Immersive online learning for everyone
Soyou’veexhausted your TV subscriptionwatch listand are looking for something that offersa more immersivereal-life experience?Maybe youcould tryan immersive theatre experiencethattakes place in your bathroomor a virtual escape,or maybesome onlinerole playinggames?
Many of us are seeking more connected, immersive ways to engage with others andHigherEducation (HE)students are noexception.
Your version of immersion
What do you think of when you hear the word‘immersive’in relation to online learning in HE?
Maybe you think ofvirtual reality headsets, interactive augmented reality software, virtualfieldtripsand simulated laboratories?In a virtual world,learnerscan be fully immersed in a realistic replica environment,allowing them to go places and do things they couldn’t do so easily in the real world.
However, most of us won’t have access to such technology and our learning content and outcomes may not suit thepre-designedimmersive experiences available.How then, can wetake theideaof immersive learning experiences and apply them within our own online environments utilising the tools we have available?
Authentic experiences
One of the best ways to immerse your students is to engage them in real-world, authentic learning activities. Provide case studies based on real-life events or problems wherever possible and when setting formative or summative activities try to simulate real-lifeexperiencesas much as you can. For example:
- work with an industry/sector organisation to identify problems their staff have solved in the past and ask students to solve the same problems.The student’s approaches could be shared with the organisation for feedback and vice versa with the organisation sharing how they solved the problem
- ask students to discuss and debate real-world issues in teams where each has a dedicated roleor perspective to argue for or against. The students willbe forced to see the issue fromanotherperspective and not just their own. Providing personas can be a good way for students to feel more immersed in the activity
- set group work tasks thatsimulate team-based approaches to solving problems and have a visible output such as a presentation, blog or video which is shared with the whole class. Having a visible, almosttangible,output to aim towards canprovide a heightened sense of stakesandengagement in the task.
Assessments should always be authenticandtaking the extra step to make them as real-worldas possiblebyutilising real data, problems and debates and connecting with real-life organisations can provide an even greater sense ofexperiential learning and immersion.
Replicateemployment activities
A key aim ofHE is preparing learners for the world of employment. With rapidly shiftingworkplace skills and tools,it is important that students have opportunities to engage with contemporary practice at the heart of their discipline in their formative development.The use of workplace tools can help studentsto feel more connected to their discipline and better prepared to join it.You could try:
- utilisingwork-based scenariosthat allow students to practice activities that will be expected of them in the workplace,suchaspresenting, working to tight and changing deadlinesandcollaborating with others in teams
- utilising tools known to be used in the workplacesuch as MS Teams, collaborative documents, project planning/management tools, presentation softwareand spreadsheets
- inviting discipline representatives to review and provide feedback. You could arrange for a representative from industry/discipline to observe presentations or review group task outputs to provide their insights for authentic feedback.
Encouraging students to utilise these tools in their group work would simulate the work environment very closely and you could even create some real-world simulation by changing the goalposts of the task (gently) to see how students respond.
Get creative withstorytelling
Storytelling withinHEdoesn’t suit all learning outcomes and can be a difficult activity for those who are newto it.However,consider some of the common formative and summative activities used in HE,such as critically appraising and reflecting on topics or debates,and there may be a place for storytelling as an alternative, more immersive approach. For example, you could try:
- asking students to tell a story about an experience they have had rather than reflecting on their opinion or knowledge of atopic
- asking students to write a storyto share with their peersof their learning journeythrough a course or module rather than a discussionforum
- asking studentstoimagine they are someone else-a key figure at the centre of a topic or debate,an employeein a givenscenario,or themselves in a situation they might not have found themselves in before-and to tellthestoryof the topic or debatethrough their eyes.
Through storytelling student can learnto be creative,widen their perspective andbroaden theskillswith which they can demonstrate their learningand understanding. For faculty, reading the stories of students can lead to greater insights than simplereflective tasks, essays or opinion pieces andcan providea welcome change to assessment for both.
Making it happen
Thesestrategies do not require sophisticated technology, newplatforms,or licences. They can beachievedthrough the formulation and description of learning activities utilising yourinstitution’sVLE and digital learning tools. For more complex approaches, you may wish to seek out support from your learning technology advisors or IT teams to help withVLEset-up details.
The key to making it happen will be spending some time thinking about how the activities of a module or course can most closely resemble the real-world through the setting of tasks, scenarios and simulated experiences that challenge students and enhance the relevance and authenticity of learning.
Findout more about howɫèAV supports immersive and authentic learning experiences:
- Simulations:Our online simulations enable students to step outside of their role as a learner and inhabit another rolein order tolearn. Learn more
- Beyond Labz:Move your physical labs online with Beyond Labz - a virtual lab simulation which provides a practical science lab experience to students, in a realistic and sophisticated setting. Learn more
Written by John Roberts, Online Learning Consultant, ɫèAV UK.
References
Flanagan, S. (2015) “How does storytelling within higher education contribute to the learning experience of early years students?”, The Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 13(2-3), pp. 162- 184.doi: 10.1921/jpts.v13i2-3.822.
Immersivelearning.news. 2021. How can VR and AR transform higher education? –
Times Higher Education (THE). 2021. Immersive tech in the classroom isexciting, butis itnecessary?.