Engaging students in soft skills training with AI & VR at Durham College

About

Durham College, Canada, offers over 140 full-time programs of varying level. 

The college’s Centre for Teaching and Learning supports faculty in integrating advanced technologies such as XR into their curriculum. 

They initially piloted Bodyswaps thanks to the Bodyswaps & Meta research project, and are now exploring further opportunities to implement and deploy to their students.

Goals

1. Enhance student enthusiasm, engagement, and confidence.
2. Introduce VR as part of their broader XR exploration efforts to enrich teaching and learning.
3. Equip students with critical employability skills like communication, interviewing, and teamwork.

Deployment

Student engagement

Many students, some of whom were using VR for the very first time, were excited by and enjoyed engaging with Bodyswaps.

Handling hesitancy

Individuals who were initially hesitant about the validity of virtual reality for education became
advocates after witnessing its impact on students’ learning outcomes.

Results

• 81% students identified areas to improve on their skills
• 79% of students would recommend Bodyswaps to their peers.
• 76% of students increased their understanding of the module topic.

Advice

• Start small - pilot programs are an excellent way to gather feedback from faculty and students which can help you refine your larger scale deployments
• Help your institution feel confident in the technology so they’re empowered to aid their students

Future Plans

Durham College is exploring ways to increase capacity for VR with faculty, to allow students to practice soft skills required in industry. 

They are working on how to support embedding Bodyswaps modules into courses across specific programs for consistency and student engagement.