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The teaching project ‘Collaborative Learning and Working in Virtual Reality’ was accompanied on social media. Here you will find a selection of the corresponding videos and a review.

Review of the seminar: Collaborative learning and working in virtual reality

A conversation with Rahel Jäkel and Ramin Siegmund, who designed and led an innovative seminar on collaborative learning with virtual reality. In this video, the two speakers look back and discuss what they learned from designing the seminar.

VR headsets in use – collaborative learning in teaching

In the winter semester of 2024/25, our colleagues from the Marburg Lab for Innovative Teaching accompanied an exciting course in educational sciences on the topic of ‘Collaborative Learning and Working in Virtual Reality’. Together with lecturer Rahel Jäkel, the students were introduced to the world of VR not only theoretically but also practically.
Over the course of the semester, the students received their own VR headsets, learned how to use them and took part in a workshop that took place entirely in the virtual world.

Challenges in planning VR workshops

It started with the question of how to best design VR courses in a way that is both didactically meaningful and technically feasible.
One important point, for example, is that after 30 minutes in VR, a break of at least 15 minutes should be scheduled. These short breaks are essential to avoid overload and maintain student concentration. But how can these points be skilfully incorporated into the seminar schedule without interrupting the flow of learning?

Presentation of the VR headsets

In the winter semester of 2024/25, the Pico 4 Enterprise Edition was used – a stand-alone head-mounted display that does not require a high-performance computer. Everything is built directly into the headset.
Perfect for teaching and collaborative work: lightweight, uncomplicated and powerful enough for our VR applications.

VR in the seminar

What is behind VR in the seminar? This video touches on the three big I's of virtual reality: What do these terms mean and how do they help us understand VR in terms of definition? In the seminar, the students also immersed themselves in virtual worlds.

Introducing MeetInVR

Virtual meetings reimagined?! In this seminar, MeetInVR was used to test immersive, interactive workshops and meetings in a VR environment. With space for up to 32 participants, whiteboards, 3D mind maps, data exchange and individual avatars, it is ideal for dynamic teamwork and digital teaching. This is the promise that was put to the test by education students at the University of Marburg.

Student onboarding

Here is a brief insight into the student onboarding process for the seminar: The first steps with VR headsets are challenging for many – good support is required to ensure a successful entry into the virtual world.

3 apps to get started with VR

Experiencing virtual reality for the first time is a special experience and requires good preparation! Here are our top 3 non-educational apps for experiencing VR in a straightforward way – perfect for anyone who wants to get started with virtual reality.

Wi-Fi connection for VR headsets

Halfway through the semester, students were given VR headsets so they could take part in two VR workshops from home. Important: the headsets needed a stable Wi-Fi connection. But what if the Wi-Fi at home wasn't good enough? Rooms were provided in the University Library's media centre, where reliable Wi-Fi was available.

6 Learning worlds of VR

According to Schwan & Buder (2006), the advantage of VR is that learners can navigate the virtual environment independently. Changing perspectives, exploring objects interactively or interacting with virtual people – this creates space for deep, active learning.
There are now six different VR learning worlds (cf. Mulders & Buchner 2020, Wölfel 2023), each offering specific opportunities for action and learning. Perfect for taking learning to new dimensions!

Introduction to didactic learning environments in VR

If you want to implement virtual reality in your own teaching, it makes sense to give sufficient thought to which type of interaction is suitable for your teaching and learning goals. Depending on the VR application, the type of interaction and
thus also the learning process can vary. Each of these learning environments uses different learning-related options for action, which may or may not be available to learners in the virtual world.

Insights into the MeetInVR meeting

Together with the students, our colleagues from the Marburg Lab explored the possibilities of collaborative work in virtual reality in MeetInVR as part of the seminar ‘Collaborative Learning in Virtual Reality’.