GVSU explores Extended Reality in the Showcase

Photo Credit: Amanda Pitts

Extended Reality (XR) is a frequent topic among those in higher education. XR is about engaging students across a wide array of digital experiences, including: virtual, augmented, mixed, and haptics-based interactions.

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience of the physical “real world” environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory, and olfactory.

In the showcase we have multiple Augmented Reality experiences including the MERGE CUBE and the CURISCOPE AR T-Shirt. The Merge Cube includes multiple apps that can transpose various three dimensional holographic applications a user can experience, while the Curiscope T-Shirt pairs with an application named Virtual-tee to provide an anatomical visualization of the human body.

Justin Robinson, student assistant in the showcase, is currently developing an app for the Merge Cube to assist GVSU medical students in the study of Moro Infant Reflexes.

The app will project a “virtual” baby that will respond to the movement of the cube in the same way a baby would respond tilted in a given direction. This provide students with the understanding of infant reflexes without having to use an actual child.

Here are a couple of photos of the AR experience that Justin is developing in collaboration with Hunter Bridwell, digital media developer, in eLearning and Emerging Technologies.

    

“The Technology Showcase gives me and other students the ability to experience and develop the future of learning and entertainment and I’m blessed to be a part of it.” – Justin Robinson

GVSU offers Virtual Reality space for Faculty and Students

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in education may seem simply like a tool for the student of the future, however, it is very much the here-and-now at Grand Valley State University!

Visit the Atomic Object Technology Showcase to experience mixed reality in person!

VR and AR have the reputation of being something “high tech” and often very expensive with high-end headsets and controllers and while we have those tools in the Technology Showcase it isn’t necessarily required for an effective educational experience.

A simple smart phone, a Google Cardboard headset, and a Merge Cube can be a handy and cheap teaching tool for some faculty. There are plenty of apps on a variety of subjects offering some educational value, however often they aren’t very helpful beyond basic information on a subject, and lean on the technology itself as a gimmick for appeal. They’ve been simply something cool and new to try.

Unsatisfied with what is available we, in eLearning and the Atomic Object Technology Showcase, created a small team to work with faculty on developing ideas for their subjects and courses to help them instruct and students learn. Within VR and AR possibilities are vast and we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what we are capable of. Whether 360 degree photographs or video, seeing objects and tools in augmented reality, or having a wholistic immersive virtual reality experience, we have the technology to develop and create new ways for students to learn.

“I am excited to be working with the showcase and student assistants, to engage with faculty and discover how virtual reality can enhance teaching and learning. If you are a faculty member at GVSU with an idea, let’s talk!” – Digital Media Developer, Hunter Bridwell

---

This post by Hunter Bridwell, Digital Media Developer, eLearning and Emerging Technologies. Hunter is a Digital Media Developer at Grand Valley State University. He works with faculty and staff to assist, facilitate, and create digital content for courses and instruction. Leveraging his skills and expertise in photography, video capture, and a variety of other media, Hunter strives to create potent and effective content.