In order to ascertain the current environment of VR usage at Lafayette, we talked to Professor Lopez, an assistant professor of computer science, Professor Hupe, an assistant professor of art, and Professor Shulman, an associate professor of sociology about their VR usage at Lafayette. We choose these professors because they are using VR in their classrooms and according to Making Virtual Reality Connections article in the Lafayette news, they are working together “ to explore the interdisciplinary and pedagogical possibilities of VR at Lafayette.” Under the current policy, professors have their own independent supply of VR headsets ranging from the Oculus Quest to the Google Cardboard. Occasionally, professors will lend each other their VR headsets and show a new professor how to operate the system. We took a poll asking a handful of students ranging from the class of 2020 to the class of 2023, to see if they had heard of VR being used in classrooms at Lafayette. The results showed that a strong majority were not aware that VR was used anywhere on Lafayette’s Campus. With this project, we hope to increase the use of VR on Lafayette’s Campus and to foster a new system of storing, organizing, and distributing VR headsets
In order to effect change in the current climate at Lafayette, three primary areas need to be addressed in order to fully utilize VR in education at Lafayette. First, there needs to be a centralized area to manage and maintain the VR equipment and headsets. Next, there needs to be a framework to collect, create, and categorize VR programs. Finally, awareness needs to be raised about the capability and potential use of VR in the educational system at Lafayette.
In order to organize, manage, and maintain the VR headsets, Lafayette should create a centralized hub for all of the VR operations. The Virtual Reality Hub would be responsible for safely storing VR headsets, facilitating the distribution of the VR headsets, education on the use of VR headsets, and the storage & creation of VR programs. Once the VR units have been obtained, the Virtual Reality Hub would need to create and maintain a website portal, similar to how the library has an online portal to facilitate the use of the study rooms. The portal would give the professor the option of picking up and dropping off the headsets or having the headsets delivered and picked from their classroom. In addition, this portal would allow a teacher to schedule a time for a tutorial on the use and operation of the VR headset for use in their classroom.
An example of how this portal would operate is that when a professor would like to use VR in the classroom, they reserve the number of VR headsets needed. Then indicate the time they would require them. The VR Hub would then ensure that fully charged VR headsets with the proper programs and additional equipment needed for that class arrive at the classroom on time. The VR Hub would retrieve the VR headsets at the end of the reserved time. It is important to have this schedule because the headsets can be expensive, so if there is a limited amount of VR headsets, then the VR hub would be able to maximize the use of each headset, as well as ensuring that there is enough battery life for the reserved time.
Students would have a similar process. They would go to the online portal to reserve the headsets. Depending on the number of headsets and the amount of use they are getting. It could be beneficial to limit student use until after four pm when most classes are finished for the day. Also, professors would have priority use of the VR headsets over the students. Allowing the students to access VR outside of the classroom permits the students to continue to explore programs seen in class, to explore other educational programs, and for professors to assign VR homework. If a professor wanted to assign homework using VR, they could put a VR headset or two on reserve at the VR Hub. This would work similarly to how professors put movies or textbooks on reserves at the Lafayette Library. That is to say that the student would have to be a member of that class to use the VR headset on reserve and would only have a limited amount of time to use it.
Another important function of the VR Hub is the organization of the educational VR programs. When talking to Professor Christian López he said, “what is very time-consuming is the creation of content, that is the biggest limitation and drawback that you will face.” He goes on to say that “if you had a lot of money, where would you spend it? [You would spend it on] the creation of content.” That is to say that the VR Hub should have staff dedicated to assisting professors in the creation of content for their classes, whether that is stitching images together, searching for useful content online, or modifying VR content compatibility between content from differing VR sources. In addition, the VR Hub staff would compile the VR programs to form a library of programs and tools for students and professors to use. Every time that a professor uses a program for a class, the VR Hub would keep a copy of the program and would record any class that used it. This way when a student comes to experience VR on their own time, they can see which VR programs classes use. This would allow students to view content from classes they have not taken. This could be useful for helping students choose between two classes. In time the library of programs would grow and professors would have an easier time finding VR material for their classes.
Another responsibility of the VR Hub is to raise awareness of the potential uses and opportunities on campus related to VR. One way to accomplish this is to incorporate a lesson in the uses of VR into the first-year seminar. This would not need to be more than one class, but it would ensure that the entire student body is aware of this new resource Lafayette has to offer. This VR class would work similarly to how first-year seminar classes spend class time learning how to use Lafayette’s research tools. The VR Hub would also offer lessons or demonstrations of VR uses a few times every semester.
The VR Hub will give Lafayette the framework necessary to implement a systematic approach to using VR in the classroom. It gives Lafayette an area to advertise to prospective students and to the Lafayette community the uses of VR in education. It also gives professors new to VR the ability to learn and grow their VR skills for educational purposes. It would allow students to have the ability to explore new educational methods and simulations. Finally, the VR Hub is the political framework needed at Lafayette College to implement a large-scale use of VR on campus.
With many VR units available in today’s market, we chose to focus on two types of VR headsets, the Google Cardboard and the Oculus Quest 2. We choose these two VR headsets because while there is a difference in the quality VR experience, they offer two different economic options. Below is a video demonstration of how the Oculus Quest Two and the Google Cardboard operate.
(Kumparak, 2014)
(Oculus Support, 2019)
The Google Cardboard is a cardboard box with a compartment to hold a specialized VR lens and a smartphone. The smartphone uses the google cardboard app to run the VR simulations. On the other hand, the Oculus Quest 2 is a completely self-contained VR headset, meaning that everything needed to operate virtual reality is contained in the singular unit.
Let us compare the graphics, processing power, and field of vision of the two VR headsets. Google Cardboard’s graphics quality is limited by the type of smartphone placed inside the headset. The iPhone 12 has 4 GB RAM and 64, 128, or 256 GB internal storage with a display resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels and 480 PPI pixel density and a processor of an Apple 64-bit 3.0 GHz ‘Apple A14 Bionic’ (Kyle 2020). The Oculus Quest 2 has a 90 Hz refresh rate, 1832 x 1920 pixels per eye, and it has 6 GB of ram (Robertson 2020). The Google Cardboard has 80 degrees of vision, compared to the 100 degrees of vision in the Oculus Quest 2 (Hajdarbegovic, 2016).
The Oculus Quest 2 has a 2-3 hour battery life, depending on how much processing power is being used. If the user is watching a video or looking at 360-degree pictures, then they will have a closer to the 3-hour range of battery life. If the user is operating interactive games or simulations, then there will be closer to two hours of battery life (Robertson, 2020). Oculus does offer batter expansion packs that can be attached to the headset to double the battery capacity. It takes about 2.5 hours to completely charge the Oculus Quest two battery. The high amount of processing power that is required of a smartphone to run VR in the Google Cardboard can cause the phone to overheat and drain the battery of the smartphone rapidly (Hajdarbegovic, 2016).
One of the largest differences between the two VR headsets is the way in which you interact with the virtual world. The Oculus Quest 2 lets the user walk and move in the physical world and have those movements translated into the virtual world. While the Oculus Quest 2 allows for the user to interact with either hand motions or using a controller, the Google Cardboard has a single button to push on the side of the headset (Kumparak 2014). In order to safely operate the Oculus Quest 2, there is a suggested play area of 6.5 by 6.5 ft square (Robertson, 2020). That means that there is no furniture or other obstacles in the play area. The Oculus Quest 2 uses a camera in the front of the headset to allow the user to mark off the safe area in the physical world and have that translated into the virtual world in the form of a wall (Oculus, 2019). The Oculus Quest 2 can also be operated from the seated position. It also has to surround sound audio that will allow the user to track the direction of sound within the virtual world, which adds another sense to the feeling of being transported somewhere else. The Google Cardboard only translates head motions into the virtual world. This means that with any motion of your body the image in front of you does not shift. The limited motion is one aspect of the google cardboard that can lead to users becoming more motion sick than in the Oculus Quest 2 (Lopez, 2020).
Motion sickness occurs in VR when visually perceived movement and the vestibular system’s sense of movement are not in sync (Ku, 2019). Having ambisonic sounds that match the motion visual seen can help to lessen the effects of motion sickness (Ku, 2019). Unfortunately, the Google Cardboard uses the same sound system as the smartphone that is in use and depending on the phone can have poorer surround sound capabilities, when compared to the Oculus Quest 2. According to Professor Lopez, students using the Google Cardboard are more likely to experience motion sickness than the students who used the Oculus Quest in his classroom (Lopez 2020). Additional nausea may also come from having a stationary viewpoint in the Google Cardboard or the lower graphics quality (Ku 2019). When the user’s body moves, the frame of reference in the Google Cardboard does not shift.
One advantage the Google Cardboard has over the Oculus Quest 2 is the price point. Due to the Google Cardboard’s smart use of combining a technology pervasive throughout the USA, the smartphone, and inexpensive materials the Google Cardboard is much less expepensive than the Oculus Quest Two. On Amazon in 2020 the Google Cardboard only costs $15 per unit, while the Oculus Quest 2 costs $299 per headset according to the Oculus website.
One way to successfully utilize the Google Cardboard in a classroom setting is to use the Google Expedition application. With this application, the teacher can control the Google Cardboard headsets of the students around them (Google Expeditions, 2018). In order to successfully use this technology, first, the professor needs to download the application. Then the professor chooses the program or video to share and download it. In order to connect with the other devices, the professor and the students would need to connect the iPhones being used in the Google Cardboard to a local router. There does not need to be WiFi connectivity as long as the professor has already downloaded the content he or she wants to project to the rest of the students.
Below is a video demonstrating school children using google explorer in the classroom. Professors can take this a step further than in the video and make the tour of the structure more educational depending on the topic. Professor Cohen used explorer VR to tour cathedrals. While on the tour his class was able to fully appreciate the full scale of the buildings as well as to zoom in to get a closer look at certain aspects of the architecture.
(Google Expeditions, 2018)
VR has a plethora of uses both within STEM fields and without. Often STEM classes are trying to talk about three-dimensional objects in two dimensions, with VR professors can now teach in three dimensions as well. Professor Lopez is currently working on creating a program that will allow students to take intro to spatial visualization class using VR (Lopez interview 2020). This is a class that is used to help engineering students learn to see how to transition two-dimensional objects into third-dimensional objects and vice versa. In addition, VR can be used to allow students to view a working engine model inside and out while the virtual model is operating (Lopez, 2020). Professor Lopez and his colleagues have created a simulation that allows students to manipulate a drill manufacturing facility and even control the production of the factory (Hay, 2019).
There is also a safety component to using VR. It is possible to recreate a simulation of the mechanical engineering lab. In this simulation, students can get comfortable using potentially dangerous equipment from the safety of VR before operating the equipment in person (Lopez, 2020). The ability to allow students to manipulate active three-dimensional models and view them from perspectives not possible in person can allow for a better understanding of the material. Below are real-life examples of programs that Professor Lopez has used in his classes.
(Lopez, 2020)
(Northfolk Southern, 2016)
Although VR has been prominently used in STEM educational settings, it can be used in various courses and majors. Professor Hupe, an Art History professor, is one of the professors in a “community of practice” with Professor Lopez. He has used a variety of VR headsets in his classroom from the Google Cardboard to the Oculus Quest (Hay, 2019). His needs and purpose for using VR in his classes are different than those of a STEM professor. He has used the Google Cardboard to view pieces of artwork and has used the Oculus Quest to have students virtually walk around museums (Hupe, 2020).
An issue that Professor Hupe addressed about immersive VR devices is the need for space and boundaries for his students to walk around. Since this would likely be an issue for many professors that choose to use VR in their curriculum, using the Quad as a space for students to have room to walk more freely is a potential solution. Professor Hupe mentioned a student last year, who used Oculus Quest to walk around a virtual tour of a cathedral. The student cried because of how overwhelmed and amazed she was by the realness of the technology. He hopes that VR becomes integrated seamlessly into the Lafayette College curriculum because there is a strong possibility of making it a shared experience among professors and students. He also mentioned that it has the potential of allowing students to empathize with others through immersive simulation. It would even alleviate traveling pressures through virtual field trips, which can help the environment (Hupe, 2020).
In order to best demonstrate the full operation of the VR Hub, let us look at a hypothetical example using Professor Hupe. Prior to his class, he could either use his own VR program or talk to a VR Hub employee about procuring the desired program for him. Either way, he should file the program with the VR Hub, so that his students can access it again at a later date on their own time. Professor Hupe would need to go to the VR Hub website and reserve the amount of time and the number of VR headsets he requires. He would also choose whether he is picking the headsets up himself or if he needs them delivered to his classroom. The VR Hub would ensure all relative technology needed for the operation of the VR headset is also delivered. Prior to using the VR headsets, the VR Hub can ensure that the program or application that the professor is trying to use in class is downloaded to the headset.
Once the headsets are in the classroom, the optimal space needed to use the Oculus Quest Two is a 6.5 by 6.5 ft area that is clear of furniture (Oculus Support, 2019). Once the headset is placed on the user’s head and adjusted to a comfortable position using the straps, the guardian system would need to be activated. The guardian system is a ‘safe’ area for the user to use the VR headset. While the VR headset is on, the headset will let you see the room around you, and using the controller the user simply marks off the area that is clear. When the user approaches the area that has been marked off a blue wall will appear in front of them so that they know not to cross that area. The wall will remain invisible until the user approaches the area. There is also an option to use the VR headset from the seated position as well.
There are a few options on how the Professor can run the program. He can use the Oculus app either on his smartphone or on his computer to have some limited control of the headsets while they are in use. In addition, the app allows for the Professor to see what the student sees in the VR headset (Oculus Support, 2019). The Professor can also project what the student sees onto a larger screen for the entire class to see if he so chooses. This method works best when there are only a few headsets in use. The battery life for the Oculus Quest 2 is between 2-3 hours and there are optional battery pack attachments that can double the battery life of the headset (Robertson, 2020). This means that the headset has more than enough charge to last for a full class.
When the Professor is finished with the headsets, he can either schedule a pickup of the headsets (particularly for professors who are down the hill) or return them back to the VR Hub in the library himself. If Professor Hupe wanted to have the students be able to continue the classroom experience on their own time, he could put on reserve a headset or two for this purpose. This would follow a similar procedure to how professors can put movies or textbooks on reserve in the library for students in their classes. Students could come and explore VR from the programs available after class on their own time as well.
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