Virtual Reality Facilitates Creative Learning in Art Therapy Classroom

In the span of one class session, Professor Joyce Yip Green'smarital and family therapy students explored a desert oasis, magical forest, and intimate campfire setting. This was all made possible through a collaboration with the Office of Online Learning (OOL) and the utilization of immersive Victory XR virtual reality (VR) technology. Green was the recipient of a 2023 Academic Technology Grant, which helps faculty integrate substantial technological advancements into course development.

Over the course of the last academic year, Green incorporated VR technology in two of her courses. For her fall 2023 course on psychological testing and assessment, Green's students explored virtual environments and drawing tools in the metaverse. Students were provided with Oculus headsets and encouraged to create artwork in the virtual environments.

Green cites flexibility and adaptability as key components for having a successful classroom experience with VR, especially because learning to move in VR is a fundamentally different way of experiencing space and place.

"How we move and maneuver in VR is really different than in real space. It takes guidance," said Green. "I can't stress enough how crucial it was to have our instructional design team on board. We met together to plan, anticipate pitfalls, and on the day of the class, they were on hand to help with technical assistance, which was extremely helpful."

As part of her grant work, Green was joined in the classroom by OOL Multimedia Specialist Thi Nguyen and Senior Instructional Designer Nick Somsavanh, who have both completed extensive Victory XR training and are certified virtual reality instructors. Nguyen notes that for those who have never used VR before, there may be some initial discomfort as well as connectivity issues.

"However, we worked closely as a team, collaborating with Joyce, Nick, and our manager, Jeff Schwartz, to resolve these issues," said Nguyen. "We replaced faulty equipment, communicated regularly with students to troubleshoot problems, and held debriefing meetings to plan for smoother future sessions."

Because of the support offered by OOL, when the spring 2024 semester rolled around, Green felt herself much more prepared to explore all the pedagogical benefits of VR with her telehealth and contemporary art therapy class, many of whom had been in her psychological assessment class and were already familiar with Oculus headsets and Victory XR.

This time, Green had her students occupy a larger space in the metaverse and split them up into small groups to work on creating different clinical environments. This became a collaborative and highly creative process, with groups playing around and taking full advantage of VR technology.

"The biggest highlight for me was being in the VR sessions with the classes and seeing how the students were using the environments and interacting with each other," said Somsavanh. "It was nice to hear kids still be kids and geek out on tech with their friends. I could tell from the excitement in their voices and the things that they were doing in VR that they were genuinely engaged."

The playful and creative atmosphere of the VR sessions allowed Green's students to experiment with creating interesting environments for clinical settings. Some groups created a desert oasis setting, complete with foliage and tea to put clients at ease in the virtual space. Another group created a cozy campfire for clients to gather around. Green sees VR as an important tool for making therapy more accessible.

"[VR] could be applied in a clinical setting especially for clients who are either immobile or aren't able to travel to an office," said Green. "Some of the ideas that students had was that the VR environment could help clients imagine or express themselves in a creative immersive space because in the metaverse, you can upload anything, you can travel to anywhere you can imagine, and I think that could really help clients."

For those who would like to incorporate VR into their classrooms, the Office of Online Learning and the Instructional Technology team remain a valuable resource.

"The experiential and interactive nature of virtual reality makes it a wonderful platform for teaching and learning," said Jeff Schwartz, senior director of Digital Learning and Innovation at the Office of Online Learning. "For faculty who are looking to augment classroom conversations via independent activities and simulations or those who wish to develop community in ways that video conferencing sometimes falls short, VR undoubtedly provides instructors with new avenues to explore."

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