Virtual Reality Learning Lab

How to use Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality for teaching and training

Blog

Op onze blog vind je:

  • Praktische tips voor VR in het onderwijs;
  • Output van ons onderzoek;
  • Uitleg om eigen VR content te maken &
  • Updates over het VR Learning Lab.

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Google: from finding answers to getting thing done

This summary of Google’s I/O 2019 event shows some of the impressive products Google is working on: new Augmented Reality functionalities, a smarter Google Assistant and cheaper Google Pixel phones.

What is really interesting about this event is the shift in the mission of the company:

“We’re moving from a company that helps you find answers to a company that helps you get things done”

This statement by CEO Sundar Pichai illustrates the developments in digital technology and the role digital products will have in our daily lives. The focus in articles on Artificial Intelligence is often on completely autonomous computer systems. The focus in this event however, is mostly on how smarter algorithms allow for more sophisticated computer interfaces for users.

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Virtual Reality Learning HUB – what do you want to learn?

We are working hard on the Virtual Reality Learning HUB: an online environment centered around the use of Augmented & Virtual Reality for education and training. We are bundling all the knowledge we’ve gained in 5 years of fundamental research, building prototypes and teaching students and professionals.

Our framework is standing, with interactive courses, databases with the most interesting apps and tools and a social environment to connect with educators from around the world. However, we’re still working on the content, we plan to release the first version this summer.

To know what content we should focus our attention on, we’d love to know what you want to learn about VR & AR for education. If you’re interested in the VR Learning HUB, please consider filling in our questionnaire!

Fill in our questionnaire

 

 

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Why Nintendo’s new VR set shows Virtual Reality is mature

Recently, and after much speculation, Nintendo announced their VR set for the very successful Switch. An important moment in the history of VR, I would say.

Why? Not per se because of how many of these VR add-on sets are going to be sold. Definitely not because of the hardware specifications. Nor because of the games. Sure, Nintendo has the ability to create great games with limited processing resources. And we’re probably going to see some very creative uses of this whole set of cardboard extensions of your Switch. But that’s not what makes this device of importance.

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Research in learning how to program @ PERL Kickoff 2019

Today Marleen & Robin (that’s me) visited the kick-off of the PERL group at Leiden University. An interesting afternoon! As probably everybody who attended this event, we think it’s important for students to learn the digital skills they need to create new things. That’s why we organize courses for teachers and students in Processing and CoSpaces Edu an co-organize the CoSpaces Competition!

The day consisted of several talks focusing on research that helps to teach programming skills a little better. In this post I’ll share some insights.

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Even voorstellen: Chris, Kevin, Nadine, Nino & Simone

Begin dit jaar zaten we opeens met zijn tienen rond de vergadertafel! Tijd voor een update over het team, met onze nieuwe werkstudenten en stagiair.

Chris Slewe

Chris studeert psychologie aan de Universiteit Leiden. Voor VRLL benaderde hij scholen in de regio over onze diensten. Bijna net zo spannend: Chris gaat nu een aantal maanden studeren in Australië.

Kevin S.

Kevin studeert Mediatechnologie aan de Hogeschool Leiden. Tijdens zijn afstudeerstage bij het VR Learning Lab werkt aan de ontwikkeling van onze eigen app, die inmiddels te verkrijgen is in de Play Store.

Nadine Roos

Nadine studeert Media Technology aan de Universiteit Leiden en schrijft mee aan onze blog posts en online courses. Ook is ze betrokken bij de organisatie van de CoSpaces Competition.

Nino Brouwers

Nino studeert Communicatie en Multimedia Design aan de Avans Hogeschool in Den Bosch. Tijdens zijn stage werkte Nino aan het opzetten van de CoSpaces Competition en het ontwikkelen van het bijbehorende lesmateriaal. Inmiddels werkt hij als werkstudent enthousiast verder!

Simone Lammertink

Simone is student Film- en Literatuurwetenschap aan de Universiteit Leiden. Zij helpt bij VR Learning Lab met organisatie en workshops en zorgt ervoor dat de communicatie op rolletjes loopt.

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Which VR headsets for your school?

Which VR headsets should we buy with our school? That’s a question people often email us about. We understand the question very well, as you need hardware to experience VR, right? However, we do think that the question often comes too early in the process. To make a good decision about which headset to go for, you first need to find out what you want to use it for.

We completely updated our VR Buying Guide for Schools in August 2019. We’ve included the Oculus Quest, the Rift S, ClassVR and we’ve made our recommendations more explicit.

We wrote a blog about the Oculus Go when it just came out. The angle of the post was how we usually don’t recommend the Oculus Go as the sole device for schools. A controversial statement, as it’s quite an amazing device. Affordable, very comfortable, and the remote offers quite a lot of interactive functionalities. Why wouldn’t we recommend it then? Because it’s quite a closed-off system. When choosing a VR headset, you also choose the app store where you can find applications, it’s an entire ecosystem.

Sometimes that’s no problem, because you’re going to create your own 360 videos. Or you’re going to use apps that are available on Oculus Home. But as a school you often want to have more flexibility.

Quite unexpectedly, this post turned into one of our most viewed posts of the year. Apparently, this is a problem many people are struggling with. That’s why we decided to create a VR Buying Guide for Schools to help schools and teachers.

 

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Content is coming

We have so many unfinished blog posts. About our research projects, things we’ve learned from Inhouse masterclasses, CoSpaces Edu tutorials and parts of Robin’s courses. Some are almost done, some still require quite some work.

Quite a shame, as we like to think that people might find this interesting. One resolution for 2019 is therefore to share our thoughts on our blog, newsletter and social media channels. Brace yourselves.

 

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Gratis lesmateriaal voor CoSpaces Competition

Tijdens onze onderwijsdagen zien we dat het uitdagen van studenten om zelf VR-ervaringen te maken een krachtige én laagdrempelige vorm is om op school aan de slag te gaan met VR en AR. Waarom?

  • Samen een nieuwe techniek verkennen past in doelstellingen rond mediawijsheid;
  • Wij geloven dat leren programmeren ook zinvol is voor mensen die geen programmeur worden;
  • 3D werelden zijn een mooie vorm voor werkstukken, kunstonderwijs en presentaties van projecten;
  • De docent wordt niet extra belast, de uitdaging ligt bij de studenten.

Om dit aan te jagen zijn we mede-organisator van de CoSpaces Competition. Hier worden jongeren tussen 10 en 17 uitgedaagd om zelf een 3D/VR/AR ervaring te maken!

Het VR Learning Lab heeft lesmateriaal ontwikkeld dat nu gratis beschikbaar is. Ga snel naar de website, kies de rol die het best bij je past (leerling/docent) en meld je aan voor het lesmateriaal waarin je een virtuele dierentuin maakt!

Willen jullie nog verder bijdragen aan dit initiatief? We zoeken nog extra partners!