Practical steps for an effective virtual reality course integration

Abstract

Today’s virtual reality (VR) technologies enable students to traverse immersive learning environments populated with highly engaging course content that closely resembles real-world artifacts and sites, scientific specimens, and otherwise inaccessible training scenarios. The relative affordability of the latest generation of VR hardware has further increased the uptake of VR across academic, but careful consideration must be given to how the technology is deployed for classroom use. This paper draws on a range published research literature, and the authors’ experiences implementing VR in an academic library, to present guidelines and case studies that can be used by library practitioners to craft effective VR course assignments.

Keywords:

• Virtual reality
• library technology
• higher education
• pedagogy
• course integrations

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matt Cook

Matt Cook is Digital Scholarship Program Manager at Harvard Library.

Zack Lischer-Katz

Dr. Zack Lischer-Katz is Assistant Professor, Digital Curation & Preservation School of Information, University of Arizona.