Abstract:

Teaching in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment provides several advantages over in-person instruction. Learning in VR is especially beneficial when:
1) exposure to the “real thing” is dangerous, inconvenient, impossible, costly, stressful, or difficult.
2) skills in question involve interacting with and understanding spatial relationships,
3) skills in question involve manual dexterity or physical movement. These are just some of many reasons why this method could be beneficial.

Until recently, the use of VR in education was prohibitively costly. Not anymore. High quality 360 video cameras and VR headsets are now affordable. Video editing solutions are widely available and easy to use. Some students, especially serious gamers, already own VR equipment and are familiar with VR experiences.

This case study looks at the adoption of VR technology in aiding of instruction in a “Film and Television Production” course in the Department of Mass Communication at Sam Houston State University. Students are often intimidated by the technology and a stressful environment of a Television Studio and the fast-paced nature of a Television Studio Production. Why not put on the VR headset and practice in Virtual Reality before physically walking into the real studio? This project attempted to give students the opportunity to do just that.

Our long term goal is to develop a VR classroom where instruction happens in VR, either as a hybrid course or fully online course. This project takes a first step toward that goal.

Keywords:

Online, video, vr, virtual reality, 360 video, hybrid.