Thanks to a generous 2023-2024 Faculty Innovation Grant (FIG) from Cuyahoga Community College, I purchased two Meta Quest 3 headsets for classroom use in my English and Humanities courses. This project also involved researching the latest VR/AR apps, videos, and experiences for students, which I share below. One challenge was getting the Meta Quest headset to communicate with our classroom smart board technology so that all students can see what one student with the headset on is doing. Through collaboration with Technology Integration Specialist, Mr. Gary Arnosk, and folks from ITS to create a solution that would allow students to experience this tech in a way that supports classroom learning objectives in ways that is safe, accessible, and scalable. The list below is a work in progress, and I’m adding new content. If you have any recommendations or resources, please feel free to share through the Contact page.
Literature / Film | History |
– Dear Angelica (VR film), Meta Quest Store – Where Thoughts Go (VR film), Meta Quest Store – Moss (VR film), Meta Quest Store | – Anne Frank House VR, Meta Quest Store – MLK: Now is the Time, Meta Quest Store – Home After War, Meta Quest Store – National Geographic Explore VR, Meta Quest Store – Digital Giza, Harvard Website |
Philosophy | Art |
– Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Frame VR | – Let’s Create Pottery VR, Meta Quest Store – You Destroy, We Create: The War on Ukraine’s Culture, Meta Quest Store – Van Gogh Starry Night VR, VR MotionMagic, YouTubeVR – Dreams of Dali, The Dali Museum, YouTubeVR – The Louvre Museum Guided Tour (2 min.), Escape Now, YouTube VR |
Languages | Culture(s) |
– Noun Town Language Learning, Meta Quest Store – Mondly, Meta Quest Store | – Traveling While Black, Meta Quest Store – Goliath, Meta Quest Store – We Live Here, Meta Quest Store – Wander, Meta Quest Store – You Destroy, We Create: The War on Ukraine’s Culture, Meta Quest Store – Notes on Blindness, Meta Quest Store |
Music | Games |
– Beat Saber, Meta Quest Store – Spheres, Meta Quest Store | – Wallace and Gromit in The Grand Getaway (VR Game), Meta Quest Store – Vader Immortal (VR Game), Meta Quest Store – Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord (VR Game), Meta Quest Store – Iron Man VR (VR Game), Meta Quest Store |
New VR EXperience
Goliath in the Classroom
In composition classes during units on rhetorics of video games, Goliath has proven effective in engaging students in immersive, complex narratives.
Students experience a new level of empathy, especially for experiences that are embodied, marginalized, and resist language.
Recent Posts
- Upcoming Workshop – “Empathy Machines” for Mandel Youth Humanities Academy, Feb. 2025
- “Latibule” Short Story Finalist and Published in Midway Journal, January 2025
- Peer-Reviewed Article Published in European Journal of American Culture – “A Far Cry from Greatness: Christian Fundamentalism, Liberty Porn, and the ‘Good People’ of Trump’s America in Far Cry 5″
- Acknowledgment in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 11th edition
- Book Chapter – “Leveling Up Honors Education: Video Game Analysis in the Honors Classroom” in Advancing Honors Education for Today and Tomorrow