Virtual Reality as a learning tool

Noteworthy Apps in VR Jan 2018

What’s going on at MIT

• Collaborative Learning Environments in VR https://education.mit.edu/portfolio_page/clevr

Overviews on VR

• “From Augmented to Virtual Learning: Affordances of Different Mixes of Reality for Learning” – Eric’s upcoming talk 1/25/18
• Clay Bavor, google’s vp of vr+ar, giving a display talk in june. One quote from it: “VR can take you anywhere. AR can bring anything to you. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IlADpD1fvuA

Tutorials

• First Contact – Oculus’ tutorial – nice design patterns and is a learning experience
  • https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1217155751659625/

Functionality/ Controls

• Dark Eclipse vr moba, interesting hand-drag control around the 1 minute mark https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=obR_tXOL4iQ&t=20s
• From AR to VR – Virtual Virtual Reality had a bit of that. There’s a scene where you’re in a kitchen with a vacuum cleaner and you can suck the walls away https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb1efNYhkGI

Cooperation

• Echo Arena – cool for collaboration and movement in 6 degrees of freedom in VR
  • https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1369078409873402/
• Star Trek Bridge Crew – nice cooperative work http://store.steampowered.com/app/527100/Star_Trek_Bridge_Crew/

Popular/ widely used

• Coco VR is interesting (haven’t played it) as a milestone in getting bigger brands interested in vr (disney pixar) in a transmedia way. It also has some nice social features
  • https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1707911292615524/
• Star Wars Droid Repair Bay looks pretty slick, including use of hands http://store.steampowered.com/app/726910/Star_Wars_Droid_Repair_Bay/

Creative / Art/ Music

• Oculus Medium is interesting for creating stuff https://www.oculus.com/medium/
• Tilt Brush – creating stuff  https://www.tiltbrush.com/
• MuX looks like a vr Makey Makey for music http://store.steampowered.com/app/673970/MuX/
• Comic creation https://www.roadtovr.com/fan-created-xkcd-vr-tool-lets-make-xkcd-style-webcomics-vr/
• “High Fidelity” – basically second life in vr. Create your own vr space and own it. https://www.roadtovr.com/new-high-fidelity-partnership-makes-easier-host-virtual-world/
• DJ in VR, Vinyl Reality https://www.roadtovr.com/vinyl-reality-lets-dj-vr-realistic-equipment-now-early-access/

Games of note

 

• Fallout 4 VR is potentially worth mentioning, if only because it may be the highest grossing VR game so far (unsure).

• http://store.steampowered.com/app/611660/Fallout_4_VR/

• https://www.roadtovr.com/valve-reveals-steams-top-selling-vr-games-in-2017/

 

Virtual field trips/ exploration

• Ark Park (coming 2018) is interesting as a virtual field trip to basically jurassic park. Also has an interesting AR in VR experience. Check the second video http://store.steampowered.com/app/529910/ARK_Park/
• VR learning company, made apollo 11 and titanic vr experiences http://immersivevreducation.com/

Virtual desktops

 

• Not quite ready for prime time, but interesting to keep an eye on. Here are a few https://www.roadtovr.com/virtual-reality-desktop-compared-oculus-rift-htc-vive/

 

Social interaction

• For pure social, Facebook Spaces is one to watch https://www.facebook.com/spaces

VR and robots

 

• https://www.roadtovr.com/toyotas-new-experimental-humanoid-robot-uses-htc-vive-remote-operation/

 

VR and Teacher education

• Mursion/ Teach Live! https://mursion.com/
• VR teacher training for shootings (Yikes!). Could be used by attackers, too, though. https://www.vrandfun.com/teachers-will-be-using-vr-active-shooting-simulations/