A number of Environmental and Geographical Sciences students recently took part in a project looking at the use of Virtual Reality devices and field trips. This is an ongoing collaborative project between Dr Naomi Holmes (Department of Environmental & Geographical Sciences), Dr Scott Turner (Department of Computing and Immersive Technologies) and Adel Gordon (Learning Technology Team).
Virtual field trips are not a new idea; they have however, in the past, been perceived negatively by students, often due to a poor representation of reality. This project is investigating whether the Oculus Rift, described as a ‘next-generation virtual reality headset designed for immersive gaming’ (http://www.oculusvr.com/) provides a more immersive, and therefore, more real experience.
The Oculus Rift was investigated as a tool for preparing for field trips. A number of students volunteered to test the Oculus Rift. The Tuscan house and gardens demo that comes with the Oculus Rift (available through the Oculus Rift developer centre https://developer.oculusvr.com/) was used as the basis of the test. The students spent some time immersed in the virtual environment and then provided feedback. Many students also suggested a number of potential other uses of the Oculus Rift within their degree programmes.
