Debbie Holley discusses using simulation and virtual/augmented reality to create engaging learning experiences for students. She notes that only 20% of students currently have real-life simulation experiences. Holley provides examples of how her university has used VR/AR technologies for nursing, geology and archaeology simulations. However, she acknowledges that digital poverty can impact some students' ability to access such online resources and simulations. Scaling innovations to reach more learners poses additional challenges.

1. Debbie Holley, Professor of Learning Innovation,
Department of Nursing Sciences, Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University
@debbieholley1
The role of simulation for
authentic learning: blending
theory and practice

2. Why?
A desire to create that 'best learning moment'
The idea of best learning moments builds on the psychological concept of
cognitive absorption, or ‘flow’, defined as deep involvement or immersion in an
activity or task, often accompanied by feelings of enjoyment. People experience
this mental state and these feelings when engaged in an activity that is
appropriately challenging to their skill level, resulting in full concentration and
focus. Best learning moments can result in deep learning and high levels of
satisfaction, and they may also be particularly memorable.
Enriching the learning environment for our students:
Enriched realities extend what is possible in education and training and provide
dynamic, new experiences that engage learners immediately. They also open up
opportunities that are not available in the classroom, such as exploring places that
would be difficult, dangerous or impossible to visit for a learner – the surface of
Mars or the inside of a volcano, for example. With AR and VR, students can interact
and work together, manipulating virtual objects and moving around the setting
together... (OU Innovating pedagogies, 2021)
Image credit: Anthony Canton (Unsplash)

3. How to engage
our students online
• The JISC 'Student digital experience insights survey' was
recently released, summarising the experiences of over
20,000 HE students at a range of 28 HE institutions.
One surprising finding was that only 20% of students
gain any 'real life' simulation experiences as part of
their degree, and these tend to be in engineering
design and healthcare.
Link to JISC report:
• https://www.jisc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/student-dei-
he-report-2020.pdf

4. What did
we do
before?
From: Prof Mark Child Using VR & AR in Higher
Education: Durham 21.06.2021
Communication scenarios
Staging an exhibition
Virtual classrooms
Conference facilities
Virtual field trip – archeological and historical sites
Simulated experiences
Language learning
Lots of 'chalk and talk'….

5. Quick definition And Mixed Reality too...
Mixed reality
Ref: Milgram, P. and Kishino, F., 1994. A
taxonomy of mixed reality visual
displays. IEICE TRANSACTIONS on
Information and Systems, 77(12),
pp.1321-1329.

6. https://labx.org/extreme-event/

7. Example: field
trips
• Students were set tasks and
discussed what could be interpreted
from hi-res photographs, Google
Earth, and drone-scanned virtual
models of geological formations
shared courtesy of Professor John
Howell, University of Aberdeen,
and V3Geo, licensed under Creative
Commons (CC-BY-NC).
• As they would in a physical setting,
the group stuck to a regimented
schedule of 'field work' from 8am
until 5pm, with lunch-breaks.
Link to article

8. VR Case Study: the
deteriorating
diabetic patient
Research:
• Randon=mised Control Trail (RCT) with 171
students
• Significant learning gain when using VR
• An inclusive learning tool
• Quick and intuitive to use
• VR made learning "more real" and engaging
• Instant feedback and personalized learning
• The students can repeat the exercise (distance
learning)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpw1RbZ1hA

9. And even more immersive:
Virtual Avebury
We worked with Prof Liz Falconer on
this project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV
NIQMqIU6g
Read about our initial findings – what
did 'mature ladies' think!

10. • Martian Attack:
• Our paramedic team ran a simulation in our underground car park last month.
• 3D 360-film clips created from the session captured scenarios, simulations and debrief, and are hosted
on Panopto, and thus accessible by a range of technologies, from google cardboards, to OCULUS Quest
Project lead: Adam Bancroft
https://bournemouth.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=d
91e4640-de42-45ee-beae-ad2f00cecebe

11. There is always a BUT...
Image credit: green chameleon on Unsplash

12. Digital poverty
“Without broadband we struggle to teach our children, order food and medicines, work or search for a job.
Citizens Advice (2020) found that during the first lockdown, certain groups, including people with children, disabled
people, people from Black, Asian or ethnic minority backgrounds, those who were shielding and young people were
particularly struggling with their broadband bill
An NUS survey (2020) reported BAME students, disabled students and lower socio-economic homes more severely
impacted
Image Credit: Fusion Medical Animation

13. Typical image: happy families using 'tech'
• Working-age adults (16-64s) in DE households are more than four times as likely as those in non-
DE households to not use the internet (13% vs. 3%), showing that differences in non-use of the
internet are driven both by age and by socio-economic group. (Online Nation Ofcom report 2020)

14. Office for Students: Digital poverty report 2020
52% of students report their
learning impacted by slow or
reliable internet connection
8% severely
71 per cent reported lack of
access to a quiet study
space, with 22 per cent
‘severely’ impacted
56 per cent said they lacked
access to appropriate online
course materials, with 9 per
cent ‘severely’ impacted
18 per cent were impacted
by lack of access to a
computer, laptop or tablet –
4 per cent said they were
‘severely’ impacted.
4% of students do not use
the internet

15. The challenge of Scale:

16. Scaling Innovation • Bridging the missing middle: a design based approach
to scaling
Spread Depth Shift Sustainability Evolution
Scaling up is achieved by diffusion of the
innovation to large numbers of users.
Requires modifications to retain effectiveness
while reducing the resources and expertise
required.
Getting to scale produces deep
and consequential changes in
practice.
Requires evaluation and
research to understand and
enhance the causes of
effectiveness.
Ownership of the innovation
is assumed by users, who deepen
and sustain the innovation via
adaptation.
Requires moving beyond “brand”
to support users as co-evaluators, co-
designers, and co-scalers.
Sustaining scaled growth
means maintaining these
changes in practice over
substantial periods of time.
Requires robust design to
enable adapting to negative
shifts in context.
The innovation as revised by
its adapters is influential in
reshaping the thinking of its
designers.
Requires learning from
users’ adaptations about how to
rethink the innovation’s model.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Scan QR code to link to
Scaling paper

17. Resources
Additional resources
• Coburn, C (2003). Rethinking Scale: Moving beyond numbers to deep and lasting change. Educational
Researcher 32, 6 (3-12) available online http://vocserve.berkeley.edu/faculty/CECoburn/coburnscale.pdf
• Dede, C (2007). Scaling Up: Evolving Innovations beyond Ideal Settings to Challenging Contexts of
Practice, available online: http://www.collegechangeseverything.org/dotAsset/d352af01-fb00-43c3-a956-
6a2f092a7c67.pdf
• Holley D., Hobbs M. (2019) Augmented Reality for Education. In: Peters
M., Heraud R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Innovation. Springer,
Singapore https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2262-4 Online ISBN 978-981-13-2262-4
• Singleton, H PhD (unplished) https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/flie/2019/02/01/what-did-mental-
health-nursing-students-think-of-vr-deteriorating-patient/Thanks to daden limited for the creation of the
resources!
• Heidi and Janet video of using VR for Nursing diabetes:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpw1RbZ1hA
• Prof Liz Falconer talking about Virtual Avebury:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVNIQMqIU6g