Virtual Reality Course Design Made Easy

With a smartphone, a few apps, and a pair of VR glasses, we're working towards building a virtual campus online, with my students' English language guide to different characteristics. The goal is to enhance the use of English with VR by providing an immersive experience.

Thanks to Wayne Cheng's (鄭維源) passionate sharing at the workshop, my students and I, along with a group of driven teachers, were learning how to take panoramic photos with the apps and website, including Cardboard Camera, Street View, and Yun 720. On top of that, the VR glasses enamored everybody immediately and turned the pictures full of possibilities for future applications in English learning. 

It was really exciting to see all the participants so motivated and eager to learn. When successfully taking a 360-degree panoramic picture, we couldn't wait to proceed with the next step, a 720-degree one. Watching some VR videos on Youtube, I couldn't put the glasses down because it was just too interesting.

I think this VR learning experience can be a stepping stone to creating something big. My students and I have been making English speaking videos for quite a while. Now with this, we are able to embed audio files in the photos and upload them to the website so that you'll feel you're virtually being in all the famous tourist spots with an English language guide talking in your ears.

I'm going to invite a couple of more talented students to come aboard. Then, they'll also learn how to take a panoramic picture. Next, I'll teach them to write a script to describe 10 assigned features of the school, including the school vision, the library, the ecological pond，the hanging garden, to name just a few. Following that, I'll show them how to record and edit their presentation with Corel VideoStudio. Last but not least, we'll create an online virtual campus together with Wayne's second workshop some time in January.