吃瓜tv

There鈥檚 a new dimension to Professor Dan Cliburn鈥檚 virtual reality class this semester at 吃瓜tv. 

鈥淚鈥檝e been teaching the course for a while. I鈥檝e never actually taught virtual reality in virtual reality, so ... I thought it might be a really cool opportunity鈥� said Cliburn, chair of computer science at Pacific.

A grant from Pacific鈥檚 Technology in Education Committee and funding from the Computer Science Department allowed him to equip each student with an Oculus Quest, which is a virtual reality headset. 

Each student is represented in class by an avatar where they can listen to Cliburn鈥檚 lecture, see power point presentations, and even 鈥榳alk鈥� around the space to gather into smaller work groups. 

鈥淲hen you put this (virtual reality headset) on, all you can see is that space, so I can look around. I can see other people.  I can walk to other locations in the environment,鈥� explained Cliburn, 鈥淚t makes you feel like you鈥檙e actually in this classroom.鈥�

鈥淚 think it definitely adds to the appreciation of virtual reality,鈥� said Cameron Rogero, an electrical and computer engineering graduate student. 

Unlike video conferencing programs, virtual reality also uses spatial audio, something computer science major Michael Guerra 鈥�22 says enhances the feeling of being in a classroom.

鈥淲hen we get split up into groups, instead of going into breakout rooms we just move to a part of the environment, and then we can only hear each other,鈥� he explained.

Along with the wow factor, Cliburn is finding it gives students a chance to see first-hand some of the challenges that come with the technology. 

鈥淵ou start realizing things like taking notes is a lot harder,鈥� Cliburn said, laughing. 

When he was looking to bring the unique experience to life, he didn鈥檛 have to go far. 

The classroom was designed by alumna Keely Canniff 鈥�20, digital projects manager at Pacific鈥檚 library.

鈥淭hat was a lot of fun because you have to think of how students will be in the space,鈥� she said. 

Since the pandemic, she鈥檚 found the technology is being implemented in other ways around campus as well. 

鈥淚 have had professors use this for exam prep, so they usually would do something like exam Jeopardy inside a classroom, but Zoom wasn鈥檛 delivering that presence, so I showed them this platform and it was a lot of fun to see students actually race up to the screen and say, 鈥榯hat鈥檚 the answer,鈥� or 鈥榯his is the answer鈥� and they felt like they were really involved,鈥� she said.

It鈥檚 been a learning experience for faculty, but one they鈥檙e embracing to enhance the experience for students at Pacific.