COMM3032: Bigger than the iPhone?
What's Next in Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality
Description
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently stated that Augmented Reality could be an innovation that has a greater impact on the media environment than the smart phone. Given these types of proclamations, this course will offer students an in-depth look at the emerging field of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies. Specifically this course will examine the new design and technological possibilities of VR/AR, the media imaginations of VR/AR, and emerging research surrounding VR/AR. This course draws from theories and perspectives in communication, sociology, psychology, media analysis, and computer science to understand the AR phenomena, and to help students imagine/design technologies that will be important in the new media environment. Students will utilize science fiction as a prompt to start thinking about augmented futures, learn how AR is utilized and studied in real-life, and work in teams to conduct a research study around VR/AR technologies.