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PennImmersive: Spatial Learning using VR, AR, & 3D

Overview

PennImmersive is a new Penn Libraries’ initiative launched in concert with Penn’s Year of Innovation to engage the campus in a year-long, public research project to explore the potential of virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3D modeling in teaching, research, and learning. We believe it is worth critically examining existing and potential connections across technologies and disciplines as a community.

Why explore emerging technologies?By their nature, emerging technologies are developing; therefore, the availability, use, and applications of these technologies for teaching, research, and learning are not fully understood. As technologies move from the edges to the center — through lower costs, increased applications, or greater consumer awareness and demand — they tend to become inextricably intertwined in the generation of new knowledge. They are, in part or in whole, intellectual assets expressed in novel forms. The Penn Libraries is committed to supporting the production, availability, and preservation of knowledge in its many manifestations. In order to do this successfully for emerging intellectual digital assets, it is essential that library staff directly engage in the knowledge-creation life cycle to ensure the distribution of and ongoing access to knowledge for generations to come.

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BenefitsThis year-long collaborative inquiry will help the Penn community better understand and evaluate the potential issues and benefits to using emerging technologies to support the campus mission. It will challenge our library staff to develop services and practices that support new forms of scholarship and teaching. Furthermore, we hope this public initiative will encourage our Penn colleagues to proactively engage and explore so that we can intentionally shape emerging technologies rather than be shaped by them.

Why VR/AR/3D?Penn researchers, faculty, and students already conduct research and instruction using Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and 3D platforms. Moreover, the literature on the efficacy of these tools in academe is growing. We want to document pedagogical techniques, scholarly uses, and current peer-reviewed scholarship on their efficacy to raise awareness and enable the Penn community to pose new research questions as platforms, tools, and conventions evolve.

Do immersive digital environments impact how we create meaning or interpret phenomena? If so, how? Can this impact be transformational?

Why Penn Libraries?We have and are expanding technologies, spaces, and staff expertise in spatial and immersive technologies. As a central organization at Penn, we support all faculty, students, and staff, and ensure our resources are widely available. For example, we have consumer and professional grade:

• 3D scanning, printing, modeling software, large-format visualization and display, and staff expertise

• VR video recording equipment, editing software, and staff expertise

• VR systems such as Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard

• AR systems such as Hololens and ZapparWe believe that there are interesting connections to be made between disciplines and technologies, their affordances, and their applications to education and

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Vitale Digital Media Lab, 2017

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scholarship. One connection that has captured our collective imagination is the potential of spatial and immersive digital environments to provide truly “transformative” educational experiences.

Why only one year?This initiative is intended to be a proof-of-concept. It could launch a future immersive learning working group to continue these efforts into FY19. However, it is also possible that technologies, costs, the higher education landscape, or priorities could shift dramatically. In such a scenario, we might find greater value as an institution in examining a new set of technologies and practices. Because we cannot predict the future, at the end of the academic year we will assess the overall initiative and propose next steps. Broad community feedback will be essential to the decision about whether or not to adopt these technologies beyond the year.

How will this work?We want to engage the Penn community by providing opportunities for experiential learning, discussions, and reflection. For a full academic year, there will be a series of events and workshops for individuals to explore technologies as consumers as well as producers of content. Guest speakers, technology open houses, panel discussions, faculty/student presentations, screenings of movies/products, and Gadget Days will allow the Penn community to flexibly opt-in to learn and experience as schedules and interest allow. Annotated bibliographies of peer-reviewed scholarship could help Penn faculty and researchers interested in submitting grant applications for future projects.

PennImmersive Researcher Network The organization of events, collection of data, initial outreach, and overall assessment of the initiative will be led by a group of self-selected PennImmersive researchers who commit to leading and/or completing at least one activity related to:

• Researching, identifying, experiencing, and evaluating immersive technologies— especially those already used at Penn

• Researching, identifying, and interviewing people at Penn who are using selected emerging technologies in their teaching or research

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Let’s bring it back: Gadget Day, 2013

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• Documenting Penn-produced research related to immersive technologies, and whenever possible, coordinating the publishing of pre-prints or articles in ScholarlyCommons, Penn’s Open Access Repository

• Authoring an annotated bibliography of peer-review research on the efficacy of immersive technologies and environments

• Creating demos and sample content or products using immersive technologies in order to document, learn, discuss, and reflect on the processes and issues related to creation, consumption, distribution, and preservation

• Hosting events like Open Houses, Gadget Days, and Guest Speakers/Symposia for the Penn community to engage, learn, and develop a greater awareness of the possibilities for immersive technologies and hold discussions for critical reflection and conversation

• Offering introductory workshops that provide the Penn community with opportunities to experience augmented or mixed reality, virtual reality, and 3D modeling — as consumers of content as well as creators of content

• Visiting and documenting uses of immersive technologies at local companies, non-profits, and educational institutions to widen our perspective and to deepen our connections in the Philadelphia community

• Sharing everything we create, see, and learn publicly so that others can contribute to or build on shared knowledge

Stay up-to-date on the status of this initiativeIf you want to stay up-to-date on our immersive and spatial learning initiative, stay tuned for the following options. We will soon have:

• a Penn listserv

• a set of web pages for the project including regular blog posts

• a calendar of events

Timeline

• Summer ’17: Initial PennImmersive meetings, goals, activities, assessment plan, annotated bibliography, and a draft fall calendar of events

• Fall ’17: Outreach to Penn audiences, recruit new members, go on field trips, offer workshops, convene PennImmersive meetings, and make purchases

• Spring ’18: Continue efforts, author blog posts, record and edit interviews, convene a panel of guest speakers, continue field trips, and complete collection of feedback

• Summer ’18: Summarize findings, assess initiative, and recommend next steps

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PennImmersive Researchers: Proposed Activities & OutcomesThe network of community researchers the engine that drives this initiative forward through expertise, contacts, curiosity, and effort. Purpose of activities is to raise awareness and expand the network to build our collective knowledge at Penn.

Sub-teams VR AR 3D Outcomes (examples)

Technologies & facilities

• Entry-level• Advanced• Available

@Penn

• Entry-level• Advanced• Available @Penn

• Entry-level• Advanced• Available @Penn

1. Annotated list of techs, costs, facilities & where to find them @ Penn to raise awareness

Academic uses @ Penn (& beyond)

- Research- Teaching- Learning

- Research- Teaching- Learning

- Research- Teaching- Learning

2. Cases/examples of uses including sample content, video interview or photos, blog posts to grow the network

Uses in Philly ‣ Commercial‣ Non-profit‣ Academic

‣ Commercial‣ Non-profit‣ Academic

‣ Commercial‣ Non-profit‣ Academic

3. Field trips4. Photos, short video interviews, blog posts to grow

the network

Research literature

- SoTL- Libraries- Penn-produced

- SoTL- Libraries- Penn-produced

- SoTL- Libraries- Penn-produced

5. Annotated bibliography (by tech, by discipline)6. Publications & pre-prints by Penn faculty added to

Scholarly Commons to raise awareness

Penn events ➡ Open houses, Gadget Day, orientations

➡ Workshops➡ Panel

discussion & examples

➡ Open houses, Gadget Day, orientations

➡ Workshops➡ Panel discussion

& examples

➡ Open houses, Gadget Day, orientations

➡ Workshops➡ Panel discussion &

examples

7. Draw from network to schedule & host Open Houses & Gadget Day (Fall/Spring)

8. Identify instructors & teach entry-level workshops each term

9. Draw from network to host guest speaker(s) from outside Penn

10. Draw from network convene Penn panel to share work, engage community

Sub-teams

1-year assessment team designs & executes overall assessment plan

✓ Case studies w/example content exists

✓ Workshop data & participant feedback

✓ Blog posts (# & views)

✓ Annotated bibliography evident

✓Penn-produce immersive scholarship in Scholarly Commons

✓ PennImmersive researcher feedback

✓ Equipment loaned & purchased

✓ Case studies w/example content exists

✓ Workshop data & participant feedback

✓ Blog posts (# & views)

✓ Annotated bibliography evident

✓Penn-produce immersive scholarship in Scholarly Commons

✓ PennImmersive researcher feedback

✓ Equipment loaned & purchased

✓ Case studies w/example content exists

✓ Workshop data & participant feedback

✓ Blog posts (# & views)

✓ Annotated bibliography evident

✓Penn-produce immersive scholarship in Scholarly Commons

✓ PennImmersive researcher feedback

✓ Equipment loaned & purchased

11. Summary report produced (summer 2018)12. Party held!

VR AR 3D Outcomes (examples)Sub-teams