VR in Education

Episode 95- The struggles to Scale VR in a School

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we are on a mission to understand more about how easy or difficult it is to scale up the use of VR and immersive learning in a school. Today on the show we have Jason Ward.  Jason is High School Chemistry Teacher, Educational Technologist, EdD Candidate, Screenwriter and has been working hard to get immersive VR into his school just outside Boston.  You can reach Jason on twitter @jasonwardtech.

Episode 94- VR for Immersive Learning with Monica Arés

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we are on a mission to unpack more layers of immersive learning. Monica Arés is an expert in Immersive Learning.  As a Harvard Graduate School of Education alumna, former math educator, curriculum developer, and planetarium director, Monica is at the forefront of how emerging technology like VR can be used to enhance learning.  We are excited to have her on the show today.  You can connect with Monica at https://www.monicaares.com/.

Episode 93- VR to Reduce Stress and Anxiety with Reulay

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we are interviewing Dr. Srini Pillay,  the chief medical officer and co-founder of Reulay.  Reulay is a video, XR, and metaverse solution for the reduction of stress, anxiety, and stress-related diseases.  We are fortunate to have Dr Pillay on the show today as he has an impressive resume as it pertains to reducing stress and anxiety.  He has written several books and is an expert in cognitive mindset which has undoubtedly positioned him well for VR and his work with Reulay.

Episode 92- VR Training in the Hospitality Industry

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we are looking at  how VR might enhance learning and development in the hospitality industry.  This industry relies heavily on social skills and procedural learning.  Both these two areas lend themselves well for using VR and virtual worlds to improve training and development.  We have invited Tracy Cosgrove on the show to talk about her extensive experience using VR for hospitality training.  Check out tracy's website at https://vrhti.com/. 

Episode 91- Virtual Speech and ChatGPT3

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we are looking at how AI might be used in virtual worlds for education.  We have heard a lot over the last few weeks about how intuitive and responsive ChatGTP3 has been.  So, we have invited Sophie Thompson, CEO and founder of Virtual Speech to talk to us.  Virtual Speech is a VR soft skills training platform that allows users to hone several 21st century skills related to communication.  They recently announced they have added ChatGTP3 to some of their course offerings.

Episode 90- Ways to Sustain VR in Your Institution

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we explore a recent post I did on LinkedIn.  In the posting I talked about 4 ways to keep your VR lab or program from suffering a slow death.  Some of the strategies to sustain a VR lab and program might be:  1. Work closely with instructors and educators on how to integrate Virtual Worlds that connect to bigger concepts within their curriculum.  2. Refrain from “type-casting” the VR lab and headsets to just one department or section within your school.  3. Scale up professional development that teaches educators how to use and build no-code virtual worlds and experiences and how to connect these to learning outcomes. 4. Develop a “learning in 3D” academic policy that outlines the mission and vision around how , when and why VR can enhance learning.  In this episode, I want to unpack some of these in greater detail. 

Episode 89- The Efficacy of Using VR for Medical Needs

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we are looking at how the medical industry is using Virtual worlds to educate each other.  From virtual conferences, to learning from experienced doctors, to practicing real-life procedures and scenarios, the metaverse  has huge potential for doctors.  Today, we have invited Dr. Steven Houston III who is a Vitreoretinal surgeon and founder of METAMED.  And we also have Dr. Eric  Rosenberg who is a Cornea, Cataract, and Refractive Surgeon and Co-Founder of MetaMEd.

Episode 88- Time to Break up The Lecture in Higher ED Using VR

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we are looking at how VR might enhance Higher Education.   The primary form of instruction for many college and university classes is via lecture.  This methodology might leave some students unengaged and bored.  So, how can professors break up their lectures and provide more active learning modalities in the lessons?  On the show we are talking with Gary Burnett.  Gary does research and teaching related to human Factors/Ergonomics within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham.

Episode 87-Exploring New Frontiers: Speech and Debate in VR

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we explore the frontiers of speech and debate in the Virtual World.  Covid  pushed many schools to participate in Speech and Debate via video conferencing through zoom or google meet.  Even though covid has slowed down, many speech and debate tournaments continue to offer video conferencing options.   Although this is a more cost effective way for schools, the lack  of presence embodiment makes it less engaging than a physical face-face speech and debate tournament.   We have invited Stefan Bauschard, founder of DebateUS, Co-Executive Director of the New York City Urban Debate League and long time debate coach at Lakeland schools.  And, We also have Joe Rankin, Head Speech and Debate coach at Bettendorf HS in Bettendorf, IA and in his 17th year teaching/coaching.  You can reach Joe at jrankin@bettendorf.k12.ia.us and Stefan at stefan.bauschard@gmail.com.

Episode 86- My Exclusive Interview with ChatbotGPT3 about VR in Education

Hello everyone.  Welcome to another exciting episode of VR in Education.  In today’s episode,  we are exploring the controversial world of AI intelligence.  ChatGPT3 applies machine learning algorithms to a massive corpus of text to respond to users' requests using language that sounds surprisingly human-like.  ChatGPT3 is has agreed to sit down with me to explore the topic of VR in Education.