A Cross-Disciplinary Course on Virtual Reality

Abstract

This Innovative Practice Work In Progress paper describes the author’s efforts to develop a cross-disciplinary undergraduate upper division and graduate level Virtual Reality (VR) course. Virtual Reality is a truly cross-disciplinary field that often involves Artists, Computer Scientists, Engineers, Psychologists, and others working together to build and evaluate computing experiences that immerse users in rich 3D virtual environments. Twenty-six undergraduate and graduate students from Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Education, Engineering Management, Media X, and Psychology completed the author’s course in the spring of 2018. The course was arranged into three units: applications, foundations, and evaluation. Throughout the term students worked in cross-disciplinary teams of two to three to build and evaluate a VR application. During the last week of the term students completed a questionnaire designed to assess the success of the author’s approach to the course. Results of the questionnaire suggest that while the author was successful in teaching students about the cross-disciplinary nature of VR, more could be done to support students as they learned to collaborate with teammates from other disciplines.