Eric Hawkinson
Kyoto University of Foreign Studies
Eric's day job is at the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies where he teaches courses and conducts research on issues related to technology in tourism and education. Eric also leads a team of interactive media designers for TEDxKyoto. His passion project, ARientation is an award winning, free-to-use, privacy-by-design augmented learning platform to rapid prototype augmented learning environments, also aiming to spread awareness of increasing aggressive data collection models using immersive technology. Eric's other projects have included augmented tourism rallies, AR community art exhibitions, mixed reality escape rooms, and other experiments in immersive technology.
Sessions
MAVR Immersive Showcase 2021
Members of the MAVR community showcase ongoing research and projects. Our community of immersive researchers, developers, and technologists share progress and call for collaboration on a host of innovative projects. Hosted in VR and broadcast online, this is a chance for the MAVR community to reach out to other fields of study and groups from other parts of the world. The session will begin with a panel of short presentations and then facilitate discussions for collaboration. Participants are encouraged to join in VR but can also participate in the live stream in 2D. http://mavr.site for more information.
VR for Tourism Education: From Mobile to WebVR
Previous research shows that VR and immersive learning can be beneficial to learners. However, with the outbreak of the pandemic and the shift to remote learning, there are many difficulties in implementing mobile VR in online classes. Given the perceived need for quality remote learning, desktop VR can be an alternative which can enhance interaction among teachers and students in spite of physical distance. This presentation is a follow-up to our previous presentation at PanSIG2020, where we talked about the use of free VR apps in combination with mobile devices and mini-glasses for tourism education. The same study has been replicated with another group of students this year using a Desktop VR and has evolved into a project called My Hometown Project. We conducted a survey to collect data of the students’ evaluation of the desktop VR tool in our learning context. We will compare and contrast the findings from the two years of the study and provide tips to educators interested in incorporating VR into online education.