The University of Wisconsin-Parkside announced a new partnership with VictoryXR which will lead the university into the virtual reality education metaverse space. UW-Parkside is joining an elite and rapidly growing group of universities who are creating a digital replication, or digital-twin, of the university’s physical classrooms, buildings, and areas. This metaversity allows UW-Parkside to add more simulators and remote instruction with hands-on learning. UW-Parkside will launch the first virtual reality (VR) metaverse campus teaching model course in the fall, Introduction to Smart Cities, using the VR technology.
VictoryXR provides immersive virtual reality learning opportunities allowing students to interact in a synchronous yet virtual environment. The company trains educators and gives them 3D objects (more than 6,000 and growing) to teach a variety of subjects. VictoryXR’s partnership with Meta, launched 10 metaversity campuses across the U.S. in the fall of 2022.
Peggy James, Interim Director of the Center for Research in Innovation and Smart Cities (CRISC) at UW-Parkside, said “Our long-term goal is to create a digital twin of the UW-Parkside campus, which will be identical to spaces at the University. Digital twins provide immersive learning for students who can’t experience the real campus, or they can enhance the learning by introducing opportunities that are more impactful in a VR environment. Access and inclusivity, a central mission to UW-Parkside, can also be increased.” Immersive training opportunities and experiences will be offered in the coming months for the university’s faculty to prepare for introducing VR into their classrooms.
VictoryXR awarded UW-Parkside with a grant to implement the new program which included 25 VR headsets, and accompanying educational software. The initial phase of the partnership will brand 10 unique learning spaces to be used by instructors for classes, discussions, and presentations. “Metaversities open up immersive, 3D classrooms to students who are learning in virtual reality. Even more, it enables students and professors to be together on a simulated campus in a group setting so they can learn-by-doing” said VictoryXR CEO, Steve Grubbs, commenting on the success of metaversities to this point.
Visit https://www.uwp.edu/connect/businessandcommunity/CRISC/ertechnology.cfm for more information.
The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is committed to high-quality educational programs, creative and scholarly activities, and services responsive to its diverse student population, and its local, national, and global communities. We are a dynamic learning community grounded in academic excellence and focused on student success, diversity, inclusion, and community engagement. The campus serves as a premier comprehensive public institution and a destination of choice, serving as a focal point of local, regional, and global progress.
Written by UW-Parkside University Relations
Link to original story: https://www.uwp.edu/explore/news/victoryxr-metaversity-partnership.cfm