If you are not experiencing it, you are not understanding it! : using virtual reality to understand migrants

Abstract

Classes are becoming increasingly multi ethnic and it is often the case that teachers are only trained to handle these new realities via textbooks. This project involves getting teachers and their pupils to undergo a virtual reality (VR) experience, which will narrate the story of a migrant child; through the mundane activities of a classroom setting. The whole experience lasts eight minutes per user, however we envisage that with the use of VR, it will leave a long lasting imprint on them, hence conveying a powerful message. It is well known that shared perspectives breed understanding and this is what we’re trying to achieve. So far, we could only do so through audio-visual experiences such as videos, books, etc. By following the life of these people, we can get a taste of what their life is. However, VR represents a huge leap forward when it comes to experiencing compassion. It is about seeing the world through their eyes, even reading and listening to what goes through their mind. The VR headset can easily become an empathy machine capable of influencing the perception of the users. The unrest in Syria, Libya and other countries, which are maybe too far away from our reality, will have a global, devastating effect if not managed properly. On the other hand, we have a generation of people who do not read newspapers and skip news bulletins so we have to entice them in some way or another, hence the venturing into VR journalism. Finally, the project will be studying the impact of this technology with teachers and their pupils in order to document the long lasting effect of such an experience over users (Camilleri, Scicluna, Briffa, Dingli, & Camilleri, 2016).