IMMERSE, the award-winning virtual world for language learning, is on a mission to pioneer immersive language learning in the metaverse in a welcoming and vibrant community.
This mission has been keeping the IMMERSE team busy lately presenting at five events and adding a new award to our collection in just the past two months!
September
VR at UARK - Fayetteville, AR
In September, the University of Arkansas welcomed Dr. Tricia Thrasher, Director of Research at IMMERSE, to campus for two days to share her expertise on the role of VR in language learning.
It was a busy visit. First, Dr. Thrasher was keynote speaker at the VR at UARK event, which featured presentations showing how virtual reality is being implemented by different departments around the campus.
Later, she recorded an interview at the WLDH Studio Podcasting Booth where she talked about what originally sparked her interest in VR for education and how her current role at IMMERSE lets her pioneer research into VR, AI, and language education. She also visited a course on video games for education and presented at a pedagogy workshop on how IMMERSE will be used at the University of Arkansas this year.
October
Global Tech Awards - EdTech Category
In October, IMMERSE was recognized for its outstanding contributions to the tech industry by international awards platform Global Tech Awards, receiving the 2024 award for Excellence in Educational Technology.
This is a technology award, but IMMERSE’s contribution is really about the human connections that VR technology makes possible. In IMMERSE, language learners from around the world gather in immersive, interactive environments to build language skills and confidence - creating meaningful relationships along the way.
Meta Educators Community Summit - Menlo Park, CA
At the inaugural Meta Educators Community Summit in October, interested educators and tech industry leaders came together to reimagine the world of education through the lens of metaverse technologies. The IMMERSE team and a number of our Research Partners participated in panel discussions, gave lightning talks, and let educators try out IMMERSE and see firsthand how thoroughly VR immerses learners in educational content.
Director of Research Dr. Tricia Thrasher participated in a panel discussion on the efficacy of extended reality for learning, discussing the research conducted by IMMERSE and our university Research Partners into the advantages of learning a language in VR.
Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Christian Rowe was on a panel about the interrelationship between product development and education professionals, speaking about the tight collaboration between the Product, Research, and Education teams at IMMERSE.
In addition, eight of IMMERSE’s university Research Partners delivered lightning talks on how their institutions are using VR to make language learning more engaging and effective for their students.
EDUCAUSE - San Antonio, TX
Also in October, the IMMERSE team was invited to exhibit in the Meta for Education booth at EDUCAUSE. Educause brings together educators and tech professionals who aim to work together to bring the learning advantages of the latest educational technologies to higher ed institutions.
The IMMERSE team exhibited at the Meta for Education booth
to bring the learning advantages of the latest educational technologies to higher ed institutions.
A number of universities have set up VR learning labs and are looking to broaden its uses in order to make the biggest ROI in their investment in the technology. Meta for Education a booth was a place where educators could explore new ways to use these labs to improve student learning outcomes. IMMERSE, alongside industry colleagues Oxford Medical Simulation and Engage, were on hand to
IMMERSE team members Dr. Misty Wilson, Dr. Tricia Thrasher, Christina Cavage, and Jake Repko got to spend two days showing educators how VR can be used for more effective language learning outcomes and discussing IMMERSE’s higher ed partnership program.
November
Meta Educators Community Summit - London, UK
In November, the IMMERSE team flew to London to participate in the second leg of the Meta Educators Community Summit. Just like the first summit in Menlo Park, Meta did an exceptional job of bringing educators and VR developers together to explore the potential of VR in education and drive innovation in this space.
At the summit,IMMERSE Chief Learning Officer Dr. Misty Wilson participated in a panel talk on the role of AI in education, alongside VictoryXR CEO Steve Grubbs, Dr. Peter Parnes of Luleå University of Technology, and Campus-XR founder Trevor Benstock, with Meta Education and VR Director Matthew Sanders moderating.
On the panel, “there was a shared sense that the intersection of AI and VR is a no-brainer. When these two technologies come together, they unlock a new realm of possibilities for education,” reports Dr. Wilson.
Dr. Wilson was joined at the summit by Dr. Thrasher, who helped demo the app for European educators exploring the potential of VR to improve learning outcomes for language students.
TWLTA - Nashville, TN
Dr. Thrasher also had the honor of delivering a keynote at the annual conference of the Tennessee World Language Teachers Association (TWLTA). The theme of the dinner where she delivered the keynote was Worlds of Wisdom: Honoring the Power of Connection and Dr. Thrasher, a native Tennesseean, was invited to speak about her work on how language and VR help people forge connections and community with others around the world.
In addition, Dr. Thrasher gave a presentation on the value and benefits of IMMERSE from an educator perspective, attended several other presenters’ talks on world language education, and had lunch with members of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF).
She also provided language educators the opportunity to try out Quest VR headsets so they could experience the power of the immersive, contextualized language learning provided by IMMERSE and see how we support human connection through our platform.
