Reading Beyond the Page with VR

A Teaching Fellow’s perspective 

Picture this. You’re witnessing the horrors of a wartime era, touring the Amazonian landscapes, cautiously treading forsaken lands surrounded by alien-like creatures and tumbling down the ever-famous rabbit hole before Alice did. All these experiences happened simultaneously on two early mornings in the Library LIBtyes space for student teachers from the Post Graduate Diploma in Education (English Language/Primary) who are taking the Children’s Literature course.

Throughout the semester, students have been exploring the different genres and modes of children’s literature, its potential for spreading the joy of reading and applications in English Language teaching.  As part of their learning, students were also encouraged to consider the advancements of digital technologies in enhancing children’s literary journeys.  Facilitated by the Library team, a range of immersive VR experiences were specially chosen to enable different levels of user participation – passive, explorative or interactive. They allowed the students to take on multiple perspectives, participate in other communities, revisit a time in history, interact with virtual entities and explore spaces that would otherwise be difficult to reach.  

As students removed their headsets and transitioned back to reality, the room buzzed with reflections of the experience—how ‘intense’ and ‘surreal’ it felt and how powerfully ‘immersive’ it was. This compelled them to think of the ever-evolving potential of digital technologies in engaging learners and providing them with real-time experiences while enabling active participation, perspective-taking, and situated learning.

Books transport us into different worlds and experiences, and for a brief moment, the students didn’t just imagine these worlds; they lived them.

Ms Shreenjit Kaur

A snapshot of VR apps in NIE Library

Here’s a glimpse into the six VR applications experienced by the student teachers from the Children’s Literature course:

Moss: Join Quill, a brave little mouse,  on an epic journey in a storybook world filled with ancient magic, where players explore forgotten realms, solve puzzles, and battle mythical enemies. Duration: 3-5 hours

Down the Rabbit Hole: Experience Wonderland before Alice's arrival, helping a girl named Patches find her lost pet while exploring magical locations, solving puzzles, and making story-altering choices. Duration: 1-2 hours

National Geographic VR: Embark on an expedition to Antarctica, navigating icebergs, kayaking, climbing ice shelves, and surviving snowstorms while capturing photographs for National Geographic. Duration: 30 minutes

Jungle Animals Discovery – Wild Immersion: Discover endangered species like the Amazonian jaguar and the green sea turtle in their natural habitats through an immersive experience on the Uptale Platform. Duration: 10 minutes

The Key: Join Anna on a journey through her dreams as she seeks to uncover her forgotten past and the mystery of a key, facing challenges and making critical decisions along the way. Duration: 25 minutes

Anne Frank House VR: Travel to the Second World War era and explore the secret Annex where Anne Frank and her family hid, experiencing the emotional weight of their story through faithfully recreated rooms. Duration: 30 minutes

The NIE Library provides access to a range of VR applications that inspire learning and exploration. If you’re interested in integrating VR into your classroom or collaborating on VR initiatives, please contact the library at libsys@nie.edu.sg.

For more information, visit https://libguides.nie.edu.sg/virtual-reality.