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ÍøÆØÃÅ to dedicate virtual reality lab on Monday, April 29

Published April 26, 2019

The University of Louisiana at Monroe recently opened its newest cutting-edge opportunity, the Thomas J. Nicholson Virtual Reality Lab. Thanks to a generous donation from the Jean and Saul A. Mintz Foundation, a lab with 28 student stations with Oculus Go 64GB VR headsets and headphones and an instructor’s station has been established in theÌýÍøÆØÃÅ Library. It also features two networked projection screens.

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Students in the VR lab in the ÍøÆØÃÅ Library.

The lab willÌýbe officially dedicated at an eventÌýat 1:30 p.m.,ÌýMonday, April 29 in Room 259.

The lab can be scheduled for classes and has open hours from noon-4 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Currently, users have access to several different software programs including Breaking Boundaries in Science, The Body VR, Jurassic World: Blue, YouTube VR and many others, with ÍøÆØÃÅ-made content coming soon.

The VR lab is the most recent collaborative initiative between the Office of Information Technology and the library. It represents a significant part of the library’s evolving Information Commons taking shape on the second floor.

“This is anÌýexciting opportunity for ÍøÆØÃÅ that willÌýenhance the traditional classroom learning experience for our studentsÌýand also open up research possibilities across the disciplines," said Thomas Hoover, CIO and Dean of Library Information Technology.

The lab will also enhance the learning and teaching experience of the campus community. The lab has already had an impact beyond ÍøÆØÃÅ as students from Woodlawn Middle School have used the facility. Additionally, several ÍøÆØÃÅ faculty have brought their classes to use the lab, representing several different colleges and disciplines across campus including education, geography, marketing, computer science and astronomy.ÌýÌý Ìý


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