If you ask a UNC student what their remote classroom experience has consisted of, they will likely tell you about video lectures through Zoom.
But for students in Steven King’s class, they are experiencing remote learning differently — through virtual reality.
“I’m always trying to figure out a better way to teach and communicate,” King, a professor at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, said. “I know virtual reality is an immersive experience.”
King built a virtual 3D version of his classroom, which allows his students to walk around in the classroom and break out into groups.
He said he has tested out a lot of different platforms for hosting 3D classrooms.
The first experience, he said, was through Mozilla Hubs. But King said his class will likely stick to AltspaceVR because of how pleased the students have been with it.
“We’ve been building and working as we go,” he said. “Ultimately, this is the next natural step to their progression in the VR experience.”
Trinity Turlington, a junior media and journalism major, said the class started learning about virtual reality and lots of extended technology back in January.
“One of the coolest things about Steven and this class is the emerging technology,” she said. “This class inspires me, because Steven has this passion and it translates perfectly for a classroom like this. He has the tendency to address the faults, and even offer improvements and suggestions. Steven tries more than his best. It is phenomenal.”
