2023-2024
On Feb. 23, 2024, Mihaela Popescu, CSUSB professor of media studies and faculty director of the Extended Reality for Learning Lab (xREAL), was a guest on the “On Tech Ethics with CITI Program” podcast to discuss privacy considerations for extended reality settings.
Presented by The Phoenix of Gaza XR Team, with support from the Extended REALity for Learning (xREAL) Lab at CSUSB, the virtual event will take place at the Santos Manuel Student Union North on Monday, Feb. 12, and at the Faculty Center for Excellence, Pfau Library, on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
For the first time, CSUSB has introduced motion capture technology into its theatre training. Performance capture will be coming next. Kristi Papailler, assistant professor of acting and directing, breaks it down for us.
2022-2023
SMSU (February 14,2023)- xREAL Lab student assistants showcased technology funded by success fees at the Student Success Initiative (SSI) Annual Showcase. The presentation included a demonstration of the work we can produce in our motion capture (mocap) studio and the opportunity for students to put on a VR headset and experience the Hispanic Heritage Month VR tour.
To view a video of our mocap demonstration visit any of our social media pages:
Zoom (March 22,2023)- xREAL Faculty Director Dr. Mihaela Popescu participated in the panel discussion 'ChatGPT in the University: Faculty Perspectives,” presented by the CSUSB Libraries and the Faculty Center for Excellence from noon-1:30 p.m. on Zoom. In the March 22 panel discussion, moderated by Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Rafik Mohamed, a broad cross section of academic disciplines shared insights and perspectives on ChatGPT and its implications for instruction, research and writing.
Inside CSUSB (March 15, 2023)- Students and staff at the xREAL Lab, in cooperation with the Immersive Media Lab and Mimesis Center for Documentary and Ethnographic Media at the University of Colorado, Boulder (CUB), started on-ground reporting on March 13 of the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6, using immersive technologies such as 360-degree filming.
CSUSB/Zoom (April 3, 2023)- xREAL co sponsored a free screening and panel discussion of Shalini Kantayya’s award-winning documentary, Coded Bias, on Monday, April 3rd. Following the screening, Dr. Liliana Conlisk-Gallegos (Communication Studies) moderated a panel discussion featuring 5 faculty fellows from CSUSB Extended Reality for Learning (xREAL) Lab. The panelists were: Prof. Kristi Papailler (Theater Arts), Prof. Rob Ray (Art & Design), Dr. Martim S. Galvão (Music), Dr. Ahlam Muhtaseb (Communication Studies), and Dr. Fadi Muheidat (Computer Science and Engineering).
Zoom (April 18,2023)- The panel "“Immersive Storytelling & Marginalized Communities: Capturing Turkey/Syria Earthquake Survivors’ Stories Using 360-degree Technology" was held over Zoom on April 18th. The panelists captured the affected areas in Southern Turkey and interviewed many Syrian refugee families who survived the devastating earthquake using this new immersive storytelling technology. You will listen to their experiences, hear some of the survivors’ stories, watch some of the videos, and know more about the 360-degree technology. This panel brought together a group of media professionals who used 360-degree technology to shed light on these families who were left behind and were not under the focus of international mainstream media.
Inside CSUSB (June 22, 2023)- Students enrolled in Dr. Solsona-Puig's EDMS 5106 A/B class were able to visit the xREAL Lab, learn how to integrate technology such as augmented reality (AR) into their classroom planning, and even create original AR materials to be integrated into their lesson plans thanks to the collaboration between Watson College of Education and the xREAL Lab.
2021-2022
Inside CSUSB (February 11, 2022) - As the recipient of the 2021 Graduate Extended Reality Research Scholarship, communication studies student Naim Aburaddi hopes to make it easier for students living in Gaza to communicate with the world and share their stories.
Inside CSUSB (April 5, 2022) - ATI video production students at CSUSB have produced their first video in a news package series by interviewing an xREAL 3D artist, JC Mariscal.
Inside CSUSB (May 24, 2022) - Filmmaker Sohail Dahdal presented “The Power of Immersive Media to Connect Diasporic Communities with Their Homeland,” on May 27 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the John M. Pfau Library, room PL- 4005 and on Zoom.
The lecture was co-hosted by the Extended Reality for Learning (xREAL) Lab with Information Technology Services at California State University, San Bernardino and the Center for the Study of Muslim & Arab Worlds at CSUSB.
Inside CSUSB (May 27, 2022) - Naim Aburaddi won a number of scholarships to fund his research including the Graduate Extended Reality Research Scholarship for $3,000 from the Extended Reality for Learning (xREAL) Lab with Information Technology Services (ITS) at CSUSB. The scholarship was for the research proposal “How Can the 360-Camera Technology Be Utilized as a Decolonial Tool?” to conduct an applied project intended to aid Palestinian groups and organizations that get accepted to present their work at international conferences and festivals, but cannot attend because of the Israeli blockade on Gaza.
Each year, xREAL works with faculty fellows and undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines to provide a vision for future teaching and learning, mentorship and hands-on experience for the students, and sustainable innovation for the larger campus community.
Inside CSUSB (July 11, 2022) - Cal State San Bernardino professors Fadi Muheidat (computer sciences), Kristi Papailler (theatre arts) and Wagner Prado (kinesiology) and CSUSB instructional technologist Yutong Liu were accepted to present their work with the university’s Extended Reality for Learning (xREAL) Lab with Information Technology Services (ITS) at EDUCAUSE’s ELI 2022 Annual Meeting held June 8-10 in San Diego. Papailler and Liu were joined by CSUSB instructional technologist Bobby Laudeman and computer science student Logan Ashbaugh in delivering the presentation titled “VR Meets AI Meets the Matrix: Using Embodied Conversational Agents for Experiential Learning.”
Inside CSUSB (August 17, 2022) - Cal State San Bernardino personnel from the university’s Extended Reality for Learning (xREAL) Lab participated in Cal State Tech Connect 2022, a virtual conference held in late July that showcased CSU campuses and their notable work in technology.
Inside CSUSB (October 13, 2022)- The Hispanic Heritage Month virtual experience was created by the Extended Reality for Learning Lab Extended Reality for Learning (xREAL) Lab with Information Technology Services (ITS) at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) in collaboration with the Hispanic Heritage Month committee to provide all campus members an opportunity to participate in the celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month. this experience is the perfect opportunity for those who haven’t visited these campus locations in person to virtually walk around and interact with one another the same way they would in person. In this truly immersive experience, guests can also meet virtually and have conversations in real-time. This article also highlights the three Latino students that were part of the xREAL team who brought their unique set of skills and ties to Latino culture to the Hispanic Heritage Month virtual exhibit.
University of New Mexico Newsroom (October 20, 2022)- University of New Mexico Communication & Journalism (C&J) Professor Michael Lechuga and graduate student Robert Howard elaborate on the Reconnections research project that they are developing with the help of the xREAL lab.
Inside CSUSB (October 25, 2022) - Partnering with ATI has already brought new experiential learning in motion capture animation, television camera operation, switching, and live production training for several PDC students who have driven tech demonstrations and live-streamed broadcasts of major events from the campus, including the annual “Tech Talks” event and the 2022 Student Convocation.
“PDC is extremely important to our department and the xREAL center, and we want to provide more technical services to the students of PDC,” said James Trotter, assistant director of Academic Technologies and Innovation. “ Partnering with Paws Radio and the Multi-Media Learning Lab made that goal even more possible.”
Inside CSUSB (October 21, 2022)- A 3D virtual reality environment capturing various pieces of everyday life in Gaza such as bright orange sunsets, a group of friends enjoying the beach and a stand selling delicious snacks by the seaside was used to demonstrate the potential of immersive media for reimagining public spaces.
The VR environment was introduced as part of the event, titled “Yesterday's Future: The Centuries-Long Quest For Virtual Reality,” hosted by the Annenberg Virtual Reality ColLABorative, and recreated by the Cal State San Bernardino Extended Reality for Learning (xREAL) Lab with Information Technology Services (ITS) using the VR platform Mozilla Hubs.
Inside CSUSB (November 9, 2022)- The CSUSB poster presentation by Arianna Huhn, associate professor of anthropology, and James Trotter, assistant director of Academic Technologies & Innovation (ATI).focused on a 360-degree virtual tour of the In|Dignity exhibition allowing to live on after the exhibition closes.
2021
Sponsored by Cal State Innovate, this collaboration between the Hub of Digital Transformation and Innovation (CSU Fresno) and xREAL provided a streamlined, extended reality experience using Mozilla Hubs. Developers and designers from both campuses created custom virtual spaces for conference attendees to socialize, display their work, and attend instructional seminars.
See project webpage.
Teacher candidates need to create classroom environments conducive to student success by using different furniture arrangements and materials. With no access to real classrooms, future teachers would have lost the benefits of experiential observation. But, using virtual reality, teacher candidates in ESPE 5531 Methods and Procedures in Special Education built digital classrooms with virtual assets. Using the platform Mozilla Hubs, they created and explored different classroom arrangements and understood how the architecture of the space promoted learning behaviors.
See project webpage.
Art needs an audience, even during a pandemic. Using 3D modeling on VR platforms such as 3D Vista and Mozilla Hubs, xREAL helped seven artists digitally recreate the campus Dutton Gallery and display their art in an immersive multimedia setting. (Photo credit: Andrea Clary, Pink Fantasy)
See exhibitions.
Inside CSUSB- With the guidance of the Extended Reality and Learning (xREAL) Lab and the communication studies department at Cal State San Bernardino, current CSUSB graduate student Shane Burrell got into his dream Ph.D. program for this coming fall: the gaming studies program at the University of Oregon.
Read article.
2020
Ever since the 2015 360-degree web VR documentary Clouds over Sidra about the Syrian refugee crisis helped UNICEF raise $3.8 billion in donations, immersive media have been used to create empathy for public issues. xREAL worked with Dr. Ahlam Muhtaseb (Department of Communication Studies) to document the plight of Palestinians in the Shatila refugee camp (Beirut, Lebanon) using immersive first-person reporting. (Photo credit: Image from Shatila Camp)
See project sample.
xREAL partnered with the Department of Kinesiology to develop immersive virtual tours of all its labs. Students in four KINE 2800 Exercise Physiology sections were more engaged and interested in the course topics thanks to a highly detailed virtual tour of the Human Performance Lab
Prospective students can now experience a virtual tour of all the labs in the Kinesiology department.
CSUSB Magazine Spring 2020 - Cal State San Bernardino’s xREAL Lab creates unique extended reality learning experiences for both faculty and students in a variety of fields, including archaeology, nursing and journalism.
Read article.
Inside CSUSB- CSUSB alumnus and lab intern reflects on his academic journey, his time at the lab, and his acceptance to the highly competitive doctoral program at UC Irvine’s School of Informatics.
Read article.
The CSU System News- CSUSB is one of several campuses that have established labs dedicated to introducing and creating immersive experiences. Projects from the xREAL lab were featured amongst others about how CSU faculty enhance the learning experience in the classroom and online by incorporating extended reality into teaching.
Read article.
2019
Using photogrammetry, xREAL helped MFA student Rebecca Warring-Crane reimagine her sculptures in a virtual environment. (Photo credit: Rebecca Warring-Crane, Family Tree)
See VR model.
Inside CSUSB- The lab received the silver award in the category Innovation in Teaching, Learning and/or Accessibility at the Cal State 2019 Tech Conference on July 30 in San Diego.
Read article.
2018
The CSU System News- CSU San Bernardino was featured as one of the CSU campuses using augmented/virtual reality technologies to learn. Dr. Mihaela Popescu provided insight into why these technologies should be adopted for teaching and learning.