Robert Stephan, Aviva Doery, Caleb SimmonsPlease use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"
<p>In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a powerful technology with the potential to impact higher education. This paper examines the use of VR as a teaching tool in college classrooms, with a specific focus on its ability to provide previously inaccessible archaeological experiences to students. By immersing students in virtual environments, educators can potentially overcome geographical, financial, and logistical constraints, allowing students to explore the world and its diverse cultures without leaving their home learning environment. Providing these opportunities also uses technology to make the benefits of study abroad more accessible and inclusive, a core driver of this project. The paper begins with a broad overview of the challenges and opportunities afforded by using immersive technologies in the college classroom, discussing both the theoretical foundations supporting the incorporation of VR as an educational tool and the current constraints of university-level online education programs. The paper then presents a methodology for producing an immersive educational experience using 360-video, discussing the practical logistics of filming as well as the evidence-based research underlying the course’s pedagogical choices. The course, called the “Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece,” will run for the first time next year, at which point data will be gathered regarding student experience and learning outcomes. Overall, this paper contributes to, and provides a framework for, the ongoing discourse on leveraging VR technology to provide a more inclusive educational experience for students of archaeology.</p>
virtual reality, pedagogy, online teaching, higher education, archaeology
Antiquity, Classic, Europe, Mediterranean, Theoretical archaeology
Luigi Magnini, luigi.magnini@unive.it, Thomas Keep, thomas.j.keep@gmail.com, Mike Yeates, mike.yeates@monash.edu , Thomas Chandler, thomas.chandler@monash.edu, Aleksandra Michalewicz, aleksm@unimelb.edu.au, Thomas Keep suggested: Calum Farrar: calumfarrar@gmail.com , Thomas Keep suggested: Thomas Chandler: Tom.Chandler@monash.edu
e.g. John Doe john@doe.com
No need for them to be recommenders of PCIArchaeology. Please do not suggest reviewers for whom there might be a conflict of interest. Reviewers are not allowed to review preprints written by close colleagues (with whom they have published in the last four years, with whom they have received joint funding in the last four years, or with whom they are currently writing a manuscript, or submitting a grant proposal), or by family members, friends, or anyone for whom bias might affect the nature of the review - see the code of conduct
