Bonus: Student's Perspective on VR
In this episode, we explore the student's perspective on the experience of learning in virtual reality with Temple alumni, Ashley Carespodi.
Show Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANDREW COLETTI: Hello.
Welcome to this bonus episode of The T in Teaching.
Last episode, we interviewed 2 professors
from the Fox School of Business about their experience
in teaching a financial course in virtual reality
and discussing the application of virtual reality
into online education.
In this episode, we wanted to get
an idea of a student's perspective
on learning in a virtual space.
So today, we're talking to Ashley Carespodi,
a graduate student of the Fox School of Business.
This interview was conducted by videographers from the online
and Digital Learning Department, Gabby Gutierrez and Thomas
Lennon.
To recap, students were mailed a VR headset named an Oculus
Quest and would then log into an application called Chimera.
Students will then spawn into a room
and see other participants, where
they discuss specific topics in the financial world.
The layout was to simulate a Harvard case study
room where the Professor would facilitate
questions and topics.
The structure of the class would be in Zoom
for the first half of class discussion
and then switch over to VR for the second half.
In total, the class would last about 115 minutes.
Thank you for listening, and please enjoy.
Take it away, Gabby.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So Ashley, what was it like switching between zoom and VR,
or the overall experience of being in a virtual classroom
outside of the normal Zoom format?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: I don't think the structure was bad,
switching back and forth.
I think maybe have lost a couple minutes in the transition,
but it wasn't bad.
And then I know some people had technical difficulties, which
I think we've probably lost some time there.
But overall, it wasn't too disruptive.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: Yeah, that's good.
Yeah.
With new technologies, there can be limitations, where--
how long do you actually stay in the headset
before user fatigue.
We know Zoom fatigue exists, where, especially in education,
students tend to lose their attention after a certain point
of the lecture--
so kind of managing that.
So I understand that's like the 30 minutes of VR
before the weight of the headset gets to you.
Yeah.
ASHLEY CARESPODI: It was a little difficult
to get used to at first, but not--
it didn't take too long,
GABBY GUTIERREZ: That's good, yeah.
Since this was your first time, what
was the training like as a student?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Yeah, the training, it was fine.
It was pretty easy to navigate.
To your point, though, I think being
able to utilize it further maybe,
whether it be within taking quizzes
or to view other content, to get a better idea versus just you
know watching videos on YouTube or reading articles,
I think if there was a way to encompass more learnings
outside of just the classroom 30-minute session, that
would be great as well.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: Yeah.
Were you familiar using a VR headset before the class?
Did you have some expectation of what the class was going to be?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: I didn't really have any.
I had Dr. G in the past and really enjoyed
his communication and open discussion forums
and just the way that he taught.
So I wanted to take the course, had no expectations,
never used a VR set before, so didn't really
know what I was getting myself into,
but was very interested because where else you really
get this opportunity to do so?
GABBY GUTIERREZ: Definitely.
THOMAS LENNON: Yeah, I mean, it sounds
like it was-- you had an easy time getting into it.
Did you have any other issues with the user experience,
the interface you were working with, both getting into VR
and once you were in VR?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Not at all.
I think the only thing that we touched on
this is being unable to log in when you're elsewhere
and don't have the set with you.
THOMAS LENNON: We have made for this, the VR courses, a web
version of a viewer, a browser window
that you can use to join the class.
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Oh, OK.
THOMAS LENNON: We've never distributed it to the class
because the point is to be the immersive thing.
But had you known that was available,
would you have joined from a remote location
without the goggles?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Sure.
I think that's a really good point
because I know I had missed one of the VR portions
because of that.
I know one of my friends had missed one because she moved,
and she had everything packed up.
So I think that would be great, especially given
life post-COVID or however you want to phrase it.
Everyone is so busy with work and traveling and getting
stuck places, essentially, because of travel
being a nightmare that I think it's definitely
a nice opportunity to still-- to not miss that portion of class
and being able to get on.
Even if- you can get on from Zoom
and still listen but not be able to see the background,
I think that would be fantastic because, to your point,
I missed that whole portion of that 30 minutes of the class.
THOMAS LENNON: Right.
Right.
And this is-- we should actually keep this in mind for next
time, again, we want--
it was more of a backup.
But technology fails sometimes.
You lose your connections or whatever.
So we should maybe, in the future,
make sure all the students have access to that
as well so you're not left out of a class.
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Yeah, and I think
even if you forget to charge it, it's a good option
to have a backup as well.
Maybe as long as it's communicated
with the professor, I don't think there
should be any points docked.
But maybe it's something that you can only--
an option to do once versus every week
because it kind of takes away from the experience anyways.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: How did your experience in VR
change the way you think or feel about online education,
especially what benefits were there of being a VR portion?
What do you see coming from that?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Yeah, I think 2 points--
the class was smaller, much smaller.
So I think that gave a really great opportunity
to get more opinions and have a more in-depth conversation
versus kind of bouncing all over to ensure
that everyone gets time to say what they have to say.
And then I also think that being in the VR world,
having the discussions, I think it was a little bit more
engaging.
I think being able to like have that classroom setting
and actually feel like you're in a classroom versus,
like I said, looking at just people on a screen--
plus, you can't look at your computer.
I mean you're looking into a headset.
So you're not really distracted by your cell phone
or what's happening out your window and things like that.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: In your opinion,
though, does the future of online learning involve VR?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: I think it gave us an--
I mean, it gave me an idea of what we were discussing.
And then you can kind of look ahead to see what was next
and prepare yourself for questions.
So I think that was definitely-- it helped focus.
But I think that the time that we had spent in there
was so limited that there's definitely more opportunity
to build on it.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: Yeah, yeah.
ASHLEY CARESPODI: But looking into different ways
to utilize the tool just outside of the 30 minutes
within the discussion platform would be helpful.
Being able to see, if it's a global class based
around global business, being able to see those environments
and how the ways of working are and maybe even understand
some of the struggles and disruptions that are dealt
with, because you're in a safe space,
but you can see things that maybe are not as safe.
So I think, to that capacity, I think
it would be really nice to do if there was an immersion course.
Or I know there's like Fox Without Borders,
things like that.
I think it would be really nice to utilize
a tool because you'll get a better understanding of what
the atmosphere looks like, what gestures may be, everything
from handshakes to what to say, what not to say,
what to expect, what to see.
I think that could definitely be helpful.
THOMAS LENNON: The experiential, the
being able to go someplace else through the magic of technology
and see some things, right?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Definitely.
THOMAS LENNON: Well, a follow up to that--
would you be interested or more interested
in synchronous VR sessions like you
had with the class, the lecture, or asynchronous content where
you might go and explore an environment
by yourself or as a solo kind of experience?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: I think all the above.
I don't think--
I mean, I guess doing it solo might
be less disruptive because you're not
looking around as much to see what everyone else is doing.
But then I also think it's--
I don't want to say entertaining,
but I think it is a little entertaining
to see what everyone else is doing as well
and to see what their reactions are
and how the whole tool kind of works with other avatars
as well.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: All right, yeah.
So going back to online education and everything,
compared to traditional styles of lecturing in a classroom,
would this setup be a benefit or kind of a distraction in them,
in a class, another class, if you
were to take another VR course?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: No, I don't think
so I think I think Dr. G does a really
good job on engaging people.
And I think, with a smaller classroom, it was able,
like I said, to have a more thorough conversation.
I don't think, necessarily, that VR should
be utilized for lectures.
I think it's much more beneficial to have
robust conversations and opinions.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: Did you ever see
VR being used in your current job or previous jobs before?
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Yeah, I've worked for Fever-Tree,
and I wasn't sure if you wanted me to mention that or not.
But 2 points that just made me think of your question--
I had worked for Brown-Forman in the past,
which is the supplier company that owns Jack Daniel's.
So we had brand ambassadors that had VR kits
that, when we would have events, bartenders or trade
or consumers were able to sit down,
and we could put on the headset.
And they could see the fresh water and the barrel room
and what the process is and the corn.
And I think we also had some kind of tools
that you could kind of spray scents.
So when you're going through the barrel room,
you could smell you know the aging whiskey,
and you can smell the corn, and you can smell the final product
and things like that and kind of hear everything as well.
So I think that really allows--
it really allows the customer or the trade
or the bartender to get behind it because they
have a better understanding versus just
looking at pictures online.
And then to that extent, in my current role,
we utilize different ingredients and resources
from around the world.
So I think being able to visualize and kind of almost
look like you're holding a Japanese yuzu or different
types of ginger or fresh Florida grapefruits
and getting an understanding of where these products
and resources and ingredients are coming from
and kind of seeing the forests and seeing the vines
and so on and so forth--
I think it could just go a long way.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: Yeah, thank you, Ashley.
Thank you for taking the time to hopping on a Zoom call
with us to talk more about your experience in this class.
ASHLEY CARESPODI: Thank you.
It was great meeting you both.
And if you need anything else, please let me know.
GABBY GUTIERREZ: Yeah.
We really try in this podcast to hear
about different perspective of education,
especially online education, here in this podcast.
And for anyone that would want to discuss more
about VR in our podcast or even online education,
please feel free to reach out to the online and Digital Learning
Department here at the Fox School of Business.
Thank you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
