Unveiling the Open Educational Extended Reality Library with Insights from a Global Survey

Tuesday, October 22, 2024 | 10:30AM–11:15AM CT | EDUCAUSE Commons, Teaching & Learning Central Theater
Session Type: Breakout Session
Delivery Format: Presentation/Panel Session
The open educational resource (OER) landscape is remarkably diverse, yet extended reality (XR)—which encompasses augmented, mixed, and virtual reality modalities—has remained largely absent. Recent technological advancements, reduced hardware costs, and a growing body of content have accelerated XR adoption. In this session, we unveil the Open Educational Extended Reality (OEXR) library as a resource for the collective higher education community to democratize this transformative technology and empower equitable access for all learners. Survey responses from 94 institutions spanning six continents were used to ensure that functionality was designed to meet diverse user needs, from contributors to consumers. Respondents primarily consisted of staff, faculty, and administrators, with additional input from librarians, students, and industry partners. User priorities included robust search-and-discovery capabilities; interactive, downloadable 3D assets for reuse; and resources related to learning objectives and assessment suggestions. Clear expectations for contributors and guidelines for creating and submitting XR content were also prioritized, as well as discovery mechanisms to enable the ability to categorize and tag content based on multiple criteria. Join us as we discuss the creation of the OEXR library and introduce it to the EDUCAUSE community as a resource for new possibilities across teaching, learning, and collaboration in higher education.

Presenters

  • Sean Hauze

    Chief Operating Officer, San Diego State University

  • Kate Miffitt

    Chief Digital Experience & Engagement Officer, University of California, Office of the President

  • Jeannine Shantz

    Director, Research, Evaluation & Assessment, Close School of Entrepreneurship, Drexel University

  • David Woodbury

    Department Head, Learning Spaces & Services, North Carolina State University