Numerous emerging technologies have brought-about affordable capabilities that need to be more thoroughly explored for their practical application within the learning environment. The Air University (AU) chartered the Innovation in Learning Sciences Research Task Force to investigate the applicability of emerging consumer technology capabilities in the context of relevant learning theories and how the combination of capabilities and theories can inform the practice of educating, training, and developing national security professionals. The subject 6- graduate-hour class curriculum investigated virtual reality, augmented reality, haptic devices, 3D printing & related tech capabilities as well as myriad learning theories including experiential learning, social constructivist learning, situated cognition, anchored instruction, and connectivism. The class was designed as a joint endeavor that integrated efforts between three AU agencies, four AU master’s degree programs, and multiple educational and non-profit partners including GMU’s Serious Games Institute, and MGMWERX. During the first semester’s twenty 3-hour synchronous sessions, 10 resident students engaged in-person, and 8 distance students interacted live via webinar. In concert with in-person and live webinar attendance, an hour or more of each class was experienced synchronously “inside VR” using multi-user VR co-presence platforms including Rumii, Engage, High Fidelity, and others. Beyond the “class sessions,” students also conducted a research trip to the Lobaki VR Academy to experience hands-on engagement with dozens more developmental haptic devices and VR/AR applications. Through the second semester, based upon content learned about emerging tech capabilities and learning theories, each of the 18 students wrote a master’s thesis on how DoD, interagency, and allies could apply VR/AR and related technologies to the learning process within the student’s native area of national security expertise. Numerous lessons have been extracted from the lived experience of developing and executing this first-of-a-kind prototype class and a body of over 400 pages of graduate research was produced.
Education
Air University Multi-Modal Research Course on VR/AR and Related Technologies
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