Infusing Virtual Reality into World Civilizations Courses at the Community College Level

• Main Author: Smith, Ann-Marie M
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Artificial intelligence; College Faculty; Community Colleges; Course Content; Curriculum development; Educational administration; Educational Environment; Educational technology; Faculty Development; Higher education; Information Technology; Learner Engagement; Learning Processes; Learning Strategies; Literature Reviews; Research Methodology; Secondary Education; Teaching Methods
• ISBN: 9798672170039

Virtual Reality (VR) is poised to transform teaching and learning in higher education. With its immersive and interactive attributes, VR promises an enhanced teaching and learning environment for faculty and students. The purpose of this study was the creation of a training guide to make faculty aware of the availability of VR equipment and the potential benefits and challenges of the technology. Specifically, the faculty-training guide focuses on the infusion of VR in World Civilizations courses at the community college level. The writing offers definitions and a brief history of VR, as well as its applications in education and the real world. A review of the literature examines the previous research on real-world VR applications, VR in education, the benefits and challenges of VR in education, VR best practices, VR accessibility issues, and faculty barriers to adopting educational technologies. At a community college with access to expensive, industry-standard VR, faculty are unaware of the availability of VR equipment and do not have access to technical training and support. An online faculty-training guide would aid the community college in VR awareness, adoption, training, and implementation. Its design is based on the Kemp, Morrison, and Ross (1998) ID model, as well as universal design (UD) principles, literature review findings, and Quality Matters (QM) Standards. This study took place at a public, suburban community college in the Philadelphia area. Two faculty members in the history department participated in interviews. The results of this study indicate that faculty are better equipped to infuse VR in the classroom when provided a guide that illuminates the availability of equipment, as well as the potential benefits and challenges of the technology.