Virtual Reality is the next big step forward in educational environment and has a great impact on the process of learning! The CONNECT University Spring Session on "Create your own learning environment by using Virtual Reality" aims to look into the next generation of learning, where VR can simulate real-world environments and enable experimental learning. VR is highly enhancing education experience, allowing students to prepare for the future and for revolutionizing the process of acquiring knowledge. Studies have shown that students are responding positively to active engagement. By navigating the world from your desk, to creating your own content, Virtual Reality is bringing learning to life and has the potential to remodel the way humans absorb information, impacting in the same time the workforce of the future.
Jan has since September 2014 been an internationally recognised driver of reimagining science education through virtual learning environments. 27 years of experience in partnership development and multi-disciplinary collaboration towards effective social, health and education policies. Has transcended management positions in British and Danish government agencies, local authorities, regeneration partnerships and NGOs, driving transformational change programmes together with successful fundraising and impact investment benefitting young people, families and their communities from international through to local level. Currently expanding and strengthening Strategic Development as a core growth generator for Labster. Regional development specialist linked to EU, UNESCO, UNHCR and OECD. Has since 2015 set up projects and partnerships to increase equality of access to STEM education for girls and communities with poor access to science and IT facilities. Global technology evangelist through powerful delivery of keynote speeches and participates in public debate panels across the world about virtual reality in education, digital skills, learning, innovation, entrepreneurship and Industrial Revolution 4.0. Has through Labster won QS Stars Award for Reimagining Education (2016), Danish Design Award for Better Learning (2016), Best Technology Enhanced Learning product in the European Union (2015).
As the Director for Digital Learning at The New School, Maya leads innovation in the design of digital learning and VR, AR, and Mixed Reality initiatives. She works to engage the community and provide strategic leadership in creating an institutional culture and capacity for innovative design with emerging technologies. Maya works closely with the CIO, the Vice Provost for Curriculum and Learning, university academic groups and faculty in the design and evaluation of new digital learning initiatives.
At the XReality Center, a new research center at The New School with the purpose to advance the study and design of emerging technologies in the field of virtual, augmented, and mixed realities, Maya leads in the areas of Immersive Learning and Research. She is working with faculty across the five colleges, Parsons School of Design, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, the College of Performing Arts, The New School for Social Research and the Schools of Public Engagement.
As a Futurist, EdTech strategist, author, and speaker with more than 15 years of experience in global education Maya's most recent research and work focuses on new learning models and the future of education, immersive Virtual and Augmented Reality experiences, AI and digital learning Strategy. Maya is the co-founder of the award-winning website Digital Bodies, a research and consulting group focusing on the impact of immersive technologies on education and society.
She has written on the future of immersive education and facilitated master classes and talks on Immersive Storytelling, VR/AR/MR and New Media Narratives, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at major conferences, university and corporate campuses. Maya is the co-author of the popular EDUCAUSE ELI series VR & AR: Stepping into the New Frontier of Learning. Her work has been featured at EDUCAUSE, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), SXSWedu, New Media Consortium (NMC), Online Learning Consortium (OLC), EdMEDIA, Education Advisory Board (EAB), GMAC, AACSB, Google, Intel Engage Education, Campus Technology Magazine, Edsurge and Edutopia among others. Maya is the recipient of the Campus Technology Education Futurist Award.
Maya has a Master of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University in New York.
As an engineer with a strong expertise in WebVR, Fabien has anchored himself within the Mozilla Aframe commmunity. He is dedicated to finding the most efficient interfaces for creating, distributing and viewing VR/AR content on the Web.
For last three years, he has concentrated his attention to building custom VR experiences for startups as well as for Fortune 500 companies, gaining strong experience and expertise in the WebXR segment.
Fabien is technical co-founder at Lucidweb, aiming to make it easy for everyone to get into the VR mode.
Oculus LIVE DEMO
Oculus Education is sponsoring research at several institutions to explore how VR enhances learning, beginning with studies at Cornell, MIT, and Yale. These projects will develop a range of VR experiences—from manipulating the inside of a cell in a high school biology class, to training doctors and health care professionals, to collaborating inside a virtual classroom—and measure their impact on engagement, retention, and application in real-world settings. Beyond this, VR helps to close these gaps by bringing experiences directly to students, fostering an excitement to learn and see the world, allowing all to walk the halls of the US Capitol or visit the Colosseum in Rome.Oculus wants to continue unlocking the educational superpowers of VR and also ensure that the most effective experiences can be available to everyone.
The key finding of a recent study by Ecorys (and commissioned by the GVRA), projects that by 2020 the production value of VR and AR will increase up to €34 billion in Europe and create up to 480,000 direct and indirect new jobs across the continent.
Which digital technologies can greatly improve learning experience? And will the classroom of the future be based on VR?
How can we leverage the unique features of VR to improve learning outcomes?