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MAVR SIG Forum 2022
Sunday, November 13th
13:40 to 15:10
MIxed, Augmented, and Virtual Realities in Learning Research Group is holding a forum to showcase and highlight some of our members’ research, projects, software developments, and activities.
We will be broadcasting from WebVR to the world on several platforms online, including Zoom and Live participants of JALT2022.
Here are some of the talks you can expect to hear.
Eric Hawkinson - Kyoto University of Foreign Studies - ‘The State of MAVR Research’
Amany Alkhayat - Columbia University - Activities and Communities in XR Research
Nicholas J. Wilson - AtoZ Corp. Public Education - Overcoming the Distance: Students’ Collaborating in the Metaverse
Yukie Saito - Chuo University - VR Projects and Possibilities of Using VR for English Education
These short talks will be followed by a discussion roundtable with all MAVRs in VR. We are looking forward to seeing you in this session.
Nicholas J. Wilson
AtoZ Corp. Public Education Department
BIO
BIO
Nicholas J. Wilson is a public school English teacher and curriculum developer. He is a Google for Education Certified Innovator, Adobe Creative Educator, and a member of the local board of education’s Digital Transformation Committee. He is also an active JALT officer involved in planning and coordinating regional and national conferences, and the founder of ALT Agorà, an initiative designed for Assistant Language Teachers.
TITLE
TITLE
Overcoming the Distance: Students’ Collaborating in the Metaverse
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
In this forum talk, I will begin by sharing details about a project I have conducted involving students from different schools working together inside a virtual classroom to complete a project. After pointing out the benefits and challenges experienced by both students and educators, I will open the floor for discussions on the current situation of virtual realities in Japan and on ways educators can embrace the opportunities these platforms can offer.
Yukie Saito
Chuo University
BIO
BIO
Yukie Saito obtained a MA in TESOL from Teachers College Columbia University and a Ph.D. in education from Temple University. She is an associate professor at the Faculty of Global Informatics of Chuo University in Japan. She coordinates an English course for first-year students and study abroad programs and is in charge of a seminar focusing on EdTech and its application to English education. She has been interested in pragmatics, English teachers’ cognition and classroom practice, CEFR, and EdTech. Her main interest is the application of Virtual Reality (VR) in English education. Her research about VR led to her obtaining support from the XR Fund Project by Meta, and she is also an advisor of Immerse, a VR software company.
SESSION TITLE
SESSION TITLE
VR Projects and Possibilities of Using VR for English Education
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
In this presentation, I will talk about three VR projects that have been conducted since 2019. In the first project, eight students in my seminar took VR English lessons offered by native English teachers using a VR platform, Immerse. My students felt less anxious about speaking English after the VR lessons, and they were also so “immersed” in the VR English lessons that I could see the potential of using VR for English education. The second project was a VR collaborative project where third-year students who had experienced the VR English lessons prepared and taught VR English lessons to second-year students. The project was based on the revised Bloom’s taxonomy, and its objective was to have them understand the possibility of integrating VR into English education through experiencing teaching using VR, to promote collaborative work among the students, and to support their own and other students’ language learning. My last VR project was to introduce VR public speaking lessons before a two-week online study abroad program. After IT-related lectures as a pre-program, I offered VR lessons focusing on public speaking skills using the same VR platform to prepare online public speaking lessons in the main program. Overall, the students perceived that they could improve their public speaking skills through the VR lessons. In addition to the outline of the three projects, I will share the results of the projects based on the collected data. At the end of the presentation, I will present ongoing projects using VR for English teaching and learning and future directions of VR projects and research.
Amany Alkhayat
Columbia University PhD Candidate
BIO
BIO
Amany is an educator, researcher, Voice User Interface designer, author, and teacher trainer. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in the Instructional Technology and Media program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She’s also the Social committee Chair at the Immersive Learning Research Network. She founded the VirtuaTELL conference at NYS TESOL in 2021 that brings together educators, practitioners, researchers, and passionate enthusiasts to work together to integrate emerging technologies into education. Her research interests include conversational AI, VR for education, immersive storytelling, and intelligent NFTs.
SESSION TITLE
SESSION TITLE
Activities and Communities in XR Research.
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
As the number of researchers around immersive learning and tangential fields grows, so does the number of groups, events, and activities you can join. This presentation will introduce collaborative projects and activities between a few groups based in North America.
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