Learning history through living it: Northwestern professor employs VR in education

Doha, Qatar: A Northwestern Qatar professor has developed an innovative educational technology solution to make history lessons more immersive by lett...

Doha, Qatar: A Northwestern Qatar professor has developed an innovative educational technology solution to make history lessons more immersive by letting students live the ancient events in virtual reality.

‘Plague of Athens VR’ — developed at Northwestern University in Qatar with support from Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) and Qatar Foundation — has launched internationally on major virtual reality platforms, marking a significant milestone for Qatar’s growing edtech sector.

Spencer Striker, who teaches digital media design at Northwestern Qatar, started working on the project during the pandemic as a solution for distance learning and making the education process more engaging for students. He received two grants from QRDI and it took him around three years to finish the virtual reality edtech innovation, which is now available on platforms such as Meta Quest, Steam VR, and Pico VR.

Striker has worked on a number of edtech projects but this is his first VR project. It transforms historical education by immersing users in the world’s first recorded pandemic in 429 BCE.