Learning about climate change with Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) headsets afford students unparalleled immersion and interaction, and have been proven to improve retention, engagement and understanding. James Cull, Deputy Project Lead for Birkbeck’s Virtual Reality and Immersive Learning project, describes some of the resources available.
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James Cull
Deputy Project Lead for the Virtual Reality and Immersive Learning project
VR headsets afford students unparalleled immersion and interaction and have been proven to improve retention, engagement and understanding. For environmental education, the value of this technology lies in rendering abstract or distant environmental problems more tangible; students can observe the impact of rising sea levels, for example, or explore fragile habitats. Academics at Birkbeck are already integrating VR experiences into environmental teaching and public engagement, around topics like sea level rise and deforestation.
Interactive experiences, as the name suggests, invite participants to interact with the VR world.
Examples of interactive learning experiences
For example, Explore, created by non-profit organisation The Hydrous, combines underwater 360 video and CGI animation to create a fully interactive ocean environment. Users take an interactive VR dive on the coral reefs of Palau and undergo training to become a marine biologist, tagging manta rays and measuring coral reef biodiversity.
EcoQuest VR (currently in beta testing) is another highly interactive experience that challenges users to sort different kinds of waste as quickly and efficiently as possible, introducing a competitive edge which often appeals to students.
For a more passive but still immersive experience, 360 videos cover a wide range of topics. For example, the Within production company has created a range of 360 resources in collaboration with MIT covering topics like deforestation in the Amazon, ice melt in the Arctic, and forest fires.
Produced using specialist equipment called 360 cameras, these experiences provide a degree of agency for the viewer to direct their own gaze, rather than only being able to see the rectangle of the conventional camera view and so can be an excellent way for students to be further engrossed in a story, especially when they can watch them in a VR headset, where the point of view changes when they look around them.
Watching these videos on a mobile telephone is the best way to recreate this feeling without the need for specialist equipment, as the phone's internal accelerometer mimics the movement of the head. Students can also watch these videos on a normal screen - this method is still interactive, but a mouse or a touchscreen is needed to move the view around.
These videos reflect a range of perspectives, from government efforts to adapt at a country level to indigenous peoples’ experiences with climate change. State of Green, who work with the Danish government, have created a playlist on how the country is adapting to threats associated with climate change. Sea of Islands, part of the Ecosphere collection of films from the United Nations, focuses on how island communities are adapting and combating climate change. Climate Change on the Navajo Nation follows a Navajo family trying to cope with extreme weather conditions, as a shrinking water supply threatens their livelihoods and traditions.
When searching for 360 videos that might align closer to your teaching or training needs, you can use the filter function on YouTube search and choose either ‘360’ or ‘VR180’. Bear in mind that equipment has improved over the years. Older videos may lack the resolution of more recent productions.
With access to 360 cameras, students can even explore telling their own stories around how climate change is impacting their local or national environments.
However, the technology discussed so far does come at a cost and requires institutional appetite for ongoing support. When using VR headsets, consideration must also be made to the size of the room versus how many people can interact simultaneously (each viewer needs at least 1m circle in which to play for seated experiences and 2m for standing), suitable and stable WiFi connections, and management, charging and security of the kit needs to be planned for before purchase.
Immersive learning at Birkbeck
At Birkbeck, we are launching the Immersive Learning Centre (due October 2025), complete with a classroom, a PC Lab and a Studio, as well as a loan service through the library to facilitate integration of the technologies associated with immersive learning into teaching, such as 3D scanning, Motion Capture, game engines and 360 audio and video. The Birkbeck Immersive Learning team is happy to share our learnings about the experience of setting up this space with external organisations.
Additionally, educators need to consider alternative modes of learning for students who cannot use VR headsets, perhaps due to medical conditions. Working together, the Environmental Education Team and the VRIL Team have successfully used VR as part of a mixed-media approach, blending different kinds of learning experiences in a single session both to manage demands on space and available tech, and provide more ways for students to learn and engage. The Environmental Education Team can share more about the pedagogical dimensions of teaching and learning with VR.
If you are interested in learning more about integrating VR into environment and sustainability teaching or training, contact Birkbeck's Environmental Education Team or the Immersive Learning team.
Views shared are the personal reflections of James Cull, Deputy Project Lead for the Virtual Reality and Immersive Learning project at Birkbeck, University of London, and do not indicate institutional support or endorsement for a particular service, experience or brand.