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Join in and make an Impact around Immersive Teaching and Learning at GVSU!

The XR Collective is a collaborative of faculty, staff, and students and is focused on discovering, exploring, experimenting, and accelerating the application of Extended Reality (XR) to transform teaching and learning at Grand Valley State University.

Beginning in May 2025, the founding members of this initiative include: Paul Hillman and Dawn Brackmann (Seidman College of Business), Courtney Topic (School of Criminology), David Shultz and Chris Cirefice (Language Resource Center), Hunter Bridwell, Erion Adams, Joseph Van Harken, and Eric Kunnen (Innovation + Research), Owen Mearns (Simulation Center), and Kelley Senkowski (eLearning Technologies). Since launching, the XR Collective has grown from an informal conversation around virtual and augmented reality, into one of IT Innovation + Research's most active hubs of innovation in the futurEDlab. Focusing on bringing extended reality and AI-powered simulation into courses across Criminal Justice, the Seidman College of Business, the Language Resource Center, Nursing Simulation Center, and Legal Studies, the XR Collective is an exciting community of practice, driving immersive teaching and learning. 

Put simply, the XR Collective's momentum has come from one thing above all: people showing up, sharing what they're trying, and building on each other's work. That is how this group turns curiosity into curriculum.

The collective meets once a month in the X►STUDIO, with students from the Student Technology and Innovation Guild (STING) and IT Innovation + Research Faculty Fellows to pioneer the future of education through emerging technologies, including: virtual, augmented, and mixed reality as well as 360 degree immersive video.

We invite the GVSU community to get involved:

• Faculty — bring a course challenge, a curiosity, or a lesson you'd like to reimagine in XR. No prior experience with VR or AI tools is required.
• Staff — share expertise in instructional design, accessibility, device support, or student services to help these pilots scale responsibly.
• Students — get hands-on with emerging technology, contribute to real projects through STING and X>STUDIO, and help shape how immersive learning grows at Grand Valley.
• Administrators — help connect this work to departmental goals, funding pathways, and strategic priorities.

The XR Collective meets monthly in the X>STUDIO in the futurEDlab on the City Campus. Come see what's being built — and help decide what we build next!

Be Inspired and Connect with Us!

Looking for examples of extended reality use in teaching and learning?

• Please review the examples below and be sure to review the "Learning through Virtual Reality" article on GVNext.
• For more examples of innovative projects facilitated by the I+R team, please visit our Project Portfolio page.

Additionally, if you are looking to join our collaborative, or if you are in search of advice, or have a question around extended reality applications at GVSU, please contact the IT Innovation + Research team ([email protected]) for a consultation meeting. We are looking forward to inventing the future with you!

Partners

Our current industry partners include: 

• Meta 
• Ovation
• ImmerseMe
• Unity
• 3DVista 
• Uptale
• Bodyswaps
• Ludenso
• Wander