Spatial Computing Tech Gives Students Real-World Experience in Virtual Environments

Southern Methodist University Focuses on the Future of VR Tech

At Southern Methodist University, the Center for VR Learning Innovation provides infrastructure — including more than 100 headsets — to support interdisciplinary research in AR, VR and game-based learning. Candace Walkington, an education professor, uses the technology in her work with K–12 math teachers in Dallas, providing them with immersive experiences in both pedagogy and their content areas.

Walkington’s students use Microsoft HoloLens headsets to learn about geometry in three dimensions, rendering geometric shapes in a virtual space and then collaboratively interacting with and manipulating those shapes. They also use Quest 2 headsets to simulate real-world scenarios, such as stopping a train or responding to a pandemic, that call for applied mathematics.

“It was really when the hand-tracking capabilities came out for these platforms that I felt like it was time,” Walkington says. “Being able to control things with your hands allows you to gain an embodied experience of the mathematics and what it means in a way that just clicking with a mouse or a keyboard does not.”

Although some see VR headsets as an isolating technology, Walkington prefers experiences that give students the chance to work together. “All of the applications that we design at SMU are meant to be collaborative,” she says. “That’s something that really resonates with the teachers. They can experiment together, and it generates conversations.”

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SMU created the Center for VR Learning Innovation in 2020 after winning $2.3 million from an XPRIZE competition, and the center specifically aims to advance education, health and human development.

“Our center is focused on leveraging the latest and greatest features and capabilities of commercial extended reality technology,” says Anthony Cuevas, director of the center. “We’re not necessarily developing new technology, but we’re using these technologies in innovative ways.”

Cuevas says the center has collaborated with faculty across departments, including art and world languages, to offer experiences such as virtual field trips. He likens VR to the way computer labs were once used, giving instructors the ability to bring advanced technology to students when a project or learning experience calls for it. Although Cuevas doesn’t necessarily see VR headsets becoming everyday computing devices the way PCs eventually did, he says that educators are nowhere near unlocking the full potential of the technology.

“We’re focused on the future and what features and functionalities these commercial technologies will provide to help students learn more effectively,” Cuevas says. “Over the past few years, we went from being able to manipulate things with controllers to being able to manipulate things in the environment with our hands, which changed things dramatically from a learning perspective. Now, being able to collaborate is changing things. The opportunity is in looking ahead and thinking about what’s coming next.”