NIU wants to be on the cutting edge of virtual reality's education potential - Northern Public Radio (WNIJ)

Northern Illinois University prof Jason Wahl-Alexander pulls a headset implicit his face, acceptable to transport to immoderate fig of far-flung alien locales, scenic vistas oregon adjacent a virtual Oval Office.

But, he’s not going there. He’s going to a schoolhouse gymnasium. Particularly, the gym successful Anderson Hall, wherever he’s an adjunct prof successful the kinesiology & carnal acquisition department. Wahl-Alexander teaches students grooming to beryllium carnal acquisition teachers.

“It's chill to know," helium said, "that it’s the archetypal clip [VR is] being integrated successful carnal acquisition crossed the country, utilizing this technology."

He’s besides the archetypal NIU prof experimenting with virtual world arsenic portion of the university’s collaboration with VR acquisition institution VictoryXR. Wahl-Alexander conscionable piloted it with a people successful the autumn and volition wholly integrate it into his people this spring.

NIU is 1 of 10 aviator institutions moving with VictoryXR. The concern started this past fall. They built a VR mentation of NIU’s campus, which I got to flip connected a Meta Quest headset and sojourn with Jason Rhode, Associate Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Digital Education.

It’s not the afloat field -- there’s inactive tons of unfastened cyberspace. But, it includes a virtual mentation of Altgeld Hall, among a fewer different field buildings. You tin adjacent spell wrong of the pupil center.

The exertion isn’t perfect. It’s not photorealistic -- it looks much similar high-end Nintendo Wii graphics. And, arsenic I learned myself, a shaky WiFi transportation oregon web mistake tin footwear you from a session.

But, Celeste Latham, NIU subordinate vice president for resources and facilities, says the assemblage is embracing VR’s potential. She says they’re readying to initiate grants for module to alteration their curricula and VR volition beryllium a portion of that.

They held a module store successful the autumn to fto module effort retired the technology, and she says they formed an informal radical of funny educators.

Right now, it’s conscionable Wahl-Alexander. and his carnal acquisition classes. But wherefore a P.E. teacher prep people arsenic NIU’s archetypal immersive VR course? For one, helium already had immoderate acquisition utilizing VR with students. And helium had ideas of however it tin assistance his students hole for objective teaching experiences successful real, carnal gyms. In the class, they person to make acquisition plans and thatch them to their peers successful the REAL Anderson Hall gym.

“Prior to doing that connected campus," said Wahl-Alexander, "our students would spell into the VR abstraction successful that aforesaid abstraction that they're gonna thatch their peers, laic retired the full lesson, they would grounds similar their interactions that they would get, they grounds immoderate of the feedback that they mightiness give, and past I would ticker it and benignant of get immoderate feedback connected that."

For him, it’s each astir high-quality practice. It’s hard for each of his students to summation entree to a gym wherever they tin tally done a acquisition plan. So, VR tin assistance supply a abstraction -- with a small other creativity.

“You tin spell to this point bank, and past you tin conscionable propulsion items and enactment them successful the abstraction that you're in,” helium said. “So, similar if I'm successful Anderson Hall, I tin spell to the point slope and enactment a T-Rex into the gym space, and past manipulate it and flip it upside down. That's an utmost example. I bash it with cones and with shot bats.”

Wahl-Alexander reiterates that thing beats face-to-face instruction, afloat stop. But helium says VR has been an effectual instrumentality for his students who person utilized it. Initial findings from different universities support that.

And, soon it won’t conscionable beryllium for PE instruction. Jason Rhode says they person an audiology people funny successful utilizing VR for a project. Students could research the anatomy of the interior receptor arsenic if they were walking done a monolithic one.

NIU nursing programs privation to usage VR to tally simulations truthful students tin signifier responding to diligent situations and past spell backmost and rewatch however they did.

Other educators are already utilizing VictoryXR for classes similar subject and history. A past teacher and his students tin basal connected and locomotion astir a virtual representation to learn astir the Vietnam War, implicit with VR replicas of the subject weapons utilized successful the battle.

Virtual Reality isn’t needfully new, but Rhode says they consciousness similar they’re connected the cutting borderline of its imaginable for acquisition -- particularly with the pandemic already opening radical up to virtual tools similar Zoom.

“I deliberation everybody wants much flexibility and much engagement with 1 another," helium said. "VR exertion conscionable takes it to different level successful presumption of that consciousness of engagement."

The headsets are inactive costly and not without method difficulties, fto unsocial nausea for immoderate folks. But radical similar Jason Rhode astatine NIU don't deliberation it’s a fad oregon a gimmick. They think, for students, VR exertion tin really beryllium transformative.