DFS Week 2: Reflections

In your DFS experience this past week, how many hours did you complete?
    I worked on activities related to my DFS for 11 hours this week.

What did you do in your DFS experience this past week? 

    In the past week, I met with my advisor twice to talk about the learning plan. She introduced me to several resources and people that could be helpful to me in my work in exploring virtual worlds for education. I also met with an artist and educator with whom I am planning a collaborative exhibition as a final project for the DFS. Much of my time was spent in constructing a virtual educational space in which to build the exhibition.

Write a reflection in which you discuss your thoughts about your development of new leadership skills and/or your observation of skills that you might choose to incorporate into your leadership skills repertoire.
    I am realizing that there are two distinct but related paths that Virtual Reality offers for education: the creative possibilities and the relational. I had initially been attracted to the creative, exploring the wide range of expressive tools that immersive VR had to offer. This is still an exciting avenue for engaging art and design students and the number of tools, from painting to sculpting to 3D animation are abundant. What my explorations this week showed me was that the relational element - the sense of co-presence with other people in the visual space - is just as powerful.


Particularly in this time of isolating and social distancing, it was refreshing to meet with other researchers and educators, to exchange ideas and to feel that we were all in a shared space. As we move forward through this quarantine, I can see the applications for keeping students engaged and connected. In addition, I was pleasantly surprised to see just how many other educators are exploring these ideas. It's invigorating to collaborate and share thoughts and inspiration. This pleasant surprise was a delightful addition to my exploration, and I am thrilled have access to this vital and thriving community of thinkers.