Abstract: Implementing new technologies is scary. As instructors, we feel like we need to have complete mastery of this technology before we even think about implementing it in our classrooms. We try to learn as time permits. We do our best to develop new and exciting solutions to eliminate boredom and promote student interaction and excitement. We get lost. We quit. Virtual Reality (VR) is one of those technologies we all are in awe of and secretly want to implement in our classrooms. The technology behind it is complex, and the tools available today to develop what we need are challenging to learn. As instructors, we do not have the time to develop the environments we need to incorporate into our classes. So, the question becomes, how do we do this? How do we start? Where do we start? In this workshop, the goal is to introduce the attendees to using VR for the first time. The workshop is built to give the instructors hands-on experience building their own VR environments. The attendees will start using Engage to build their own VR environment, and they will experiment with what this VR environment feels like. The workshop will guide them through Engage basic, where they will be introduced to the application. After the attendees create their Engage accounts, they will start creating meetings, lectures, discussions, presentations, and assignments. Not only will we text them using laptops but also using a VR visor. At the end of the workshop, we will discuss best practices.

Objectives

In this workshop, the attendees will experiment with VR technology. Each attendee will develop his/her own VR environment and experiment with meetings, lectures, discussions, quizzes, and presentations. We will experiment in this exciting VR environment and get you started with a simple VR classroom that you can take home and continue developing.

Topical Outline

• Introduction to VR (10 mins) • Advantages of using it in our classrooms (10 mins) • What is out there? (We will talk about the applications that we can start using immediately) (10 mins) • Introduction to Engage (20 mins) • Creating an Account on Engage (10 mins) • Learning Engage Basics (20 mins) • Creating a VR Meeting (20 mins) • Creating a VR Lecture Environment (20 mins) • Creating a VR Discussion Environment (20 mins) • Creating a VR Presentation Environment (20 mins) • Creating VR Assignments (20 mins) • Discussion on Best Practices (15 mins) • Q & A (15 mins)

Prerequisites

Beginners (no prior experience is required, no prerequisites). This is a hands-on workshop, and the attendees must bring their own laptops (BYOL-Bring Your Own Laptop). The instructor will bring the visor set.

Experience Level

Beginner

Qualifications

Dr. Gulsebnem (Sheb) Bishop is currently teaching at Campbellsville University, as an Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems, in the Department of Business, Economics, and Technology. She graduated with a doctorate degree in Computer Science and Information Systems from Pace University, NY, in 2006. She holds an MBA and a Cybersecurity degree from Stratford University, VA. She is a certified PMP and serves in the Syracuse PMI chapter as an at-large board member. Her area of interest is software development, design and security, data warehousing and database administration, data analytics, and data science. Dr. Bishop worked in non-profit IT, specifically in databases and database administration, for over thirteen years and in other IT areas, such as web design and IT project management. She worked for several non-profits in New York and Washington, DC (American Museum of Natural History, NAACP, Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Human Rights Campaign). Dr. Bishop is currently working on incorporating VR technology into her own classes and experimenting with different platforms.