The VRSciT project consists of conducting a virtual educational visit to locations of cultural, social and natural interest of each partner involved, from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Lithuania, by using Virtual Reality (VR) immersion and interaction techniques to provide users a unique learning experience. VR technology adoption removes the barriers of remote visualization of environments making possible for everyone to experience a high educational value through digitalization. The VRSciT project specifically aims to explore new approaches in educational tourism, such as 3D modeling together with 360º immersive VR environments to build innovative virtual educational scenes, from four different countries. To achieve this objective, several products will be developed by the partners, namely: (i) Share a literature review of VR technology. (ii) Elaboration of an interactive virtual reality experience - 'VRSciT SPOT´. (iii) Production of an Online Web Toolkit. (iv) Training events to share best practices using VR technology in educational tourism (v) Multiplier event to promote the project's results People who experience the VRSciT SPOT will be able to make an immersive trip, not only in the landscapes of the Northeast region of Trás-os-Montes, but also to travel through the landscapes of the regions of the other partners, thus increasing the visibility of all the contemplated regions and a clear confirmation of the European-wide partner entities. Providing access to scientific information and educational activities for people with different social backgrounds will allow less favored people, such as people with less economic power or physical disabilities, to access recent technologies, promoting inclusion by allowing unrestrained access and interaction with technology that otherwise would not be possible. So the target group of VRScriT project is the adult learners that visit all the partners and will have access to scientific and educational tourism with new interactive learning environments. The project will produce a broad impact through the delivery and the publication of the Intellectual Outputs, the implementation of training events, and the dissemination plan. The continuous innovation of the Institutions in terms of the touristic and scientific offer, one of the vital components of the European Union's policy for lifelong adult learning, will, in general, enable the visitors to: (i) in the specific field of adult education: improve the basic skills of individuals by managing new technology and information; deep/consolidate specific skills (in terms of cultural literacy, science and technology, European citizenship, interculturality, and community development); integrate of experienced knowledge in their lives; promote language skills; improve personal motivation and critical reflection. (ii) in the creation of new opportunities: disseminate of best international practices (through the creation of local and regional dynamics that enhance technological innovation opportunities and also in the development of entrepreneurial and sustainable projects for the community in general); stimulate the development of innovative activities (contribution to the expression of scientific and technological based companies); stimulate the construction of a more active, responsible and interventional citizenship (creation/reinforcement of individual cognitive, social and cultural background, in a structured and oriented way). The consortium believes that this project will enable the target groups, to not only acquire and consolidate skills at the level of adult education, but also to improve their skills in European citizenship, interculturality, employment, and community development, emphasizing the promotion of learning, digital literacy, debate and sharing of scientific and technological knowledge. The whole project idea is based on a transnational comparison of approaches, issues, solutions and good practice in the implementation of innovative strategies for educational tourism using informal innovative procedures. Furthermore, it is expected that each partner will have the opportunity to take advantage of research in the introduced novelties and build on the project’s achievements. After completion, the project will deliver guidelines for the design of future collaborations and will present the capabilities that the advanced technologies of Virtual reality are offering in bringing modern technology to society. This way the project will make a valuable contribution to the modernization of Europe Digitalization using focusing on an informal pedagogical approach combined with digital technologies.
The main goal of the VR Science Tour (VRSciT) project was to develop a pilot educational virtual tour experience applied to relevant locations of the cultural, social and natural value of each partner’s region involved and by using VR immersion and interaction techniques provide a unique learning experience for adults with special attention to those that have less opportunities to travel. Specific objectives were: - Promoting the valorisation and efficient management of cultural heritage and natural landscape resources, increasing the scientific-cultural services available and allowing access to the adult learners. - Promoting the use of technology, and specifically Virtual reality, to carry out different cultural, social and scientific activities addressed to adult learners through the cooperation among museums and universities - Enhancing the use of innovative technologies to make adult education more accessible in an attractive way for different audiences, combining natural and historical-cultural heritage with a modern and technological approach. - Explore new ways for inducing means for learning and memorization of subjects due to the use of emotion connection with the use of immersive environments and foster the adoption of new technological trends that improve learning and make a difference in the current teaching manners;
The project rationale was based on the combine valorisation of three important tendencies: - The growing educational driven dimension of tourism occurring both, as everyday more often individuals travel to a location with the primary purpose of engaging themselves in a learning experience linked to the overall understanding to the culture, the language, the habits, the history of the places visited and to be visited and as the tourism sector is understanding the attractiveness of an offer that goes beyond pure leisure. - The growing opportunities that technologies give to remove the barrier of distance and specifically how virtual reality based technologies can provide opportunities of visiting locations, cultural, social and natural places of interest to provide users at risk of being excluded because of economic, social and physical conditions with the chance to live experiences beyond the need of moving physically. - How Virtual Reality is transforming the process of learning through opening experiences that would not be accessible in formal education. Virtual reality enables the implementation of knowledge construction theories allowing learning to be boosted by the manipulation of objects, places and experiences in virtual worlds without the boundaries and constraints of a teacher to learner limited transfer of knowledge Within this context the VrScit project identified and selected to address the needs of Adult education providers and tourism and cultural operators: - to gain a more in depth understanding of the technological state of art and related potential implementation of Virtual reality based methods and approaches in educational initiatives - of exploring pilot experiences of the beneficial effects of the combination of educational tourism based contents and virtual reality technology to enhance inclusiveness and attractiveness of education to adult learners - of accessing to a practical oriented yet scientifically and technologically reliable set of tools to become able to adopt new approaches in the educational tourism field