Students taking biology at Arizona State University will likely have their first laboratory experiences involving extraterrestrial life.
The university has abandoned traditional biolabs, the kind where students learn to use pipettes or dissect an animal, in favor of a virtual reality experience set in a VR wildlife preserve for alien beings. It’s part of a partnership between ASU and Dreamscape Immersive, the VR entertainment company co-founded by Men in Black producer Walter Parkes, that the university says has improved student performance in biology, including for members of groups historically underrepresented in higher education.
The collaboration, called Dreamscape Learn, came after ASU President Michael Crow visited one of Dreamscape Immersive’s attractions and was impressed by the company’s Alien Zoo experience. As the university and VR producers began working together, Parkes says they found that the three-act structure familiar to movie-going audiences was also naturally suited to teaching science to students.
Naturally, the lessons students learn about the behavior, genetics, and other aspects of fictional creatures also apply to their studies of real-world life. Because most students are not majoring in biology, the program also emphasizes general courses in problem solving and data analysis that apply to other challenges they will face in school and in their careers.
“The curriculum focuses on quantitative reasoning, problem solving, metacognition, communication and teamwork, which should truly serve every student,” says John VandenBrooks, associate dean for comprehensive learning at ASU.
For each section of the course, students typically take a first excursion into VR by entering the alien world in a special motion capture environment on campus. (Students pay the same lab fee as they would in a traditional bioclassroom; funds will pay for the VR experience rather than real-world materials). There, they collect data and make observations, which they analyze on a traditional computer using tools such as Excel. They formulate hypotheses about how to solve an in-world problem, such as understanding why a virtual animal fails to evolve, and eventually turn to VR to test their theories. Using the game-like environment allows students to explore scenarios and conduct experiments that are not possible in the real world.
“We basically had to do a full medical diagnosis of the situation, which could be anything from the climate to the animal’s heartbeat to the exact opposite,” recalls ASU sophomore Abhinav Ranish, who recently completed a VR-assisted bio course. “That was very fascinating because it kind of took us through a medical process, a process that an actual doctor or veterinarian could go through without actually having to have the full knowledge to do it.”
Immersive experiences also help students tune in, a challenge in an era of electronic distraction. “We’ve never seen anyone checking their cell phone with a headset on,” says Josh Reibel, CEO of Dreamscape Learn.
Dreamscape Learn and ASU plan to continue learning how students are doing after completing the VR-enabled course, which has taken more than 12,000 students so far. There’s also more work on other subjects, including a chemistry course set in a VR experience that Parkes compared to “Mission: Impossible for intellectuals,” in which students serve as members of an elite team sent virtually to solve scientific problems.