HUMBER'S VISUAL AND DIGITAL ARTS PROGRAM ENHANCES STUDENTS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCE THROUGH AR/VR

By Saran Davaajargal

ON AN EARLY MARCH DAY in 2022, Humber’s Visual and Digital Arts’ (VADA) Interactive Art class students gathered at the Humber Art Commons, an open concept studio space at Humber’s Lakeshore campus, to embark on the journey of using Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR). For the Faculty of Media & Creative Arts (FMCA) team, this day had been long in the making.

In 2019, Steve Cober, professor in the FMCA, started redesigning the interactive art curriculum for the VADA program. An integral component of the redesign was to provide students with the opportunity to explore art beyond just the sense of sight through immersion in 3D space. As part of the new curriculum, the students would create virtual paintings that would be built in 3D space and displayed as installations on campus using AR. Asked about the goals of the redesigned curriculum, Steve responds, “We wanted to bridge digital art tools with traditional ideas of art such as looking at the human form in life drawing, looking at landscapes and painting light. The goal is for the students to be equally fluent in working with both physical and digital tools.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the VADA curriculum plan was unexpectedly halted as students could not attend in-person classes. A year and a half later, Steve was eager to bring his ideas to life when he met David Neumann, professor in the FMCA, who was keen to work with faculty members on projects about emerging technologies.

SUPPORT FROM HUMBER’S OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

In 2021, David received funding from Humber’s Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) to conduct research on incorporating more emerging technologies into the classroom. As part of this endeavour, David has collaborated with multiple programs across Humber, from VADA to Baking and Pastry Arts to Fashion Management.

Through proof of process multi-disciplinary research, the project team sought to bring together a group of industry stakeholders, students, and faculty from different disciplines and create a project that investigates a specific potential opportunity for emerging technology to be incorporated into the curriculum within one to two terms.

SPARKING CURIOSITY AND BUILDING CONFIDENCE

Motivated by their shared passion for using emerging technologies, Steve and David organized a workshop for using VR at the end of the Fall 2021 semester. They wanted to make it fun and engaging for the students, so they invited all interested students to join the workshop and build snowmen in the virtual space. The workshop was a big success as many participants were eager to learn more about incorporating VR into their arts.

For some students, the experience helped them open up to the possibility of using technology in their art. Anna Shimizu, a VADA student who participated in the workshop, says the following about her experience:

The Virtual Reality experience brought me to an entirely new imagination world. It was not the experience we usually go through on the surface of the computer. For me, it was more like a physical experience. I could create my own imaginary world by touching, enlarging or shrinking, or changing the colour with just one touch by hand. I knew it was a virtual activity, but I could feel the surface of the objects in the virtual world. This experience broke the mind blocks of using new technology in art practice as an artist. It gives me the confidence to dive into the virtual world.

—ANNA SHIMIZU, VADA STUDENT

DE-SILOED APPROACH TO COLLABORATION

Steve emphasizes that the de-siloed approach to collaboration that reverberates throughout Humber has been an essential part of the endeavour. To bring the redesigned curriculum to fruition in the Spring 2022 semester, Steve worked closely with Michael Simmons, Digital Signage IT specialist at the FMCA. Steve and Michael facilitated the in-person class sessions at the Humber Art Commons, with Michael helping students resolve the technical challenges that they were experiencing.

Steve notes, “Michael was truly present and active. It made such a massive difference for how we could do this.” He added, “For me, as a sessional faculty member, knowing that I have the support of the school has been instrumental. I can depend on Michael, and I can work with David, even though David and I aren't in the same program. We’re not caught in a silo, and it speaks to the cross-disciplinary collaboration that permeates the Humber community.”

INTEGRATION OF AR/VR IN THE CLASSROOM SESSIONS

Over the second half of the Spring 2022 semester, the VADA Interactive Art class students worked on two projects that transformed their 2D arts into 3D. In the first project, the students explored the virtual identity that exists at the intersection of art and social media, while the second project invited students to reimagine access to art without constraints imposed by physical dimensions.

Despite the weeks of preparation that went into planning the in-person sessions, the FMCA team encountered several technological and logistical hurdles along the way. In the face of these challenges, they pivoted, readjusted and persisted.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNA SHIMIZU

Reflecting on what helped them to stay focused and motivated in the face of the challenges, Steve and Michael stated:

For me, getting to design and implement an interactive art course is a dream because one of my passions is the mix of creativity and technology. Everything that goes into the course is things I’m personally passionate about. My goal with the course is to empower students and give them wings.

—STEVE COBER, PROFESSOR, FMCA

In my current role, I have the opportunity to share the experience of using VR headsets with students, and it’s been great to see how students interact with it and enjoy it. It was also exciting to see the progress students made in a short period of time. Whenever students are happy, I’m happy.

— MICHAEL SIMMONS, DIGITAL SIGNAGE IT SPECIALIST, FMCA

STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCE WITH AR/VR

Using AR/VR in the classroom has been a transformative learning experience for many students. For some of them, working in the 3D space enabled more opportunities to express their creativity. For others, the experience helped them to expand their perceptions of traditional artwork.

Here are what current VADA students had to say about their experience using AR/VR in the classroom:

Working in 2D formats can sometimes be limiting for designers who think in 3D. 3D visualizations are really useful to explain the idea, product or project you have designed to the other person. It feels like a real privilege to be able to see what you imagine in its actual dimensions and walk around it. There is almost no end to what can be done with this technology.

—EBRU KUR, VADA STUDENT

Using VR has helped me bridge the gap between tactile and digital creation. Being able to sculpt materials by hand makes 3D modelling much more accessible to an artist learning to work digitally. The digital work is then brought back to the real world with the incorporation of augmented reality. Traditional artworks can be expanded on with 3D models and animations. I'm optimistic about the future of AR in galleries and street art. AR and VR have become less niche and can be enjoyed by more people.

—MEAHA CAUDLE-CHOI, VADA STUDENT

As a result of their experiences, the students have been able to develop their knowledge of using Gravity Sketch, a 3D design and modelling software. Ebru Kur, a VADA student, states, “Gravity Sketch is a good starter program for those who want to try 3D design. Understanding the interface takes no more than 15-20 minutes, and then an endless creative potential awaits you.”

Gabriel Arrache, a VADA student, added, “Working in 3D directly on a 3D environment is transformational. Although this workflow is in its infancy, it really makes you think about how silly it is to create a 3D project using only a 2D display. I think this really is the way to go.”

BUILDING ON THE STRENGTH OF THE HUMBER COMMUNITY

Steve shares that his next goal is to build a stronger network of students who can help champion AR/ VR to other students. One of the ways he hopes to accomplish this is through the Gravity Sketch Student Ambassador program, which provides educational resources, technology support and curriculum planning to partner institutions and students. Steve notes that he has recently recommended three Humber students to the Ambassador program.

Looking ahead to the implementation of AR/VR in future classes, Steve says, “I am hoping that this integration of AR/VR into the curriculum will be a catalyst to make it a creative stream that builds a connection with other Humber programs and differentiates the VADA art program from other art programs.”

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