Enabling the Age of Immersive Education
Aaron E. Walsh WCAS demonstrated Immersive Education. Unlike traditional online courses, which involve the delivery of basic Web pages or streaming video, Immersive Education combines interactive virtual reality and sophisticated digital media with collaborative online course environments and classrooms. Imagine, for instance, a history class that lets students explore the halls of the Forbidden City in Beijing from home, or a lecture on nanotechnology that includes a lab session for participants to examine and manipulate molecular structures entirely online. Immersive Education gives students a sense of "being there" even when attending class in person isn't possible, practical, or desirable, which in turn provides faculty and remote students with the ability to connect and communicate in a way that greatly enhances the distance learning experience. Walsh will demonstrate how Boston College faculty can utilize Immersive Education technology in their own classrooms.