Prof. Derek Gransden found the solution through the Experiential Learning Hub‘s custom sim rig flight simulator.

In his fourth-year aerospace engineering course, Gransden faced the challenge of translating complex systems design theory into a practical, real-world context for a large class. He needed a way to introduce core concepts to his students, such as cockpit situational awareness, crew and resource management, and avionics.

Having a pilot’s license, Gransden tested the simulator and found that it did a good job of matching the stressors of piloting and could give students hands-on experience with the core course concepts.

Photo by Greg Allison

The Flight Simulator: A Hands-On Solution

The pedagogical strategy for using the simulator was to provide students with “flight” experience, encourage collaboration in a co-piloting scenario and invite them to problem-solve collaboratively.

“Students were thrown into a situation where they had to control the aircraft with little advanced knowledge, apart from some guides on how to fly with the controls given and some training videos,” says Gransden.

Pairs of students were tasked with performing flight manoeuvring exercises standard in a Transport Canada-approved flight test, such as taking off, performing turns and even stalling (and recovering) the aircraft.

Students were designated roles as pilot and co-pilot and worked together to ensure the aircraft and crew performed the required manoeuvres. They monitored avionics instruments, such as airspeed, vertical speed and heading indicators, effectively stressing the critical importance of excellent communication and cockpit situational awareness in high-pressure scenario.

The team at the Experiential Learning Hub was there to support the project through consultations with Gransden along the way and helping students with any technical difficulties during the flight experiences.

Photo by Greg Allison

Overwhelmingly Positive Outcomes

“Students have been challenging the mechanical and aerospace engineering department to include more experiential learning, particularly in the aerospace stream,” Gransden says.

This project seemed to hit the mark. Gransden says the student response was overwhelmingly positive, with many students thanking him for the opportunity.

“I have even had students tell me that they were going to get their pilot’s licence after the experience,” he says. “Most students don’t have a pilot’s licence and would not get this kind of experience without expensive discovery flights or renting a pilot.”

By leveraging the Experiential Learning Hub to implement this experience, Gransden was able to move beyond textbook examples and give students the chance to practice applying their skills, making their learning immediately ready for their resume and conversations with employers.

Do you have a��teaching dilemma that immersive technology could solve? Come talk to us about incorporating experiential learning into your course!��Fill out��a����or email��elh@carleton.ca.

The Indigenous Virtual Learning Space is an innovative collection of immersive and virtual reality (VR) experiences. They provide students the opportunity to engage with the Haudenosaunee worldview and cultural practices when in-person field trips are not possible. These experiences can be used across various disciplines and courses, providing an Indigenous perspective on a range of topics, including biology, waterways, language, Longhouse structures and cultural artifacts, as well as family and social structures.

Both experiences will be supported by a curated collection of pedagogical resources, including suggested readings, activities and discussion guides, similar to the Collaborative Indigenous Learning Bundles. These resources are set to launch in early October.

We are currently seeking instructors to pilot one of these experiences in their fall or winter classes:

Tsi tewateriweiastáhkwa (a place where we learn)

This 3D VR Longhouse experience offers students an immersive, interactive learning opportunity. Learners wander and learn within a virtual Haudenosaunee environment. Guided by the instructor, learners engage with natural and cultural elements in a Seneca Longhouse and surrounding landscape. By clicking on objects, they learn about Indigenous knowledge and language. to learn more about the project and its teaching applications.

wa’ötši’gwa:to’ (she dropped in for a short while)

A 360-degree cinematic Longhouse experience surrounds students with the sights and sounds of Seneca land. They are welcomed as visitors with a ceremony at the edge of the forest and then invited into the Longhouse village. It is a powerful and low-tech entry point into VR, which can serve as a valuable conversation starter for in-class discussions and assignments. and imagine transporting your students to this engaging journey.

Book Your Consultation with the Experiential Learning Hub

If you are interested in trying out an Indigenous Virtual Learning Space experience or have questions about how to integrate them into your course, please .

Dyer spoke with Dr. Kahente Horn-Miller, Associate Vice President of Indigenous Teaching, Learning, and Research, about William and how best to pedagogically engage with such an immersive experience on a sensitive subject. They decided to organize a discussion around the piece with the students after the viewing and invited the filmmakers and staff from TLS to attend.����

The creators of William, director Sonia Bonspille Boileau (Kanienkeha:ka) and producer Jason Brennan (Algonquin), joined the discussion with the students after the viewing. “It is a huge advantage to discuss works of art with the makers, and students always get a lot out of this, but it seemed especially beneficial to have the opportunity to have Jason and Sonia there to discuss William since it deals with such sensitive and complex, but important, issues,” commented Dyer.

The conversation highlighted the responsibilities that come with such powerful storytelling, as Boileau shared her personal connection to the subject matter, drawing from her grandfather’s experiences as a residential school survivor.����

TLS’s team members, Greg Allison and Hasi Eldib attended the discussion with others from the TLS Digital Learning New Media team. Greg and Hasi, along with several other staff members on the TLS New Media team, are working on XR Media Production projects, including 360 films inspired by pieces like William. Eldib shares, “Meeting Jason and Sonia and hearing about their production of William was affirming in many ways, especially in showing that even with more resources, the core principles of storytelling remain the priority.”��

Dyer emphasized the importance of using innovative media in education. “I usually include a VR piece to give students a broader sense of work being done in different media,” he said, “and this semester’s choice of William allowed his students to engage deeply with the material and its historical context.��

Student feedback on the experience has been positive, says Dyer, “Students appreciated the opportunity to view the VR piece and expressed their gratitude for the chance to engage with the creators directly.”��

The immersive nature of VR offers a unique learning experience. “VR attempts to provide a more immersive experience than traditional film,” Dyer explained, noting its potential to enhance understanding of Indigenous perspectives on technology and storytelling.��

The integration of VR enriches the curriculum and fosters a deeper understanding of Indigenous narratives. “This is about raising awareness and honouring the storytellers’ perspectives,” Dyer concluded.��

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Interactive Media and Design student Bella MacCulloch. Photo by Bryan Gagnon

Bella MacCulloch, a third-year co-op student in the Interactive Media and Design (IMD) program is helping the Experiential Learning Hub (ELH) make strides in exploring the development of virtual reality experiences for teaching and learning purposes.��

As part of her co-op placement at the ELH, Bella is crafting a Biochemistry virtual reality experience that makes the invisible, visible.” We are trying to��test whether or not VR may help students understand processes in photosynthesis that happen at a scale not normally visible to the human eye,” says Bella.

While the ELH primarily focuses on supporting instructors and students using��existing��VR experiences, Bella has been helping the ELH team better understand what is involved in the development of VR experiences and what an IMD student might be able to support for a small development project in collaboration with an instructor. Her wealth of technical knowledge, enthusiasm for VR development, and student perspective have been invaluable to the ELH team.

Bella, who boasts a robust background in visual arts from Canterbury High School and is currently excelling in �Ӱ�ԭ��’s program, has faced the typical challenges of XR design. She notes that while XR offers promising enhancements in user interaction, translating these possibilities into a seamless, immersive experience remains challenging due to the current technological limitations and user familiarity.

Bella says the key is finding that sweet spot where the user feels both guided and in control:

“It’s about striking the right balance between guiding the user and allowing them to feel a sense of agency within the virtual world.”

The project has been a valuable learning experience for Bella, especially around collaboration. Initially tackling the design, coding, and asset creation single-handedly, she soon realized the benefits of seeking assistance. The support from the seasoned professionals at ELH has been instrumental, underscoring the importance of teamwork and mentorship in achieving high-quality results.

Interactive Media and Design student Bella MacCulloch at the computer. Photo by Bryan Gagnon.

Looking ahead, she is enthusiastic about her future career possibilities. While she remains open to various tech roles, Bella says, “It has been my dream since I was a kid to make a video game, so at some point, I would like to work for a video game company.”

As Bella continues to develop her skills and gain experience, she is well-positioned to make a significant impact in the world of digital design and interactive media. Her dedication and innovative approach exemplify the bright future that awaits her.

Peggy Hartwick Assistant Professor, School of Linguistics and Language Studies

• Explored a VR platform designed for language learners and teachers with two MA students. Their goal was to untangle the limitations of the traditional classroom environment by experiencing learning in an immersive space.

Brian Greenspan, Associate Professor in the Department of English

• Used an Indigenous Futurist VR experience in his grad seminar (10 students). The course focused on the pre-history and theory of VR and compared science-fictional representations of Virtual Reality with existing VR experiences.

Laura Pickell, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Health Sciences

• Incorporated a VR experience into a third-year course (35 students) called Diseases of Aging, where students experienced different types of age-related vision loss, just as older adults with these pathologies would experience.

Prashant Waghmare, Associate Professor; Associate Dean, MEng Program

• Developed a laboratory experiment in VR on fluid dynamics for his grad course. Students visited the ELH to try out the experience multiple times across the term.

What worked well?

Peggy: We appreciated the hands-on nature of the project and the support from the ELH team. Without this support, the experiences would have been compromised as the learning curve – initially – is steep.

Brian: It all worked really well, with just a few glitches, which is to be expected with any early adoption. The VR experiences were memorable for the students and clearly had a strong impact on them.

Laura: I had never tried VR before and came to them with only a vague idea of what I wanted to try. The ELH made it happen, providing technical, logistical, and even pedagogical support. They worked with me to bring my vision to fruition.

Prashant: The distribution/management system to get the files to all headsets was easy and efficient. We appreciated the locked-down version of the software that the students got access to as it avoided any significant issues for the first time and newer VR users getting lost in the system. The designated areas that each student had to perform the experience worked well and the optional seated or standing setup was used often.

What was your students’ response?

Peggy: My students were very grateful for this opportunity to experience something that otherwise is not possible in the regular course offerings. They explored a non-traditional learning space.

Laura: The engagement from the students in the experience was beyond my expectations. They came back from the experience talking about it and unanimously wrote that they enjoyed the experience as a different and engaging way of learning. In their reflections, some students also indicated that they had a better understanding of the pathologies causing age-related vision loss compared to only reading about it or seeing pictures, and that they had greater empathy for those living with vision loss.

Prashant: In general students found it to be a unique experience that added a fun factor to otherwise normal laboratory experiments. Overall, we received a lot of valuable feedback that will be implemented into all VR experiences going forward.

What words of advice would you give to someone who’s never taught in the ELH or is a newbie to teaching with XR?

Peggy: Allow for time, some motion sickness, be open minded, ask questions, don’t try to do too much.

Laura: Just try it! I had never tried VR before and only had a vague idea of what I wanted to try in my classroom, but our ELH made it happen. Also, start small. There is no need to re-vamp your entire course, rather, start with a short activity students could try and build from there!

Brian: Don’t assume that students are all new media experts:�� they aren’t, and many are quite trepidatious about new technologies. Nor will they necessarily have the metalanguage to discuss these media, so come prepared to contextualize and theorize. Even with TLS support, a VR workshop isn’t an easy teaching day.

Also, have a backup plan. Assign readings to go along with VR so that students will have some way of contextualizing their experiences, and something to talk about in-between VR sessions, or should the tech fail.

Prashant: As always with a newer use of technology, the development process will have significant struggles with bugs and errors all the way through. Although this technology is being used to educate on specific course material you should also use it as an opportunity to educate yourself and your students about XR technology and enjoy the freedom that XR brings to learning.

If you are interested in integrating virtual reality into your course, join us for the next Experiential Learning Hub Orientation happening July 16^th or reach out via the to book a visit or consultation.

“The Hub is an exciting enhancement to our Future Learning Lab, which opened earlier this year,” said David Hornsby, Vice-Provost & Associate Vice-President (Academic). “These two spaces enable teaching and research innovation, collaborations, and scholarship and promote teaching practices that foster student success.”

Located in Southam Hall, the Hub includes an Active Learning Classroom, Creation Suites featuring a variety of Extended Reality (XR) and media creation tools, and two state-of-the-art XR Experience Studios — made possible thanks to $1M from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities Training Equipment and Renewal Fund (TERF), matched by the university, and with the partnership and support of EON Reality, a leader in augmented and virtual reality.

“The Experiential Learning Hub is positioned to influence curricular change and have a meaningful and transformational impact on the teaching and learning culture at �Ӱ�ԭ��,” said L. Pauline Rankin, Provost and Vice-President (Academic).

“It will enable students to acquire important skills necessary to prepare them for a whole range of their future careers, while the new immersive technologies provide instructors with the opportunities to innovate and enhance their curriculum.”

Teaching and Learning Services’ Future Learning Fellows have already begun piloting new pedagogical concepts and utilizing immersive extended reality tools provided by the Future Learning Hub. Their projects include building virtual reality mind maps and using XR labs to explore complex, hard-to-visualize phenomena.

The Experiential Learning Hub represents another milestone supporting �Ӱ�ԭ��’s Transforming University Education report and academic plan, recognizing that the future of teaching and learning is empowering, collaborative, flexible, and sustainable.

Are you interested in exploring XR technology?

On October 18, the TLS Immersive Learning Team will be on-site to discuss Virtual, Mixed, or Augmented Reality in the classroom. Register now to attend.