Supporting Virtual Reality Pedagogical Initiatives across Harvard

Awardees: Susan Berstler, Rus Gant, Nicole Mills (FAS)

Summary: Awardees will provide virtual reality (VR) equipment, software, and staff training for initiating and supporting innovative VR pedagogical initiatives at the Cabot Science Library VR studio.

Expanding the work of a previous HILT Grant, “Virtual reality narratives in foreign language pedagogy,” awardees from various departments and roles within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will collaborate to form an initiative that will create shared access to virtual reality (VR) equipment, software, and support staff training for innovative VR pedagogical projects across Harvard’s Schools.

The goals are to pilot a system of trained staff and technology to seed experimentation in the field of experiential and immersive learning, and to support student and faculty projects outside or inside of the classroom. By the end of the grant cycle, they aim to provide robust training to library staff, establish a curated library of 360 VR-related films for the Harvard community, and host a showcase event to promote the work and offerings of the VR studio.