NEWSROOM
Students collaborate in the metaverse to solve complex business problems
29 June 2022
Business students at the University of Auckland are learning to harness the power of VR technology and metaverse platforms to solve complex problems in business scenarios and work through topics of global importance including climate change, the future of work, and competing globally. BUSINESS 202: Business Consulting is a course utilising technologies like Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets available at Unleash Space and Te Ahi Hangarau Technology Hub, the University of Auckland’s innovation hubs run by the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), and asks students to deliver immersive VR presentations in lieu of traditional exams.
In week two of the course, students get their first VR experience by interacting together on Spatial.io, a VR collaboration platform. The technology renders life-like 3D avatars of individuals from a photo that students can tailor to make as realistic (or otherwise) as they wish. Participants can then be virtually present in the same space and time, easily share visual creations and ideas (such as creating, editing, and observing 3D objects, multimedia, images, and text), and collaborate on projects.
Andrew Patterson, Associate Dean (Faculty) at the Business School and Professional Teaching Fellow in the Department of Management and International Business, explains the benefits of experiential learning, immersive collaboration spaces, and creative assessments over more traditional setups. “We want to bring theory to life. What better way to do that than through experiential learning activities? The pandemic has sped up the pace of technological change and it appears the time is ripe for innovating in this space for teaching purposes. Experiential learning is an excellent way to deepen knowledge and awareness, and develop skills. It requires more engagement from the senses than traditional learning activities, can resonate more, and thus be more memorable. It attends to the cognitive, affective, and behavioural aspects of learning. The experiential learning environment is conducive to developing problem-solving capabilities and fits well with team-based learning. A metaphor sometimes used to describe immersive experiences is diving – you simply won’t know what it feels like until you’ve got your mask on and are underwater.
“The non-traditional assessments we use are designed to draw upon multidisciplinary knowledge and develop important professional skills in an authentic manner. Essays, reports, and exams play an important part in education – but we wanted to experiment with assessments that encourage students to think in novel ways, engage some creativity and critical thinking, and produce things with obvious relevance to their future careers. Our goal was to demonstrate we could deliver a meaningful, authentic, and engaging course (and assessments) while at the same time allowing a quick turnaround of grades and feedback. The assessments are fresh and keep things interesting.”
The idea of incorporating VR into BUSINESS 202 at scale had been tentatively discussed with strong encouragement from Susan Watson, Dean of the Business School. Andrew collaborated with CIE Director Darsel Keane, Unleash Space Manager Sean Kelly, and Associate Dean Teaching and Learning Dr Doug Carrie to bring the idea to life using the tools and resources available at Unleash Space and Te Ahi Hangarau Technology Hub.
“Sean and his team of student Creative Technologists were integral to our implementation of VR in BUSINESS 202,” says Andrew. “After settling on Spatial.io, Sean took it upon himself to learn everything about it and ensure that the headsets to be ordered would work well with the platform. His team put together a professional introductory video to the technology and we shared that on Canvas to help prepare students for their experience. Sean and his team attended every one of the VR tutorials in a supporting role too – the creative technologists assisting in my class were so good that I ended up asking them to run part of the class. You can imagine that we had lots to do across other parts of the course. If not for Sean’s leadership in the VR space we simply would not have been able to roll it out. Finally, we figured we would be remiss not to provide Sean with an opportunity to share his knowledge and expertise with our students, so we invited him to come along and deliver part of the plenary lectures. He is now a regular feature. It’s a true collaboration.”
BUSINESS 202 is the only compulsory stage two course in the Bachelor of Commerce programme, with close to 800 students each semester. The response from students was incredibly positive, with feedback results indicating that they were particularly pleased with the novel assessment structure, the relevance of the topics, and the skills they have developed. They shared experiences of multiple internship recruiters actively asking them about the course and noting that it’s great to hear that students are learning about contemporary technology as part of their education.
Andrew encourages other educators to consider incorporating VR or other emerging technologies into their teaching – but only after considering whether there is a place for it. He says, “VR is a tool. If done poorly it can be seen as gimmicky. If done well it can create a sense of presence in an environment closely resembling reality. The main thing is to think about what you actually want your students to learn. Focus on the learning outcomes rather than the technology itself. Once you know what you want to teach students you can let your imagination take over in terms of how you deliver the lesson.”
The BUSINESS 202 teaching team comprised of:
Course Director: Andrew Patterson (Associate Dean Faculty & PTF, MIB)
Course Coordinator: Dr Nina Brosius (PTF, Marketing)
Future of Work Module
Lead: Prof Michael Myers (ISOM)
Facilitator: Saima Qutab (GTA, ISOM)
Climate Change Module
Lead: Dr Dan Tisch (MIB)
Facilitator: Varun Bhardwaj (GTA, MIB)
Competing Globally Module
Lead: Graeme Treasure (PTF, Accounting & Finance)
Facilitator: Farzana Adeel (GTA, MIB)
A much larger group of people also contributed to the course in various ways – a Think Tank group within the Faculty, and multiple stakeholders (totalling approximately 40).
29 June 2022
Business students at the University of Auckland are learning to harness the power of VR technology and metaverse platforms to solve complex problems in business scenarios and work through topics of global importance including climate change, the future of work, and competing globally. BUSINESS 202: Business Consulting is a course utilising technologies like Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets available at Unleash Space and Te Ahi Hangarau Technology Hub, the University of Auckland’s innovation hubs run by the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), and asks students to deliver immersive VR presentations in lieu of traditional exams.
In week two of the course, students get their first VR experience by interacting together on Spatial.io, a VR collaboration platform. The technology renders life-like 3D avatars of individuals from a photo that students can tailor to make as realistic (or otherwise) as they wish. Participants can then be virtually present in the same space and time, easily share visual creations and ideas (such as creating, editing, and observing 3D objects, multimedia, images, and text), and collaborate on projects.
Andrew Patterson, Associate Dean (Faculty) at the Business School and Professional Teaching Fellow in the Department of Management and International Business, explains the benefits of experiential learning, immersive collaboration spaces, and creative assessments over more traditional setups. “We want to bring theory to life. What better way to do that than through experiential learning activities? The pandemic has sped up the pace of technological change and it appears the time is ripe for innovating in this space for teaching purposes. Experiential learning is an excellent way to deepen knowledge and awareness, and develop skills. It requires more engagement from the senses than traditional learning activities, can resonate more, and thus be more memorable. It attends to the cognitive, affective, and behavioural aspects of learning. The experiential learning environment is conducive to developing problem-solving capabilities and fits well with team-based learning. A metaphor sometimes used to describe immersive experiences is diving – you simply won’t know what it feels like until you’ve got your mask on and are underwater.
“The non-traditional assessments we use are designed to draw upon multidisciplinary knowledge and develop important professional skills in an authentic manner. Essays, reports, and exams play an important part in education – but we wanted to experiment with assessments that encourage students to think in novel ways, engage some creativity and critical thinking, and produce things with obvious relevance to their future careers. Our goal was to demonstrate we could deliver a meaningful, authentic, and engaging course (and assessments) while at the same time allowing a quick turnaround of grades and feedback. The assessments are fresh and keep things interesting.”
The idea of incorporating VR into BUSINESS 202 at scale had been tentatively discussed with strong encouragement from Susan Watson, Dean of the Business School. Andrew collaborated with CIE Director Darsel Keane, Unleash Space Manager Sean Kelly, and Associate Dean Teaching and Learning Dr Doug Carrie to bring the idea to life using the tools and resources available at Unleash Space and Te Ahi Hangarau Technology Hub.
“Sean and his team of student Creative Technologists were integral to our implementation of VR in BUSINESS 202,” says Andrew. “After settling on Spatial.io, Sean took it upon himself to learn everything about it and ensure that the headsets to be ordered would work well with the platform. His team put together a professional introductory video to the technology and we shared that on Canvas to help prepare students for their experience. Sean and his team attended every one of the VR tutorials in a supporting role too – the creative technologists assisting in my class were so good that I ended up asking them to run part of the class. You can imagine that we had lots to do across other parts of the course. If not for Sean’s leadership in the VR space we simply would not have been able to roll it out. Finally, we figured we would be remiss not to provide Sean with an opportunity to share his knowledge and expertise with our students, so we invited him to come along and deliver part of the plenary lectures. He is now a regular feature. It’s a true collaboration.”
BUSINESS 202 is the only compulsory stage two course in the Bachelor of Commerce programme, with close to 800 students each semester. The response from students was incredibly positive, with feedback results indicating that they were particularly pleased with the novel assessment structure, the relevance of the topics, and the skills they have developed. They shared experiences of multiple internship recruiters actively asking them about the course and noting that it’s great to hear that students are learning about contemporary technology as part of their education.
Andrew encourages other educators to consider incorporating VR or other emerging technologies into their teaching – but only after considering whether there is a place for it. He says, “VR is a tool. If done poorly it can be seen as gimmicky. If done well it can create a sense of presence in an environment closely resembling reality. The main thing is to think about what you actually want your students to learn. Focus on the learning outcomes rather than the technology itself. Once you know what you want to teach students you can let your imagination take over in terms of how you deliver the lesson.”
The BUSINESS 202 teaching team comprised of:
Course Director: Andrew Patterson (Associate Dean Faculty & PTF, MIB)
Course Coordinator: Dr Nina Brosius (PTF, Marketing)
Future of Work Module
Lead: Prof Michael Myers (ISOM)
Facilitator: Saima Qutab (GTA, ISOM)
Climate Change Module
Lead: Dr Dan Tisch (MIB)
Facilitator: Varun Bhardwaj (GTA, MIB)
Competing Globally Module
Lead: Graeme Treasure (PTF, Accounting & Finance)
Facilitator: Farzana Adeel (GTA, MIB)
A much larger group of people also contributed to the course in various ways – a Think Tank group within the Faculty, and multiple stakeholders (totalling approximately 40).
EMAIL
CIE@AUCKLAND.AC.NZ
POSTAL ADDRESS
THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND BUSINESS SCHOOL
PRIVATE BAG 92019, AUCKLAND
