> 00:44:16.545
you know, technology might solve an issue, but it's not possible.
00:44:18.604 --> 00:44:21.364
You need to get rid of the technology, right?
00:44:21.844 --> 00:44:26.704
Go back to the actual issue and just have a conversation. Okay,
00:44:26.804 --> 00:44:27.904
what are we trying to solve?
00:44:28.724 --> 00:44:34.224
Do your students need to be hands-on with something? Do they need to be put
00:44:34.224 --> 00:44:35.244
in someone else's shoes?
00:44:35.584 --> 00:44:39.964
Do they need to experience training in an unsafe environment?
00:44:40.484 --> 00:44:44.204
Like really getting to the heart of it and figuring out that.
00:44:44.204 --> 00:44:49.264
And then from there, once you have some ideas, then you can discuss,
00:44:49.584 --> 00:44:58.544
well, now this is how we can solve that issue or that gap that your students are experiencing.
00:44:59.504 --> 00:45:04.084
Yeah, those are excellent points, Lyle, because it's not just about new and exciting technology.
00:45:04.204 --> 00:45:08.664
It's really about the fit with the subject area and the curriculum.
00:45:09.685 --> 00:45:15.625
Yeah, exactly. So looking ahead, what does success look like if VR continues
00:45:15.625 --> 00:45:17.025
to grow at the Polytechnic?
00:45:17.145 --> 00:45:24.745
And is there anything that we should keep in mind as we push forward into more advanced VR?
00:45:25.125 --> 00:45:31.585
So a few questions there, but what do you kind of see the future holding for VR at the Polytechnic?
00:45:31.585 --> 00:45:38.825
This last semester, we got funding for 12 MetaQuest 3S headsets to be available
00:45:38.825 --> 00:45:41.705
in the library for students.
00:45:41.925 --> 00:45:46.725
And so we really, we used it for Dean's initiative.
00:45:47.125 --> 00:45:52.725
And that whole process, I think it could be a good thing.
00:45:52.725 --> 00:45:57.905
And I think putting those headsets in the hands of students is a great option,
00:45:58.165 --> 00:46:03.025
especially for those students who want it outside of the regular class time.
00:46:03.265 --> 00:46:09.565
And then they're not dependent on myself or others on my team to facilitate.
00:46:09.565 --> 00:46:13.345
They can just come check out a headset whenever.
00:46:13.345 --> 00:46:17.905
So as long as they do the VR nano credentials, so they're feeling confident
00:46:17.905 --> 00:46:20.705
and safe using the VR headsets,
00:46:21.265 --> 00:46:28.165
then, and they show that they do the nano credential badge to the library staff,
00:46:28.385 --> 00:46:32.005
then they get a headset and off they go. I think.
00:46:32.848 --> 00:46:36.928
And of course, I'm not saying that, you know, VR facilitation,
00:46:37.068 --> 00:46:42.068
there's a time and place for facilitating a whole class, and I think that's
00:46:42.068 --> 00:46:44.108
beneficial in some circumstances.
00:46:44.788 --> 00:46:50.888
And so I think that will still happen, but I also think putting those VR headsets
00:46:50.888 --> 00:46:58.448
in the hands of the students will go a long way with furthering VR at the Polytechnic.
00:46:58.448 --> 00:47:06.268
I also see value in having like a VR lab where you have a designated space on
00:47:06.268 --> 00:47:11.688
campus where students come in and there might be headsets on the walls.
00:47:11.688 --> 00:47:13.148
You take the headset off.
00:47:13.328 --> 00:47:16.508
There might be a one person there to just support.
00:47:16.848 --> 00:47:20.988
And then you just put on a headset and away you go.
00:47:20.988 --> 00:47:25.528
So we're not there yet, but moving forward, if this is important,
00:47:25.728 --> 00:47:32.168
I think that would be one thing that that would be beneficial for students and faculty.
00:47:32.608 --> 00:47:35.808
Yeah, that really would increase the accessibility for students,
00:47:35.968 --> 00:47:38.288
depending on, you know, the VR scenario.
00:47:38.648 --> 00:47:44.288
Yeah, I think it also increases the motivation for faculty to get involved.
00:47:44.288 --> 00:47:47.828
I think the more exposure, the more VR projects happening on campus,
00:47:48.248 --> 00:47:51.348
podcasts like this, it's just making people aware of what's out there.
00:47:51.568 --> 00:47:55.988
Talking to colleagues in the staff room, finding out what people are doing.
00:47:56.568 --> 00:48:00.708
I was very nervous getting into this because I know nothing about VR.
00:48:00.968 --> 00:48:04.428
But now that I'm into it, by no means I'm an expert, but I feel competent in
00:48:04.428 --> 00:48:06.088
it. I can go out and figure things out.
00:48:06.468 --> 00:48:09.288
I know people in my hallway see me in the headset and they're like,
00:48:09.348 --> 00:48:13.048
what are you doing? I'm like, well, come check it out. And it's just, it's a slow...
00:48:13.970 --> 00:48:17.750
Slow phase, I think people have to get exposed to it. And then we see the potential.
00:48:18.030 --> 00:48:22.070
We see the students on campus using it and enjoying it. Then I think instructors
00:48:22.070 --> 00:48:25.590
have to, will get on board as well and start implementing it more in the classroom
00:48:25.590 --> 00:48:27.570
and embedding it into their lesson plans.
00:48:27.970 --> 00:48:31.170
Well, maybe a first step for an instructor is just trying it out if they've
00:48:31.170 --> 00:48:33.790
never tried it out before, because you can have it described to you,
00:48:33.870 --> 00:48:35.590
but it's not the same unless you try it out.
00:48:36.070 --> 00:48:38.830
Absolutely. It's the experience of it. And it is more accessible.
00:48:39.050 --> 00:48:43.890
I've told people to go talk to I've put people into the Ovation app to let them
00:48:43.890 --> 00:48:46.210
see it. And then the conversations start.
00:48:46.530 --> 00:48:50.850
And again, the imagination comes into play. And if it's doable, I think it can be done.
00:48:51.519 --> 00:48:53.899
And Jill, what about for you? What do you see going forward?
00:48:54.239 --> 00:48:59.739
I think that both Dean and Lyle have actually kind of hit everything,
00:48:59.739 --> 00:49:05.979
is that we need to keep learning and keep growing and use our imaginations and
00:49:05.979 --> 00:49:07.939
say, hey, where can we take this?
00:49:08.259 --> 00:49:12.979
And the more that instructors are getting involved, the bigger the project,
00:49:12.979 --> 00:49:19.739
which then can lead towards having an actual set area to be able to have headsets located.
00:49:19.739 --> 00:49:25.059
And so that's where start talking to us, right, is what it comes down to.
00:49:25.139 --> 00:49:27.759
And let's see if we can grow this a little bit.
00:49:27.959 --> 00:49:32.419
But again, make sure that it truly fits for what your students need.
00:49:32.939 --> 00:49:38.299
Great point. Yeah. So if you could leave instructors with one takeaway about
00:49:38.299 --> 00:49:41.159
virtual reality in the classroom, what would that be?
00:49:41.719 --> 00:49:47.999
Mine would be don't be scared. because off the start, when I started this project,
00:49:48.219 --> 00:49:50.219
I had never been in a VR headset.
00:49:50.539 --> 00:49:55.439
I think of myself as pretty old school and I'm like, why would I want to do this?
00:49:55.639 --> 00:50:01.519
And so once I experienced it and started to talk to Lyle and other individuals
00:50:01.519 --> 00:50:05.619
where they said that this is a possibility, I'm like, wow, I'm like,
00:50:05.839 --> 00:50:09.959
definitely don't shortchange yourself is what it comes down to.
00:50:09.959 --> 00:50:14.779
Take the risk, start trying it, and start thinking about different ways that
00:50:14.779 --> 00:50:16.679
you could use it in your own classroom.
00:50:17.099 --> 00:50:20.399
Excellent advice. And just to add on what Jill said exactly,
00:50:20.579 --> 00:50:24.079
I often say in this public speaking course to my students, you have to become
00:50:24.079 --> 00:50:25.999
comfortable in uncomfortable situations.
00:50:26.699 --> 00:50:29.719
The same applies for myself as an instructor and other faculty.
00:50:29.939 --> 00:50:32.819
Yeah, it's uncomfortable to put new technology into the classroom.
00:50:32.919 --> 00:50:36.899
It takes time and effort. You have to talk to people and learn new skills yourself.
00:50:37.319 --> 00:50:41.279
I think it's beneficial. It's going to pay off. I think this is where things
00:50:41.279 --> 00:50:43.379
are going. So, yeah, it's just taking that first step.
00:50:43.899 --> 00:50:49.499
Wonderful. And Lyle, what about for you? Yeah, I think as an instructor,
00:50:50.019 --> 00:50:55.739
you could feel overwhelmed trying to adopt a new technology. And so...
00:50:56.227 --> 00:51:01.827
Really keep it simple. You know, don't think you have to do everything all at once.
00:51:02.267 --> 00:51:09.007
Have a conversation with other faculty members who are using it and have a conversation
00:51:09.007 --> 00:51:14.027
with me or others who have used the technology.
00:51:14.447 --> 00:51:18.527
Because at the end of the day, it's just to enhance your class.
00:51:19.227 --> 00:51:24.707
If you're trying to replace your class, well then that's a problem, right?
00:51:24.907 --> 00:51:27.667
We want to get to the heart of it, make sure it's purposeful.
00:51:28.227 --> 00:51:33.967
And yeah, keep it simple. If it's over complicating things, maybe that's not
00:51:33.967 --> 00:51:36.727
the right fit. Thank you. That's great advice, Lyle.
00:51:37.127 --> 00:51:40.887
Well, thank you very much, all of you for joining me on the podcast today.
00:51:41.007 --> 00:51:43.367
This has been a very interesting conversation.
00:51:44.927 --> 00:51:49.427
It's really exciting to learn about all the different ways that VR is being
00:51:49.427 --> 00:51:52.207
used with students at the Polytechnic.
00:51:52.427 --> 00:51:56.807
So thank you again for contributing to the conversation.
00:51:57.367 --> 00:52:01.567
Yeah, thanks for having me. Thank you. Thank you, Donna. This episode featured
00:52:01.567 --> 00:52:07.687
Donna McLaughlin as host, and Jill Burrows, Dean Kolebaba, and Lyle Ruggles as guests.
00:52:08.167 --> 00:52:14.967
Jordana Gagnon was our producer, and our much-loved and respected sound technician
00:52:14.967 --> 00:52:17.107
and editor, Ryan Robinson.
00:52:17.787 --> 00:52:22.707
Our podcast is funded by Lethbridge Polytechnic and recorded on the traditional
00:52:22.707 --> 00:52:24.647
lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
00:52:25.347 --> 00:52:29.807
For more episodes, head to learninginnovation.ca forward slash podcast.
00:52:30.147 --> 00:52:32.027
Thanks for listening and take care.