A New Roman World: Using Virtual Reality Technology as a Critical Teaching Tool

The purpose of this study is to examine how technology, namely virtual reality (VR), can be developed as a critical pedagogical tool. More specifically, the study explores whether the use of VR can challenge the traditional lecture format and make the classroom a more student-centered environment. In this instance, VR is defined as a set of multisensory, threedimensional images generated by computer software, with which students can interact in real time. This study offers a theoretical grounding that examines how course instructors for one architectural history course used VR to present a more critical perspective about the Roman era and its urban design. This qualitative case study investigates one attempt to use VR technology as a way to re-conceptualize architectural history and create a more student-centered curriculum. The research question asks: How can VR technology be utilized to improve pedagogical practice? Student focus group protocol; professor interview protocol; and teaching assistant interview protocol are appended. (Contains 26 references.) (AEF) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. A New Roman World: Using Virtual Reality Technology as a Critical Teaching Tool Elaine W. Kuo Marc R. Levis Office of Undergraduate Evaluation and Research College of Letters and Science University of California, Los Angeles Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association New Orleans, Louisiana April 3, 2002 Before quoting any portion of this paper, please obtain permission from the authors. Comments are welcome and can be sent to: Elaine W. Kuo UCLA Office of Undergraduate Evaluation and Research A-265 Murphy Hall Box 951571 Los Angeles, California 90095-1571 Email: ekuo@college.ucla.edu Phone: 310.794.7862 Fax: 310.206.2175 BEST COPY AVM. LE c) 1 6 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY