TalkTech 2023: Presenting Business and Culturewith Virtual Reality

A Global Collaboration Project between

Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania and
Bentley University, MA, USA

A Global Collaboration Project between 1

Politehnica University of Timisoara, Romania and
Bentley University, MA, USA 1

Description 2

Collaboration with UniCampus 2

Topics 3

Milestones 3

Topics 5

Research, Plan, and Blog about your Visit 6

CoSpaces Virtual Reality Scene Requirements 7

Sharing and Reflections on your Project 7

Using CoSpaces 8

Description

Digital reality (augmented and virtual reality and other immersive multimedia experiences)  have brought about new forms of engagement across industries in recent years as advances in mobile and virtual technologies have raised awareness and usage of these technologies.  

Bentley students in CS100 (Solving Business Problems with Information Technology) , and UPT students in TMM (Technology of Multimedia) will participate in teams of four (2 students from each school per team) to explore uses of virtual reality to share experiences of local culture or business.

With your international partners, you will use web-based collaboration and communication tools to meet both synchronously (in real time using voice, video, and chat) and asynchronously (via email, or messaging) to create and share artefacts of virtual reality and discuss similarities and differences after virtually ”visiting” similar locations as selected by your partners.

Project requirements and results:

1. VR experience - Each team will create one shared  virtual reality experience using Co-Spaces, as a combination of 4 scenes (2 from UPT and 2 from BU), based on a common story around the topic. 

2. Research - each part of the team need to do a research on the topic, and the objects/building in the scenes for information and write a blog post about it on UniCampus - 2 blog post per team 

3. Critique -  Each team will meet online and review and critique the VR experiences that  partners created during a video call.

Collaboration with UniCampus

For this project you will use UniCampus, an online collaboration tool managed by UPT, to share your group’s progress with each other and with your instructors. To access this account please check the email message you will receive with your login information (including your Spam and Junk). The course is located here - https://unicampus.ro/cursuri/course/view.php?id=303 

You will receive your individual UniCampus account via email!

You will use the blog feature of UniCampus to share your group’s multimedia and video files, findings, progress, and reflections.   

Post a summary of your conversations, text messages, on UniCampus each week as you work on the project, in the Blog of your group.  

Topics

Select one of these artefacts/places/locations of cultural interest to create a digital story in virtual reality.  You will create a VR story in Co-Spaces describing what you learned about the history, importance, cultural value, activities, or business opportunities performed or that took place there.  See examples below.

1. University Sports - UPT stadium + local football game or Hockey Arena

2. Current event (concert, play - SH play 4/11,  )

3. Celebratory outdoor market - Christmas or farmers Market + Halloween or market

4. Location of an Historical event - Revolution - TM89 revolution Museum + American Revolution 1776 

5. Culture place - TM National museum + Major Museum (pass from BU Library)

6. University Locations - landmarks - Rectorate, Senate Hall or Library + BU Library

7. Local coffee shop - Ambasada, Garage… + cafe on the common  or other cafe that’s not Starbucks

8. Business Innovation - electric cars & charging - TMUPT race car+ and Trading room  or Charles River Museum, or 

9. Local entrepreneurship - UPT Innohub - BU:  “The Garage” E-hub

Sign up here. 

Sign up for a topic you’re interested in exploring with your partners. We will notify you if we change your group or topic to better balance the teams.

Milestones

This project has many small parts and milestones. 

Research, Plan, and Blog about your Visit

Work with your partners to research about the selected topic  in your own city. Please find information from official sources online or offline (books or magazines from the library),  (UPT students from Spotlight Heritage project)  and also investigate personal memories about the location.  It is important that you learn about it so you can create a real and true storyline about the topic. 

Learn how to create a 360 Image. To create a 360 image, you can borrow a 360 camera (ask your teacher).  Take a few photos when you visit so you can see which came out the best. The 360 image should be clear and of good quality reflecting the topic you selected, have less people on it (think of privacy).

Write a Blog Post: Each university team creates a blog post on UniCampus with information (at least four interesting facts) that you learned about your topic/artefact/location.  Include links if you have references online.  Include photos or videos if you wish from your visit. Post it to UniCampus.  Suggested length:  150 words. This needs to be done before you complete your VR Scene. (

Comment on a Blog Post: Read the blog post that your international partners wrote and individually write a comment on it, describing what you learned, how is similar or different to your team’s example.  (Week of Nov 14)

CoSpaces Virtual Reality Scene Requirements

Each group will create one VR story in CoSpaces containing dialogue and information about your location. The story will contain at least four scenes, two from each university, with “jump” buttons to navigate from one to another..

One scene will be a 3D environment you create  and one will be a  360-degree  photo image.  Watch

Incorporate avatars, dialog and other elements to present at least four facts about your topic or location that you learned. YOu can use a template or make your own when designing the 3D environment  scene. Create something that is relevant to your location.

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The scenes need to tell the story about the place or the topic and to have a jump between each other scenes by creating a button or connection link. 

It is important that VR experiences tell a story either in sequential format (one scene after another) or unstructured (where you can click from any scene to any other scene, or you can create a home scene and then go to the others  from there) - think of digital storytelling.

Team members from each university  will work on their own scenes within the same CoSpaces project,. If you do not create the scenes in the same project you can’t create the jump between.

Sharing and Reflections on your Project

Project Link Blog Post:  One person from your combined team posts the link to your group’s combined project.

Reflection Blog Post:  Each person posts a short reflection (200 words) on this project to UniCampus. 

• What did you learn by  developing a  virtual reality scene  to tell a story about your location? 

• What did you learn about the culture of your international partners by completing this project?

• What similarities or differences did you notice in your scene on similar topics from different countries?

• What did you learn about Virtual reality, and how did it enhance your learning experience?

Reflection Video: With your partners, record a short video (4 minutes at most) describing what worked and didn't work for your team while creating this project. What challenges and successes did you have while working as a team?

Critique Video.  Record a Zoom meeting with your partners as you present and critique each other’s scenes.  Discuss similarities and differences, record the conversation on Zoom.Create a 3 to 5 minute video in which all team members demo, discuss and critique the VR scenes created by your partners. 

Post the video on a streaming platform such as YouTube (or link from your OneDrive) and include the link in your blog post on UniCampus.  Embed the video if you post it to YouTube.

Using CoSpaces

Use CoSpaces  to create your VR experience.  CoSpaces enables you to  animate your VR world without too much difficulty using CoBlocks, a block-based visual programming environment within CoSpaces.  Since the UPT students have programming experience, they are required to do this, and can help the Bentley students to animate their VR worlds.  Bentley students can ask CIS Sandbox tutors for help.

Each student must go to  http://edu.cospaces.io and create an account;. Enter the class code  LY65V and then use your real first and last name and school email address for the account information. Enter your birthday!

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Finally, accept the terms and conditions.

You will be assigned to the TT23 Group number with your Bentley and UPT team members. Then you should be ready to go!