Swansea University VR/AR Conference 2018

On 12th September 2018 I attended the first Swansea University VR/AR Conference. The conference was an opportunity for staff across the University and from other institutions to share their experience of using virtual reality and augmented reality in teaching.

The first talk I attended was by Lorna Saunder from City, University of London who dicussed the use of VR to develop empathy and understanding of mental health experiences. Lorna used 360 videos with text overlays to simulate the feeling of various mental health conditions including mania, psychosis, anxiety and depression. The text appeared within the view of the viewer and was made up of words that represent the internal thoughts of a person. The font used was chosen to further represent the thoughts and mental health condition. Audio was purposely not used as it was felt that the student would have a more authentic experience if their own inner voice read the text rather than a different voice read the words to them.

Lorna talked about the ethical concerns about this teaching tool, a topic that came up multiple times thoughout the conference. Disclaimers were used and students were provided with support after the experience.

The results of the pilot were that only having one video with different text limited the learning as the students got bored of the video. Students not using headsets found the experience boring as using VR headsets is a very individual experience. There were no physical injuries and generally the students found it to be a good tool.

The outcomes are shown in the slide below. Key are the positive outcomes in terms of the learning experience. Lorna described the “being in the other person’s shoes” experience as being key to its success as other methods are generally descriptions rather than the actual experience. After each VR experience the students would discuss how they felt in detail which helped cement the learning and experience.

Overall I found this to be an incredibly interesting use of VR and it set the tone for the rest of the day in which imporving empathy and providing unique experiences was key to many uses of VR.

The second talk was Rebooting Nurse Education. Sian Shaw discussed the creation of 360 videos and the use of VR headsets to put nursing students into patient situations. One of the videos shown was a patient receiving a radiography exam. It allowed students to experience the whole exam from the patients point of view without having to actually have the exam. The video was augmented with extra information added using Thinglink. The goal was to create a student centered approach to learning by using VR to bridge theory and practice and provide an authentic and engaging experience. The outcome of this project was a positive learning exeprience and a better understanding of the patient experience.

Continuing the medical education theme, Dr Mohammed Nasif Mahmood from the University of Leicester presented his project on simulating ward rounds. He used a 360 camera along with scripted situations and actors to develop various videos that simulated situations a junior doctor may experience. They included various levels of background noise and disruptive patients to add reality. Examples can be seen below:

The project compared VR ward rounds,live simulated ward rounds and a simple powerpoint presentation to compare the learning experience of these 3 methods of teaching. Questionnaires and the completion of documentation were used to evaluate the experience. The documentation was found to be most accurate in those who just learnt from powerpoint however VR and the live action were almost identical in accuracy. The VR experience had a 100% improvement reported in understanding of the ward round experience, the types of distractions and how they impact the ability to complete a round. 75% of the VR students reported it as an engaging way of learning. There were also reports of improved confidence and preparedness. Overall the project was successful and will be taken forward.

Dr Laura Mason and Dr Marc Holmes presented a project which investigated whether using VR to teach anatomy improved understanding. They designed a bespoke VR tool that allowed students to find different bones and build a sceleton as they would do with a physical model as well as label the bones. This was primarily so that multiple students could undertake this task at the same time without the need for many expensive physical models. The project group of students had their scores for this task compared before and after and there was an increase in the group score. While it is difficult to say for certain that the VR had an impact, in their exams, the VR project students performed significantly better. The results of this study are shown below:

I had an opportunity to try the demo if this VR tool during the lunch break and found it to be incredibly engaging. My first attempt was quite poor as I was learning the controls and the best way to engage. My second attempt was much more successful and I found it simple and intuative to use and could definitely see how it could help students.

Dr Irene Ctori from City, University of London presented her project to use VR to simulate different eye conditions to help optometry students understand what the patient sees. Irene discussed the traditional use of pictures or glasses with shapes or distortions and how these are limited as the distortion doesn’t follow where the person is looking. The VR did and therefore provided a more realistic understanding of different conditions. The other goal of the project was to see if the students empathy increased when they had a better understanding. The outcome was that the students were already sympathetic so the VR was only a minor change, however with a bigger sample the results may be clearer. It may also be that the students are empatheic but don’t know how to communicate it.

Dr Joanne Hudson and Taylor Waters presented their findings on “Become Victor”, a VR tool designed to allow students to be placed in the shoes of an elderly man. They used it to enhance the material taught in lectures and see how advice on exercise may need to be changed as some people may find certain tasks more diffucult. The students found it useful and engaging.

In the best practice talk by the team at Plumpton College, a few key points were listed:

These are incredibly important for any lecturer who may want to utilise VR in their teaching and should form any strategy to using VR.

Henry Dawson from Cardiff Metropolitan University presented a unique use of VR – virtual field trips. He worked in conjunction with a University in Lebanon to facilitate filming 360 video interviews in refugee camps by students and used Google Cardboard to allow students in Cardiff to experience these interviews. The Cardiff based students would write questions for the residents of the camp and the Lebanese students would ask them. Within a week the students had created a whatsapp group and were discussing their experiences regularly, using the VR to view what was being discussed. The 360 videos were a valuable tool to put visuals to what was being described. Students became emotionally involved in the lives of the refugees and could see where their education could be used. It made the lectures and learning material have real-world relevance.

Overall it is clear that VR is being used to facilitate experiences without the physical limitations of travel and resources. It allows for greater access to learning and experiences that would otherwise not take place or be very limited. It can aslo be used to introduce emapthy and improve understanding of people that students may encounter in their careers.

VR is still in its infancy and uses for it are still being explored. What was clear is that the technology and the enthusiasm for it is there and should be tapped into where possible.