The focus of the interview with Professor Walsh is of course the Immersive Education program and his work at B.C. It provided interesting insight into the thought process that the IE group went through to choose the different worlds and programs we've been using as well as some of the advantages and challenges of immersive education in general.
Until relatively recently, it would have been very difficult for this class to work since many students wouldn't necessarily have access to a computer or internet access that would be able to consistently support all of the platforms we have used. The support for such a class would have been practically impossible, especially given the fact that the class doesn't meet in person or with a traditional scheduled time either.
Another challenge was trying to figure out the most effective way for students to be presented the information they needed for the class. There is a delicate balance between trying to cram everything into a virtual world because it would be neat to have it all in one place and the usefulness of having it there.
Also highlighted is that the Immersive Education program isn't just about building an engaging virtual world to have a class in, but just as much about the methodology of teaching in a virtual space and creating the best "classroom" that makes the most sense for the materials. In the past year or two, schools of all types all over the world are jumping into various levels of online education, but most schools are not spending the time to actual think about theory and best-practices. The IE program works to connect schools together that may not individually have the resources to study this, but can possibly collectively work together to do so and find the tools that will be most accessible.
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