Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) can support powerful learning activities not otherwise possible, as we will see in three case studies. Learning is an adaptive response to a challenge, and a virtual environment can adapt to the student as s/he learns. Since the flight simulators of the 1970’s, this approach has long proven to be effective for learning procedures and processes.

The first study looks at a one-person “cave” used to diagnose and treat people with balance disorders. For example, patients with a damaged inner ear navigate a virtual grocery store, learning visual and physical strategies to stay safely on their feet. This facility is still in use, today, at the Medical Virtual Reality Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

However, VR and MR can also support active learning in some of the concept-heavy topics one learns in school.

The second study looks at a reenactment of an ancient Egyptian public ceremony, performed in mixed-reality (MR) with audience participation. The start of the show a projection of an Egyptian priest controlled in real-time by a live human puppeteer.

In the third study, children played a game based on an ancient Egyptian temple. Some played the game on a regular computer, but the ones who played it in VR demonstrated a more coherent and integrated knowledge of the temple’s features and their meaning.

Dr. Jacobson will use these examples of his work to show how the particular affordances of VR and MR support the learning process. He will then provide a broader look at how all immersive media (VR, AR, MR, MUVEs) are used today and near term trends.

Bio

Jeffrey Jacobson, Ph.D. has worked in Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality for more than 25 years, mastering each new wave of the technology as they have emerged. His doctorate is in Information Science, grounded in earlier work in Computer Science, giving him a strong background in systems integration and workflow analysis. His published research is based on the psychology of active learning in museums, immersive educational games, and immersive educational theater. His early technical work in affordable free software is widely cited in the scientific literature. His experimental trials on VR verses desktop displays were one of the few successful media comparison studies ever conducted. His later work (NSF and NEH funded) is highly regarded among scholars of cultural history and heritage. In the last few years, Dr. Jacobson offered consulting, training, and project management in virtual and augmented reality to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector. He has had a significant impact on the architectural design community, helping the early adopters take advantage of newly available immersive technologies. Dr. Jacobson is also a founding member and longtime co-leader of BostonVR, the fifth largest VR meetup in the world. The organization has had a profound impact on the adoption of immersive technologies in the Boston area.

Evening schedule

6:30 – 7:00  Networking over pizza and beverages
7:00 – 8:30  Meeting
8:30 – 9:00  CHI Dessert and more networking

Sponsors

Thank you to our generous sponsors. Interested in sponsoring BostonCHI? Let us know!

IBM Watson Research is hosting us and sponsoring pizza.

VitaminT is sponsoring dessert.

Getting there

IBM is located at 75 Binney Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. (Entrance on Binney Street.)