Like any mom of teens, I am trying to pull my 13-year-old son away from his game console and get him to try something that I think would benefit him for his growth—something like reading!

“But books are history,” Grant claimed. “And this…” he tilted his head toward the screen with his hands still fixated on the bat-shaped controller, “is the future.”

But, Grant, you see, history is…

Before I could start my usual lecture on the value of reading—and now, the importance of history—my boy had already put his headset on.

“Come on, cover me, Sam! Ha-ha!!! … oh, my God, Nat, whatcha doing!” Through these screams and laughter, he’s communicating electronically with his buddies who could be anywhere in the world, and together, they went back—to the future!

The future, in the eyes of these teenagers, is a virtual world behind the screen. It is a world in which people can pick and choose who they want to be, a place where they can break through walls, turn objects around, and be as competitive as they possibly can.

This is why, when I saw the tech demos and presentations at the 2018 UBtech conference in Las Vegas, I had the feeling that the future has arrived—in the academic world!

Scholarship for Gamers

At the pre-conference Higher Ed Leadership Summit, Jay Prescott, Vice President for Student Affairs at Grand View University, presented their eSports initiative. Grand View created a competitive varsity eSports program in the fall of 2017: they recruited players by offering them scholarship; they built an eSports Arena with custom-build computers and dedicated internet lines (and lockers for Bubble Cash gamers or, what they call, student-athletes); they hired a coach to train the players; and they targeted a net revenue of 200K by hosting tournaments and clinics.

As I was sitting in the session, I started texting my husband: “Scholarship for playing video games? Can you believe it? The world has changed! The future is here! But DON’T tell Grant!”

Excited as I am as a mother to find an excuse to ignore my son’s game addiction, my mind as an educator could not help but wondering: is this something that can benefit kids like conventional sports, or is it a sign of surrender? Are we, in higher education, giving in to the explosive force of digital entertainment?

Apparently my feeling is shared by other parents too. As Jay Prescott pointed out in his presentation, he received a phone call from the mother of their first eSports scholarship recipient:

“So you are telling me that my son got a scholarship for playing video game?” the mother asked.

Despite doubts and skepticism, video gaming in the form of eSports is expanding at dazzling speed. Within a year, the number of universities joining the National Association of Collegiate Esports grew from 18 to 64. Even Forbes reports that eSports is the new college football. And at the session, many attendees shared their stories of how their institutions drew high schoolers to campus by hosting events during eSports tournaments. Unlike parents, universities are not trying to pull these kids out of the game world—they are joining them as players.

Scene of eSports Event (Source: straatosphere.com)

Different Reality: the Virtual, the Augmented, and the Mixed!

VR, AR and MR are the buzz words at the conference; something that bring a flavor of the future to college campus. Sean Hauze, instructional media developer and Dr. Harsimran S. Baweja, a professor of neuroscience and director of Immersive Teaching and Learning at San Diego State University, talked about their VITaL initiative.

VITal, which stands for virtual immersive learning and learning, is taking place in a variety of disciplines on their campus: they use virtual reality in astrology class to teach the moon; they use augmented and mixed reality in nursing class to view virtual patients; and they demonstrate brain function changes in their exercise and nutritional sciences class.

When I put on those VR goggles at the exhibit hall, I found myself entering into the world of my son. The only difference is that instead of shooting and breaking through the barriers, I was slicing a heart to study the vessels. Dizzy and clumsy as I felt, I can totally see how comfortable my boy would be to learn in this kind of reality.

Sharon Guan trying VR equipment at UBtech Exhibit Hall

A Teaching Assistant that is so—Artificially—Intelligent!

It is obvious that technology has shortened the distance between the present and the future, and that in the future, men would delegate a lot of tasks to the robots! In fact, some robots have found their position at the campus of Georgia Tech!

In his keynote speech, Charles Isbell, senior associate dean for Georgia Tech’s College of Computing, talked about how artificial intelligence worked as an enabler for their $6,600 master’s degree in computer science. It reminded me of the trepidation it caused in the Higher Ed community back in 2013 when their program was launched. Five years later, my curiosity remains: how can this be viable—financially and quality-wise?

Isbell explained that their online program has received 20,500+ applicants from 150 countries since October 2013. In spring 2018, their online program has an enrollment of 6,365 students. While taking the courses, students developed a strong connection with their digital teaching assistant, Jill Watson, who not only was able to entertain questions but also capable of detecting plagiarism. Jill was highly praised by students in course evaluations for being very responsive and helpful. Jill, who sometimes takes vacations, is a creature of artificial intelligence. Jill, who represents a form of disruptive technology, might just be a game changer of education.

Wandering in the exhibit hall of the UBtech conference, I remembered many movies featuring our world in the future: Wall-E, I,Robot, Blade Runner, Ready Player One… All of them painted a very dark and depressing picture of the world in the future, some of which were as close as 2028. Yet, I see no sign of worrying among the Z generation. To them, the hybridity of a real and a virtual reality comes so naturally.

I once asked my son to tell me what he could learn from playing the games (as a way to justify his play time). He said, “you learn strategies…eye and hand coordination…communicating with people…” Well, those all sound like some needed skills in the future where the virtual world has a significant share of reality. Even golf professionals use a built-in golf simulator at home to practice.

I learned at the conference that San Diego State University is offering a very cool course in their immersive learning lab—it is called “the Future”! Maybe we should all take it, because whether you want it or not, the future is here.