SJSU-Led VR Research Project Wins First VERA Grant
San José State University School of Information’s Library Technology Integration Lab and New Media Learning have been selected as the first recipients of a use grant from the Virtual Experience Research Accelerator (VERA), a National Science Foundation-funded initiative led by the University of Central Florida.
The project will examine how immersive technologies shape learning and engagement with information across educational and cultural settings. It is intended to support research involving participants from public libraries, universities and other locations across the United States.
Under the initiative, researchers will develop a Unity-based immersive information behaviour testbed integrated with the VERA platform. The environment will be used to conduct large-scale research into how people interact with information in virtual and augmented reality settings.
Data collected during the study will include focus patterns, object interactions, navigation routes, movement, clicks, engagement measures and time spent on assigned tasks. Researchers will also gather survey responses and participant feedback.
The initial pilot phase will use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a thematic framework. The study will examine how immersive technologies can be used to support public education, learning and information engagement.
The project was selected through VERA, which is developing infrastructure to support large-scale human-subjects research in extended reality technologies, including virtual reality and augmented reality. The initiative is supported through five collaborative grants from the National Science Foundation.
The collaboration brings together expertise in hands-on learning, public engagement, libraries and emerging technologies. According to information released with the announcement, the project is intended to contribute to research on learning, engagement and information behaviour in immersive environments.
New Media Learning will act as a development, hosting and dissemination partner for the project. The research environment is being designed as an expandable prototype that can enable broader access to immersive educational experiences.
The initiative additionally includes participation from undergraduate and postgraduate students at San José State University. Students will work alongside faculty researchers and technology partners as part of the project.
The research programme is intended to provide practical experience in areas such as information science, user experience research, immersive technologies, artificial intelligence, and digital learning. The project will also add to National Science Foundation-supported research activities.
Future research using the platform may extend into areas including information literacy, workforce development, cultural heritage preservation, public health communication, museum learning experiences and artificial intelligence-assisted hands-on learning environments.
The project forms part of wider efforts to examine how libraries, schools, and universities can use emerging technologies to support public learning and access to information.
VERA is developing a human-machine system designed to enable large-scale human-subjects research in extended reality environments. The programme seeks to support experimentation in virtual and augmented reality while supporting collaboration among researchers working in the field of immersive technology.
San José State University School of Information is a provider of online information education and is home to one of the world’s largest graduate programmes in library and information science. The school prepares professionals for careers in libraries, archives, museums, technology organisations and other information-focused sectors.
Its Library Technology Integration Lab conducts research into the use of emerging technologies in learning and information environments. The laboratory’s activities include work involving artificial intelligence, virtual reality, extended reality, robotics, drones, computer literacy and hands-on learning technologies.
New Media Learning was founded by educator and technologist John MacLeod and is focused on integrating extended reality technologies in schools, libraries, museums, and community learning settings. The organisation has deployed more than 200 virtual reality systems across California and Nevada and has supported interactive educational programmes for thousands of learners.
The grant award establishes the first use-grant collaboration under the VERA programme and will support research into the relationship between immersive technologies, learning and information behaviour across a range of educational and community environments.
