MARA 284-12 (1-Unit)
Seminar in Archives & Records Management
Topic: Design for Teaching & Learning in Social Virtual Reality
Summer 2022 Syllabus

Module 1

Overview of Course 

Social VR platforms

Criteria for Learning Experiences in VR

Core Comp H
CLO 1 

Introduction to the course

Discussion (not graded): Introductions

Lecture: Introduction, course overview, expectations, definition of terms, and concepts for educational experiences in Social Virtual worlds, introduction to virtual world design criteria.
How to get into and basic interface interaction in Virbela (1st VR world).

Discussion #1 (5 points)

Basis for discussion -- Experience in Virbela and the application of the criteria (presented in lecture and handout) to this virtual world.

Assignment #1:  (5 points)

Visit Virbela at http://www.virbela.com.

Readings #1: 

1. Textbook: Chapters 1 -2, "Design for Learning in Virtual Worlds" by Nelson & Erlandson.
2. XR for Teaching & Learning: Year 2 of the EDUCAUSE/HP Campus of the Future
   Project. 
3. Handout of criteria used for entire course
4. Handout of instructions on how to download, sign up for accounts, and enter the Virbela virtual world.

Optional: Meetup with instructor and students in Virbela:

Friday, 6/3/2022, 10:00 am-11:00 am Pacific Time AND/OR (NOTE: THIS IS THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS)

Saturday 6/4/22, 10:00am-11:00am Pacific Time

Discussion & Assignment Due Date: 

MONDAY, June 6, 2022

Module 2

Learning models for VR experiences

Context of Use

Core Comp H, J
CLO 2

Instructional Design-Learning Models & Context in Social VR Worlds

Lecture: Learning models including Situated Learning,
Constructivism, and Behaviorism as theoretical basis for learning in virtual worlds. Context of use and decisions required for building educational experiences, for example: subject domain, target learners, participant roles.

Discussion #2 (5 points)

Basis for discussion -- Experience in one of the worlds visited and discussion of which criteria are met and how.

Assignment #2: (5 points)

Visit one virtual world after readings and video lecture to take
notes on whether the criteria are applicable in the world visited
and/or what needs to be addressed in order to complete the
criteria.  The following virtual worlds are suggested:

1. Mozilla Hubs
2. FrameVR
3. Spatial
4. AltspaceVR
5. Sinespace
6. Kitely

Note: Other VR worlds are accepted with instructor approval.

Readings #2:

1. Textbook: Chapters 4, 5, 6
2. Handout of Social VR Worlds together with how to sign up and access each world.

Optional: Meetup with instructor in Mozilla Hubs/FrameVR:

Friday, 6/10/22, 10:00am-11:00am Pacific Time AND/OR

Saturday 6/11/22, 10:00am -11:00am Pacific Time

Discussion & Assignment Due Date:

MONDAY, June 13, 2022

Module 3

Method for designing curricula

Assessment Approaches

Example Design

Core Comp J 
CLO 2

Instructional Design - Developing Curricula in Social VR Worlds

Lecture: Design of curricula for VR educational experiences
using the design of a virtual exhibit. Design includes problem statement, proposed solution, target audience. learning objectives, assessment, and description of final VR world. 

Discussion #3 (5 points)

Basis for discussion -- Experience in a VR world not previously visited and discussion of which criteria are met and how.

Assignment #3: (15 points)

Visit one virtual world after readings and video lecture to take
notes on whether the criteria apply in the world visited
and/or what needs to be addressed in order to complete the
criteria.  The following virtual worlds are suggested (Links above):

1. Mozilla Hubs
2. FrameVR
3. Spatial
4. AltspaceVR
5. Sinespace
6. Kitely

Note: Other VR worlds are accepted with instructor approval.

Writing: Pick one experience type (professional development
training, archives or special collection) for curricular development and write up and submit with justification and example learning objects. This is a first draft of the final design document.

Readings #3:

1. Textbook: Chapters 8 & 9
2. Howard, S., & Lewin, K. (2018). Virtual reality content for higher education
   curriculum. In VALA2018 Proceedings: 19th Biennial Conference and Exhibition. pp. 1-15. VALA-Libraries, Technology and the Future, Inc. Available here: https://www.vala.org.au/vala2018-proceedings/vala2018-session-howard/ 
3. Vans, M. (2016). The story of science during the scientific revolution: Designing an educational exhibit. In Teaching and Learning in Virtual Environments: Archives, Museums, and Libraries, 111-128. Online at King Library.

Optional: Meetup with instructor in Spatial/Altspace:

Friday, 6/17/22, 10:00am-11:00am Pacific Time AND/OR

Saturday 6/18/22, 10:00am -11:00am Pacific Time

Discussion & Writing Assignment Due Date:

MONDAY, June 20, 2022

Module 4

Putting it all together

Reinforcement of major concepts - learning models and criteria

Core Comp H,J
CLO 1
CLO 2

Designing an Educational Experience using criteria for Social
VR Worlds

Lecture: A look at research in VR and the learning process to
identify aspects of the technology and the effect on learning,
understanding the state-of-the-art in VR for education including
what has been done, where more evidence is needed, and
directions for research and development.

Discussion #4 (5 points)

Basis for discussion -- Post about experience of project development/progress. Use discussion to ask questions about the project.

Assignment #4: (15 points)

Writing: Draft of the design project, including approach for each of the identified criteria necessary in the chosen domain and platform. 

Readings #4:

1. Chavez, B., & Bayona, S. (2018, March). Virtual reality in the learning process. In World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies. pp. 1345-1356. Springer, Cham.
2. Slater, M., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2016). Enhancing our lives with immersive virtual reality. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 3, 74. Available here: 
   Sections: (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 2.3, 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.5, 6, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.6, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3)

AND at least one of:

1. E Selmanović, E., Rizvic, S., Harvey, C., Boskovic, D., Hulusic, V., Chahin, M., & Sljivo, S. (2020). Improving Accessibility to Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation using Virtual Reality. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH), 13(2), 1-19.
2. Bekele, M. K., Pierdicca, R., Frontoni, E., Malinverni, E. S., & Gain, J. (2018). A survey of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality for cultural heritage. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH), 11(2), 1-36.
3. Tredinnick, R., Gill, E., Udelhoven, D., & Ponto, K. (2018). Virtual reality as an agent of preservation. In Forum Journal (Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 22-29). National Trust for Historic Preservation.
4. Kersten, T. P., Tschirschwitz, F., & Deggim, S. (2017). Development of a virtual museum including a 4D presentation of building history in virtual reality. The International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 42, 361. Available at Research Gate
5. Minyaev, I., Pouke, M., Ylipulli, J., & Ojala, T. (2018, November). Implementation of a Virtual Reality Interface for a Public Library. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (pp. 513-519).
6. Cassidy, C. A., Fabola, A. E., Miller, A. H. D., & Oliver, I. A. (2017). A digital museum infrastructure for preserving community collections from climate change. iLRN 2017 Coimbra. Available
7. Abdelmonem, M. G., Selim, G., Mushatat, S., & Almogren, A. (2017). Virtual platforms for heritage preservation in the Middle East: the case of medieval Cairo. International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR, 11(3), 28-41. Available

Optional: Meetup with instructor in Sinespace/Kitely:

Friday, 6/24/22, 10:00am-11:00am Pacific Time AND/OR

Saturday 6/25/22, 10:00am -11:00am Pacific Time

Discussion & Writing Assignment Due Date:

Monday, June 27, 2022

Core Comp H,J 

CLO 2

Final Project Due:

FRIDAY, 
July 8, 2022