Abstract
This chapter provides an overview on how the use of Virtual Reality apps and related activities enhanced student learning in conjunction with a low-tech, team-based, active learning assessment. Our approach for integrating emerging immersive technology in a Cell Biology class, a first of its kind at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, was the result of a collaboration between the faculty member teaching the course, Dr. Jennifer Bennett, Colin Saunders at the Center for Teaching and Learning and Otterbein’s Innovation Center, The Point.
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Notes
- 1.
VR ready refers to devices that have a superior Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Random Access Memory (RAM), and processing power in order to handle the system-heavy demands of immersive technology software applications.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful for our collaboration with Erin Bender, Executive Director, and Curtis Smith, Makerspace and Laboratory Operations Manager in The Point at Otterbein University. We are also thankful for useful feedback on our survey instrument from Dr. Kathryn Plank, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning; the help of teaching assistants Mallory Soska and John Michael Wright; and the participation of Otterbein cell biology students.
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Saunders, C.P., Bennett, J.A. (2019). The Immersive Experience: How Virtual Reality Can Support Student Learning. In: Branch, R., Lee, H., Tseng, S. (eds) Educational Media and Technology Yearbook. Educational Media and Technology Yearbook, vol 42. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27986-8_6
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