XR Project

2022 Immersive Learning Conference Summative Report

Until recently, career and technical education skills required a great deal of hands-on experience that could not have been taught remotely. Although students still need to be trained in the field and laboratories, new technologies have emerged that allow virtual environments to serve as a supplementary role that increases proficiency. Through practice in a virtual environment, students may reduce the time, money, and resources required to spend in a physical workspace. These immersive learning technologies will provide CTE students equal access to instruction by allowing them to practice hands-on skills in flexible locations and times.

Using Perkins funding, the North Carolina Community College System Office (NCCCSO) hosted the 2022 Immersive Learning Conference at the Caraway Conference Center in Asheboro, NC. The mission of the Immersive Learning Conference was to allow community colleges throughout the state of North Carolina to share technology that has the potential to train students in career and technical skills both virtually and remotely. The conference introduced CTE faculty to a variety of immersive technologies that have the potential to expand instructional methods for the future workforce, making learning both exciting and relevant.

To allow for a laser-focused collaboration on specific trades, the 2022 Immersive Learning Conference was tailored to three Career Clusters ™:

• Architecture & Construction
• Manufacturing
• Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Each Career Cluster was placed into “Carousel Tracks,” where faculty rotated from session to session to learn about and experience a variety of immersive learning technologies.  The Tracks allowed faculty within the same field of study to ask specific questions related to their curriculum and collaborate among colleagues throughout the state of North Carolina.  These technologies included augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality.

2022 Immersive Learning Conference by the Numbers

• 32 Community Colleges represented
• 67 CTE faculty and support staff
  • 19 Faculty represented Architecture & Construction
  • 18 Faculty represented Manufacturing
  • 22 Faculty represented Transportation, Distribution & Logistics
  • 8 Instructional Designers that provide support for CTE faculty in technology implementation

Of those faculty who responded to the post-conference survey, one-quarter of the participants had very little awareness of immersive learning technology before the conference.  After the conference, 92% of the participants said they were not only aware of immersive learning technologies, but they could explain what it was to someone else in their field. In addition, approximately 75% of the respondents stated they identified at least one immersive technology that they would pursue adopting at their institution.

The NC Community College System is in the early stages of adopting innovative technology to extend training opportunities to our North Carolina citizens.  The next steps involve finding the right match between a college program, technology, and the funds to support launching these new technologies.  This is a challenge the NC Community College System gladly accepts because of the impact it will have on our students and North Carolina as a whole.