VR Taster Series

Project Leads: Ciara Bell & Niamh Guckian, Digital Skills Coaches

Service: Digital Education Team

Function: Academic Affairs

Contact details: ciara.bell@tudublin.ie  01 220 6345 | niamh.guckian@tudublin.ie 01 220  6611

Project Description: Because an academic’s view of a learning tool generally determines whether or not that tool is adopted for their teaching and learning practice (Albirini, 2006), it is critically important that academic staff at TU Dublin are given the opportunity to try out VR technology in a safe and supported environment, with a view to engaging them in confident and informed exploration of possibilities for their practice. The VR Taster Series aims to mitigate and address many of the challenges faced by untrained academics across different disciplines and campus locations. Scaffolded workshops, designed in detail to offer learning outcomes such as confidence with headsets and apps, exploration of tried and tested T&L use cases, and wider discussion about pedagogical design, will be on offer across all campuses over Semester 2, 2025/26. 

Why are we running this project? There is evidence supporting the theory that many academics, although aware of the application of virtual reality (VR) for teaching and learning, may not have had the opportunity to experience VR themselves for several reasons (Khukalenko et al., 2022). The following are possible barriers:

• A significant lack of training in VR usage prevents effective integration, as many academics do not get the opportunity to see for themselves the potential of VR technology for teaching and learning .​
• High costs of VR equipment, software, and maintenance can make VR access challenging for interested academics.​
• Institutional limitations such as absence of specific technical support can block them from hands-on VR experience.​
• Studies report that a notable portion of academics know VR equipment exists at their institutions but rarely have detailed knowledge or direct experience of them.​
• Internal barriers like lack of available professional development and discomfort with new technology can deter them from pursuing VR experiences even for their own information.

A Scale of Progress in VR Technology Integration (Khukalenko et al., 2022) suggests a learning pathway for academics across further iterations following on from the initial Taster workshops. Participants in that study were asked to choose one of the below six categories to best describe their progress in VR use for teaching and learning. This scale of progress will be used to scaffold our workshops, activities, and future supports as more and more academics engage. 

1. Awareness: I am aware that the technology exists but have not used it – perhaps I’m even avoiding it. I am anxious about the prospect of using VR.
2. Learning: I am currently trying to learn the basics of VR. I am sometimes frustrated using the technology and I lack confidence when using it.
3. Understanding: I am beginning to understand the process of using VR and can think of specific tasks in which it might be useful.
4. Familiarity: I am gaining a sense of self-confidence in using VR for specific tasks. I am starting to feel comfortable using the technology.
5. Adaptation: I think about VR as an instructional tool to help me and I am no longer concerned about it as technology.
6. Creative application: I can apply what I know about VR in the classroom. I am able to use it as an instructional aid and have integrated VR into the curriculum

References

Khukalenko, I. S., Kaplan-Rakowski, R., An, Y., & Iushina, V. D. (2022). Teachers’ perceptions of using virtual reality technology in classrooms: A large-scale survey. Education and Information Technologies, 27(8), 11591-11613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11061-0

Albirini, A. (2006). Teachers’ attitudes toward information and communication technologies: The case of Syrian EFL teachers. Computers & Education, 47(4), 373-398.