Dr. Siobhán McPhee | UBC Department of Geography
VR versus AR: when are they pedagogically appropriate?
VR and AR technologies can be used to develop alternate modes of delivery of course content and allow students greater autonomy over their learning experiences. In this presentation, Dr. Siobhán McPhee, Faculty in Residence at the Emerging Media Lab and instructor in the Department of Geography and Vantage One Program, will be sharing about her use of location-aware technology to help students engage with the historical landscape of Vancouver. She has used AR technology to develop a 2-hour historical walking tour of Downtown Vancouver and has created a scavenger hunt experience to help students learn about the traditional Musqueam land that UBC occupies. Dr. McPhee also uses VR technologies in her first year classes bring field experiences to students through the use of Google cardboard. As well as outlining the different approaches used, Dr. McPhee will assess and present why there are important pedagogical and contextual differences to using VR and AR technologies for teaching and learning.
Kyle Stooshnov | UBC Digital Literacy Centre
Virtual Renaissancing : A New Space for Drama Education
VR is in the midst of a renaissance. Since 2014, programmers and designers made leaps forward with head-mounted display (HMD) technology and 360-degree video after a lull in development near the end of the 1990’s. With these new possibilities in digital technology, VR creators must think like drama educators, directing action upon an immersive digital stage. My research into VR and drama education involves a project with a local artist and her performance of Kabuki that was recorded in motion capture, later developed into VR and AR apps by Steampunk Digital’s Aaron Hilton and the Digital Dojo. Our aim is to recreate a part of the dance as close to the authentic source and find ways to bring the experience of seeing a centuries-old art form brought into the classroom.