To address the problem of isolation that can occur within 100% online courses such as the Masters of Arts in Learning and Emerging Technology (MALET) program at Empire State College, I determined to use the virtual-reality settings themselves in my own instruction. Virtual-reality was one of the topics addressed within the MALET program, but to really use it to good purpose, we developed, and not simply discussed, an immersive experience for our students. I have been long time adventurer into immersive virtual environments, since the days of Second Life in the 2000’s. I brought this into my classes in the MALET program, renting my own server space, at the cost of $20 per month, and availing myself of a combination of free Creative Commons artistic resources, areas I developed myself, and materials and artifacts that can be purchased at a reasonable price from virtual-reality artists.

Over the five years since I moved into the open source virtual reality environments, I have developed a plethora of virtual experiences, such as classes within the spaces, meetings with outside professionals and collaborators, shared experiences among the students as they develop collaborative work, and most recently a piloted virtual-reality residency to emulate practices within geographically-placed residencies. In addition, I have conducted classes where students have made their own virtual reality environments. To date over 30 students have created immersive virtual reality environments and many have continued to develop the educational aspects of these environments within their final projects. Projects have covered a span of application such as a simulated video production for commercial applications, an ancient Japan for social studies class, and a simulated outdoor experience for special needs students in upstate New York (so they could study fieldwork inaccessible to them otherwise).

In addition to the publication perspective which has confirmed my belief of the efficacy of these environments, I have also had the direct experience of continued communication with students long after they graduated. Last year, I began an Institute for New Paradigms where I have two monthly meetings in virtual-reality spaces. There we explore new venues for emerging technologies (from augmented reality to holographic health care patients). Participants are beginning to study the new forms of thinking and communication that are being generated through immersive and augmented communications, to date having topics including: 360 cameras, web-based virtual reality efforts, virtual reality environments that use Non-Playing Characters, and reports from members and students who have brought their work to international conferences. This semester I am bringing in a guest speaker from San Diego State University to discuss holographic patient innovations, a middle school teacher who uses virtual reality with her social studies classes, and another speaker on her work at Tulane University. This hardy group of intrepid thinkers welcomes others to join their sessions which can be made available by invitation to others within SUNY.
Although there is some initial investment in securing an island and setting it up, I have used the independence and autonomy of developing my own work. Since these VR islands are actually contained on a single computer that can then be served to different types of visitors, the SUNY network themselves could host these. I would gladly share what I have, allowing others to come and use our islands at times when I do not have them in use myself. As if this were a webinar room, there are many times when the space is open to others to use. I also have documentation on how you can create your own island and I would be happy to support other instructional designers or faculty that would be interested in exploring these possibilities.

The PowerPoint that I am attaching hardly represent the engagement that you have in a virtual experience. It does demonstrate the types of interactions that can take place in virtual spaces. The slides come from the virtual residency that the MALET program conducted on Saturday, October 13, 2019. Please note the number of participants and the day long activities that transpired. Excuse the photo quality because I was taking the Snapshots while also coordinating the meeting and at times presenting.

I hope to engage others in the practice of creating their own particular immersive spaces which they can “decorate” to suit their own purposes. You can bring in websites as items with in the virtual space and you can even stream and videos. Therefore, you can have an environment customized to the needs of your own particular organization or class.

Selected recent, related publications

Oconnor, E. & Worman, T. (2018). Introducing K12 Teachers to Emerging Technologies within an Online Graduate Course that Used an Immersive Virtual Reality Environment. In Proceedings of E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2018 (pp. 594-604). Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). O'Connor, E. A. (2018).

Developing Community and Building Knowledge Online Using a Virtual Reality Environment and Student-Created Videos. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 46(3), 343-362. O’Connor, E. A. & Domingo, J.

Virtual Worlds: Concepts, Applications and Future Directions: Chapter 9: The Move to Open Source Virtual Environments: Burgeoning Opportunities for Academics and Scientists; Editors: Liz Falconer and Maricarmen Gil Ortega (Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK). Nova Science Publishers.

O’Connor, E. A. & Domingo, J. (2017). A Practical Guide, with Theoretical Underpinnings, for Creating Effective Virtual Reality Learning Environments. Journal of Educational Technology Systems. 45(3), 343 – 364.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lh-MeNf93hOw2d2puQeNCE_FKdp51OC5