Abstract:

Virtual reality (VR) offers an immersive environment where students can experience new locations, landmarks, and settings as if they were physically present. The TalkTech Project pairs students at universities in the United States and Romania, who work as members of global teams, to create and share original, similar VR scenes with their partners. Each team determines how to communicate using web-based collaboration and communication tools, as they create VR experiences for their partners that present locations of cultural interest in their home cities. Students use web-based communication and collaboration tools to discuss cultural similarities and differences experienced as a result of comparing the virtual scenes provided by and interacting with their international partners.

The study examines how collaboratively creating and sharing VR scenarios enables students to better appreciate the possibilities for VR in many settings and encourages the development of new digital and computational thinking skills.

Research questions for this study are as follows:
• Can students create immersive VR scene with basic technology skills?
• How can creating and consuming VR content provide a learning scenario in which students can develop their own digital skills?
• Will students appreciate cultural similarities and differences after sharing VR experiences with international partners?
• Will students recognize the potential of digital reality technologies for future personal educational and/or business applications?

Preliminary results show that by creating and consuming VR content, students develop an affinity for the potential of digital reality technologies as they virtually explore locations of significance in each other's countries. Participating in this project allows students to demonstrate their technology proficiency and creativity as they apply their digital skills. They must learn to communicate and collaborate across continents, as they creatively solve problems and develop new ideas. The project places students as innovators and content creators, working across boundaries and cultures to ask questions, try different approaches, and figure out a variety of problems, from animating avatars to communicating effectively online. They must adapt to new situations as they arise, learn to find solutions and compromise.

Even though students were challenged by using new apps and tools and did not always have the technology skills needed to apply them, all students completed the project successfully. By creating their own VR content, collaborating with international partners, and managing a complex team project, students participating in the TalkTech project develop their own digital skills, and foster their curiosity about the potential of VR applications. Developing digital literacy skills will continue to be important in the digital economy, and students who demonstrate these skills through creative and complex problem solving, collaboration, and communication will be prepared to succeed and innovate in their future careers.

Keywords:

Virtual reality, experiential learning, technology, collaboration, digital skills.