鈥淵ou’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension, not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop …鈥�
Well, it鈥檚 not 1960, and you鈥檙e not in the Twilight Zone. It鈥檚 2024 and you鈥檝e arrived instead at 吃瓜头条, where the portal into the future of learning is housed in the campus鈥檚 new Dreamscape Learn virtual reality lab.
吃瓜头条 is one of the first California Community Colleges and among fewer than 10 colleges nationwide to teach using the VR technology, which was pioneered in partnership with Arizona State University.
Putting virtual reality into students鈥� hands has supercharged their 鈥渆ducation through exploration鈥� experience.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a significant, powerful new tool,鈥� 吃瓜头条 Dean of Innovation Garrick Grace said. 鈥淥ur end goal was to have a campus lab providing students with a significantly higher level of engagement. And you can鈥檛 get more engaged than when using the latest technology to experience a Hollywood-produced storyline. It鈥檚 a game-changer.鈥�
Current Introduction to Biology students make weekly visits to the lab. Wearing VR headsets, they become research biologists immediately immersed into an intergalactic wildlife sanctuary and trying to figure out what is happening with 鈥渢he astelars,鈥� a species of cute sea turtle-like creatures on this virtual planet. Students quickly learn the astelars not laying enough eggs, putting their very existence at stake. But why?
The storyline rolls out through modules in which new characters and issues are introduced. The course is a multi-act play with an M. Night Shyamalan-like twist midway through the semester. Students are having fun, only halfway realizing how powerfully the story connects them to the real-world biology concepts.
鈥淚f we talked about turtles on a beach in class, and gave them some data, why would the students care about that?鈥� Biology Professor Torey Arnold said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛. They didn鈥檛 do the legwork. At the VR lab, they do. And then they naturally ruminate on the questions being asked. We did a demo last month and it was a freakin鈥� blast.鈥�
鈥淵ou have to touch things and look for things. It makes you feel like you鈥檙e really doing something. Everything about it catches your interest.鈥�
Amina Housini, 吃瓜头条 Student
Freshman liberal studies and studio arts major Amina Housini had no idea she鈥檇 be among the first to experience a VR-driven education this semester. She did know she鈥檇 dropped out of biology before because it was so boring.
鈥淚 enjoy biology so much more now,鈥� Housini said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e scientists doing experiments on this alien beach. It was cool. You have to touch things and look for things. It makes you feel like you鈥檙e really doing something. Everything about it catches your interest.鈥�
Arnold said he immediately noticed a lot less moaning and groaning from students during his first lesson last month.
鈥淲e鈥檇 heard from Arizona State that their students would get into heated discussions about what was happening with the sea turtles,鈥� Arnold said. 鈥淚 had never once seen that kind of passion in class before this. I鈥檝e already noticed a big difference after a few weeks. When I鈥檇 review a lecture before, it was hard to get accurate responses. But when I review the VR labs now, it just pours out of them, because they experienced it. It sticks more.鈥�
There are already VR modules for non-majors and a deeper version for biology majors. 吃瓜头条 faculty has been able to pull lessons from the major curriculum or use other one-off scenarios as needed. Biology Professor Summer White said all of the lessons are also easily modified to increase or decrease the difficulty, to edit for time or to go deeper into a particular interest.
White, who is teaching four remote biology sections this semester, uses the same Dreamscape/ASU content except they鈥檙e presented via interactive 2D videos. Remote students feel more like they鈥檙e playing a video game, except the 2D doesn鈥檛 lose the storytelling hook at all.
鈥淭hat triggers the 鈥榳ow factor鈥� for many students,鈥� White said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also nice to have the 2D for students who get motion sickness. They can still be involved in class really easily. I hope eventually we can bring to the lab remote students who want to experience the immersive VR.鈥�
Faculty can also use the one-off VR scenarios, that take people through the rain forest, the Oval Office, the Colosseum and more, to engage students.
鈥淚 was ecstatic when I saw the VR at Arizona State last year, knowing there were so many things we can do,鈥� White said. 鈥淔or anatomy, we can drive a nanobot through the heart. Normally that structure is not tangible for students. How cool would it be then if we鈥檙e able to sit inside the nucleus when replication is occurring? When I found out that type of learning was possible, I was absolutely on board.鈥�
About working in the immersive classroom, Housini added, 鈥淓veryone around you is doing the same thing. You don鈥檛 feel alone while learning. You might be having trouble yourself, but you can talk to anyone on your team about anything.鈥�
Dreamscape and ASU are currently developing storylines for introductory curricula for chemistry and art history, which everyone hopes will be available for Fall 2025.
Inside the VR lab, there are also six development workstations were students will eventually create new content while gaining video game creation skills.
鈥淲e have faculty already asking for new missions in different disciplines, like health care and working with patients in a hospital room or dental office,鈥� Grace said.
鈥淣ow that we鈥檝e launched, it鈥檚 so cool to see the level of engagement from everyone on campus, and the community outreach we鈥檝e been able to do. It鈥檚 been phenomenal. Leaders all over the state want to visit. We鈥檙e trying to provide as much access as we can so people can experience the potential of it.鈥�