2017 LibTech Conference

The rapid advent in the technologies of augmented and virtual reality (VR) in the last several years and the surge down in price creates possibilities for application in education. A collaboration by a librarian and VR specialist is testing the opportunities to apply 360 degree movies and VR in academic library orientation. The team seeks to bank on the inheriting interest of Millennials toward these technologies and their inextricable part of a rapidly becoming traditional gaming environment.

The team relies on the constructivist theory of assisting students in building their knowledge in their own pace and on their own terms, rather than being lectured and guided by a librarian. Using inexpensive Google Cardboard goggles, students can explore a realistic set up of the actual library and familiarize themselves with its services. Students were polled on the effectiveness of such approach as well as on their inclination to entertain more comprehensive version of library orientation. Based on the lessons from this experiment, the team intends to pursue also a standardized approach to introducing VR to other campus services, thus bringing down further the cost of VR projects on campus.