2- 3D COM UFES, CUT & UV. PDF Version: 2-3D_Com-UFES_CUT_UV.pdf

Project 

Immersive VR Intercultural Telecollaboration Project between Brazil, Cyprus and Spain. PDF version:  

Participants 

• 3-5 dyads (at least 3 complete cases) between Brazilian and Spanish students
• 3-5 dyads (at least 3 complete cases) between Cypriot and Spanish students
• 3-6 students from Universidade do Espírito Santo (UFES), Brazil.
• 3-6 students from Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), Cyprus.
• 3-6 students from Universitat de València (UV), Spain and from Universitat Jaume I de Castelló (UJI), Spain.

Dates (estimated)

• Pilot experiences: From July 12th to July 31st and/or from September 1st-10th 2021

Types of tasks

• 2 tasks (45-60 minutes per task)

Scenario: You have been admitted to the university in Brazil/Cyprus/Spain for the fall semester in 2021. The university has assigned you with a local student as your international buddy who will assist you in preparation for the transition to the new environment. You will arrange two meetings with your international buddy.

• Meeting #1 (initial training and information exchange task): Step 1: receiving some guidance regarding how to use the Oculus Quest VR headsets and a short introduction to the Spatial VR environment. Step 2: Introducing yourselves and getting to know each other.
• Meeting #2: Taking turns playing these two roles:
  • Role 1, International student: you are a student participating in a study abroad programme and you are preparing for your transition to the new university in the foreign country. You have been assigned an international buddy who is going to mentor you and provide you with some useful information in order to help you adjust to the academic and social life in the new country. Ask your international buddy as many questions as possible so as to better adapt to the new country and its culture (e.g., what is the academic culture at UFES in Brazil/CUT in Cyprus/UV and UJI in Spain, what are the fun things to do in Vitória/Limassol/Valencia and Castellón, what places should you visit, student life on campus, social events, student organizations/activities/clubs, how to find accommodation, transportation and how to move around the city, interesting cultural events or festivals, traditions and customs, where to eat, where to buy your groceries, weather, current COVID19 situation, etc.).
  • Role 2, International buddy from the local university: You are a local student who has volunteered to become an international buddy. Your role is to welcome an international student participating in a study abroad programme and to become their mentor and counselor. In other words, you need to help them prepare for their transition to the new university in the foreign country by providing them with some useful information regarding cultural aspects as well as academic and social life in the new country. The international student will ask your questions about your university, your country, its culture, etc. Answer all their questions and provide any additional information they might find useful.

VR Equipment and Immersive VR Platform

Oculus Quest 2 is used as the VR equipment, including a headset and two controllers, in this study. Oculus Quest 2 is selected for this study as the VR headset because of its compatibility with most of AR/VR/MR/XR applications on the market. Oculus Quest 2 is an upgraded headset that was recently released, in November, 2020. The redesigned Oculus Touch controllers allow users to transport movements directly into VR with intuitive controls (see Figure 1). It is also an all-in-one headset with built-in speakers that deliver cinematic 3D positional audio. Oculus Quest 2 also has a built-in recording function that allows users to record their interaction in the games or VR-related explorations. The availability of a built-in recording feature also makes Quest 2 an ideal tool for data collection in this study. 

The tasks in this immersive telecollaboration project will take place in Spatial VR. Spatial VR is a fully immersive VR platform: https://spatial.io/