Experiential Learning Through Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR)

Virtual field trip experiences for sustainability and environmental education.

Details

Project Status: Complete

Type of Project: Teaching + Learning

Timeline: August 2024 – June 2025

Background

This project explores the integration of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) site visits into sustainability and environmental education to reimagine how students engage with real-world systems, infrastructures, and ecological challenges. Using 360-degree media, spatial audio, 3D displays, and interactive digital design, the project creates virtual field trips that allow learners to explore sites that are otherwise logistically, financially, or environmentally inaccessible.

The IVR focuses on the Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF) at UBC Vancouver. An environment that situates students within complex systems where environmental, technical, social, and policy considerations intersect.

By combining immersive media with expert interviews and contextual information, the project emphasizes experiential learning, encouraging students to move beyond abstract concepts and into embodied, exploratory engagement. The modules are designed to be experienced collectively on Constellation’s curved virtual display wall or individually via VR headsets or the Canvas learning management system, extending their reach across campus and into the broader community.

Objective

The goal of this project is to transform sustainability and environmental education by integrating immersive virtual field trips into existing courses. The project introduces students to advanced digital storytelling and IVR workflows while strengthening their ability to critically analyze environmental systems, infrastructure, and decision-making processes.

Throughout the project, students will:

  • Engage with complex sustainability topics through immersive, interactive environments
  • Experience virtual field trips that complement and enhance course content
  • Develop critical thinking and applied knowledge by exploring real-world sites remotely
  • Benefit from accessible learning experiences that support diverse learning needs

The project culminates in an IVR module embedded into undergraduate courses and adapted as digital exhibits for community outreach and K–12 education.

Students will leave these courses having experienced how emerging digital technologies can meaningfully support experiential, inclusive, and interdisciplinary learning.

Team

Principal Investigator: Dr. Vikas Mengwhani, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

Students:

  • Anna Clare Danby (Media Capture)
  • Kailee Fawcett (Unity Developer)

Staff:

  • Jason R. Rako, People and Process Manager, E&WS Thermal Plants (Chief Engineer)
  • Joel Thiessen, Senior Emerging & Digital Media Specialist