Designing and Teaching a Virtual Field Trip Course in American Studies

Abstract

<p>This chapter is based on a virtual field trip course in American studies at the University of Hong Kong in May of 2021. I first introduce three core principles of e-learning philosophy informing the course design. First, experiential learning: VR enables embodied experiences with strong physical, emotional, and social impact. Second, interactive learning: interactivity is at the core of virtual reality technology. Third, value-added use of technology: use of VR must improve teaching and learning in a way that cannot be achieved through other media.</p><p>The main section illustrates the implementation of the above principles through VR beginning with the limitations of current VR technology and content in the classroom. First, duration of VR experience assignments should be limited because extended VR use can cause discomfort. Second, the quality and variety of currently available content necessitates to use VR only as a <em>supplement</em> to other media of instruction (text, film, lecture, etc.) instead of using it exclusively.</p><p>I will then discuss specific examples of how VR was used to supplement teaching of American studies topics. For example, in a lesson on Native American memory, I screened my documentary film <em>Sacred Ground</em> (2015), which centers on the experience of <em>place</em> at the contrasting memory sites of Wounded Knee and Mount Rushmore. After viewing the film, I took the students to the Wounded Knee Massacre mass grave using the VR application Oculus Wander, followed by a virtual visit at Mount Rushmore. Students were able to experience the shocking contrast between the two sites virtually. It was also an interactive and social experience as we were able to discuss the built memory infrastructure while virtually standing in front of it.</p><p>As part of a session on discrimination in the US criminal justice system, VR enabled students to experience a high-security prison from the inside via two 360° films. The first film, <em>After Solitary </em>(2017), explores the effects of solitary confinement on the prisoner and places the viewer inside a cell. The film affords an embodied experience of the claustrophobic nature of a cell that could not be achieved through other media. The second film, <em>Step to the Line</em> (2017), centers around an annual event at a prison. In a series of activities and exchanges between volunteer visitors and inmates, the film reveals how systemic discrimination contributed to contrasting life outcomes. The students take on the perspective of the visitors, which allows them to experience material outcomes of racial injustice at an embodied and emotional level, illustrating the historical lesson that prepared the VR film.</p>