{"id":163237,"date":"2024-01-18T17:09:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T16:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=163237"},"modified":"2026-01-19T15:07:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:07:30","slug":"immersive-tech-space-opens-at-polak-with-american-desiderius-and-vr-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/01\/18\/immersive-tech-space-opens-at-polak-with-american-desiderius-and-vr-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Immersive Tech Space opens at Polak with ‘American’ Desiderius and VR experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday, experts and those interested in immersive technology gathered at the Polak building for the official opening of the Immersive Tech Space. Thanks to immersive tech, all sorts of new possibilities are emerging: from Desiderius Erasmus with an American accent to an exploration of Rotterdam’s underground infrastructure in a holographic environment.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Attendees try VR applications during at the opening of the Immersive Tech Space.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDaan Stam<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Students have since been transported to different virtual worlds from an ordinary table with some VR headsets. One student kept turning her head viewing a 360-degree video, while someone next to her floated through a spaceship as an astronaut and another experienced a day in the life as a beaver called \u2018Justin Beaver\u2019.<\/p>\n

During the event, Desiderius Erasmus addressed the audience with an American accent, visitors were able to discover Rotterdam\u2019s underground infrastructure in a holographic environment or step into Facebook\u2019s Metaverse using VR headsets.<\/p>\n\n\t

Virtual practical experience<\/h2>

\u2018Immersive\u2019 learning is a learning method which involves students being actively and deeply engaged in an experiential and virtual learning environment, explains Vanessa Abel of Erasmus X. \u201cPsychology and Sociology students, for example, are able to get hands-on experience in a safe environment\u201d, she says about the technology\u2019s potential. Students stand to learn a great deal by simulating situations. As a result, she is calling for immersive technology to \u2018become part of traditional education\u2019. She believes that within traditional education students do not develop enough practical knowledge and experience \u2013 despite this being hugely important in our digital society.<\/p>\n

Engagement<\/h2>

Technology gives students the opportunity to apply the theory in a different way. Images are more memorable than text and reading alone means we only retain a small portion of knowledge. As a result, immersive technology can be an asset to education. \u201cThe technology combines theory and visuals, allowing the student to develop a deeper connection to the knowledge\u201d, Abel explains.<\/p>\n

Her colleague Marta Stachowiak-de Wit of the Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics adds: \u201cBecause immersive technology makes us absorb more, we are more involved in the theory and design of our teaching, which may make students more effective experts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Een lijst van afbeeldingen<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t