Purdue University

The Emerging Technologies in Learning Design and Technology group in the College of Education, led by Victoria Lowell, and George Takahashi from the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC)’s Envision Center, are collaborating to offer a new three-part series of workshops this fall (Sept. 29, Nov. 3, and Dec. 1) designed to provide Purdue faculty and staff with hands-on experiences in extended reality (XR) technologies.

Extended reality is an inclusive term that describes immersive technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and VR/AR with AI.

The interactive sessions will build on one another, with participants provided time to learn and interact with the tools and speakers, with the intention of using the tools in their instructional practice to enhance their teaching and student’s learning.

The workshops this fall will be held in person in the Hall for Discovery and Learning Research, with an option for those who cannot attend in person to attend via Zoom.

A second companion series will run in the spring to assist faculty with the pedagogical process of developing instructional content integrating XR technologies.

Each of the session topics is described in more detail below. Participants should plan to attend the entire series.

• Session 1, “Introduction to X-Tended Reality for Enhancing Teaching and Learning,” on Friday, Sept. 29 from 12-3 p.m. This workshop will introduce XR technologies and their use for teaching and learning and cover topics such as “What XR technologies are out there? What are their differences? How are they used in formal education?” Participants will get a broad overview, including easy out-of-the-box solutions.
• Session 2, “Hands-On Exploration,” on Friday, Nov. 3 from 12-3 p.m. This workshop will explore many of the XR tools in greater depth. Attendees can interact with XR hardware and software and get hands-on with VR glasses, Merge Cube, and XR apps.
• Session 3, “XR Showcase,” on Friday, Dec. 1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. During this exciting, jampacked speaker session, participants will hear from instructors at Purdue and other universities already using XR technologies in their teaching. Participants will discover how faculty integrate these technologies into their classes with presentations and demonstrations.

Interested participants should register here. Space is limited, so please register as soon as possible.

The workshop series will continue in the spring semester, with additional XR instructional content for those who attended the fall sessions.

The Office of the Provost, Innovation Hub, the Envision Center, Innovative Learning, and the Purdue Teaching Academy are collaborating on this project. Victoria Lowell, clinical professor of Learning Design and Technology in the College of Education, will lead the series.

Questions about the workshops may be directed to vllowell@purdue.edu.