DESB26 Social interactions in virtual reality

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/1/1. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Taught online.
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Alžběta Šašinková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. David Košatka (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Simona Kramosilová (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Alžběta Šašinková, Ph.D.
Department of Information and Library Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Alice Lukavská
Supplier department: Department of Information and Library Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
Intermediate technical literacy with an Oculus 2 VR headset and a stable internet connection are prerequisites for completing the course. Students will expand their knowledge of the use of VR technology acquired in the course DESB17 Virtual Reality: Theory and Practice. The support of lecturers will be available throughout the course. Another prerequisite is active participation in VR meetings focused on social interactions.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Thematically, the course builds on and expands the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired in the course DESB17 Virtual reality: theory and practice. The main goal of the course is the critical evaluation and reflection of various VR collaborative applications as an environment for creating social interactions and building group cohesion. Related to this is the ability to estimate the suitability of various environments for different kinds of social interactions (which is what we want to achieve in a VR environment). Last but not least, it is the deepening of one's own skill of critical reflection of individual VR environments (what does/doesn't work) and its use during alpha testing of an actual prototype of a VR environment.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students should be able to: - Move and interact in different virtual environments - Search and evaluate VR applications suitable for specific social interactions - Critically evaluate different types of environments and choose the appropriate purpose of social interactions for them (e.g. work meeting, entertainment, etc.) - Conduct “mini-lessons” in a VR environment with the ability to enter simple instructions in VR - Reflect on own experience and transform it into constructive recommendations - Conduct effective testing of VR platform prototypes.
Syllabus
  • Social interaction in a virtual environment. Key aspects of VR environments affecting VR interactions. Alpha testing of VR prototypes. Ideation: VR for distance study students.
Literature
    required literature
  • Maithreyi Gopalan: Students' Sense of Belonging Matters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_IzAgcWIIk&t=75s
  • Wang, P., Miller, M. R., Han, E., DeVeaux, C., & Bailenson, J. N. (2024). Understanding virtual design behaviors: A large-scale analysis of the design process in Virtual Reality. Design Studies, 90, 101237.
  • Han, E., Miller, M. R., DeVeaux, C., Jun, H., Nowak, K. L., Hancock, J. T., ... & Bailenson, J. N. (2023). People, places, and time: a large-scale, longitudinal study of transformed avatars and environmental context in group interaction in the metaverse.
    recommended literature
  • Pedler, M. L., Willis, R., & Nieuwoudt, J. E. (2022). A sense of belonging at university: Student retention, motivation and enjoyment. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46(3), 397-408.
  • Jeremy Bailenson: Transformative Experiences: VR for Good | Samsung CEO Summit: https://vhil.stanford.edu/video/2019/transformative-experiences-vr-for-good
Teaching methods
The semester will be divided into two thematic blocks: In the first part of the semester, students will have the opportunity to try collaborative VR applications from the list of applications recommended by teachers, but they can also choose an application of their own choice. Based on the knowledge from the previous course, students will jointly focus on and critically evaluate the design of the environment, user experience, avatars, but above all the depth and dynamics of social interactions that (failed) to achieve. You can find details on the planning and course of VR sessions in the interactive outline. The semester will be divided into two thematic blocks: In the first part of the semester, students will have the opportunity to try collaborative VR applications from the list of applications recommended by the teachers, but they can also choose an application of their own choice. Based on the knowledge from the previous course, students will jointly focus on and critically evaluate the design of the environment, user experience, avatars, but above all the depth and dynamics of social interactions that (failed) to achieve. You can find details about the planning and course of VR sessions in the interactive outline. The aim of the first part of the semester is to jointly map the key features of various VR solutions and their influence on social interactions. The created map will be the basis for testing in the second half of the semester. In the second part of the semester, students and lecturers will test the collaborative VR environment of the author's application eDIVE, which is being developed at Masaryk University, through participatory design. In this part of the semester, students will have the opportunity to look into the development of the VR environment through the lens of different roles and look at the project from a comprehensive perspective. When testing the prototype, students will have the opportunity to test the application in practice, but also to ask questions to members of the development team in several online discussions.
Assessment methods
The student will receive credit if: 1) The student completes 3 VR sessions in the first part of the semester, in at least one of which s*he plays the role of a tutor. 2) In homework vaults in IS, there is a recording of the reflection of the VR session in which the student played the role of a tutor. 3) The student actively participates in testing the VR application prototype in the second half of the semester.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2023, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2024/DESB26