Explore Ancient Roman Landscape, Learn How Virtual Reality is Used in Wentworth’s Classrooms

Wentworth is known for front-line learning opportunities and its work in implementing VR (virtual reality) is growing by the week. To celebrate the success faculty have had in this area, a VR showcase will take place this Tuesday, Oct. 1 in the CEIS Atrium.

“Faculty at Wentworth will be sharing their stories and promoting the use of VR in teaching and learning. These are leaders in the field of VR,” said Donald Tracia from the Department of Learning Innovation and Technology.

Tracia added that the event is meant to bring various departments together and to explore the further potential of VR in the classroom.

Associate Professors Jody Gordon (Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences) and Anne-Catrin Schultz (Dept. of Architecture) will both share how they respectively introduced VR technology into teaching archeology and architectural history.

Featured will be a VR app entitled “Rome Reborn.” The program allows students to explore ancient Roman landscapes like the Colosseum in a fully 3-D, immersive environment.

Other professors will share their ideas of integrating VR technologies into the classroom of Interior Design and Construction Management.

Dan Schneider from Hewlett-Packard will speak on the development of VR from an industry perspective.

And everyone will have a chance to put on a VR headset to explore some compelling scenes, build an AR (augmented reality) sandbox and learn about VR projects Wentworth students have created with Accelerate and student clubs.

The event is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Learning Information and Technology.

--Yunjia Hou