The essay describes how the writers integrated VR into an English course, including the activities and assignments they used, the research methods and results, and insights for instructors interested in using VR in education. They argue that giving students access to emerging technologies helps them become better multimodal communicators. Specifically, VR encourages students to engage in the high-impact practice of “learning by doing” as they translate difficult written texts across modes. Furthermore, using VR can enable students to share their research with broader audiences and promote leadership skills. By becoming early adopters of VR, students can guide others in leveraging the technology for effective communication, research, and collaboration, ensuring the transfer of multimodal communication skills beyond the course.   

The piece also offers insights from IRB-approved research conducted across three sections of ENGL1102 Composition II. The sections were taught by Williams and supported by GT Library Emerging Technologies Librarian Alison Valk, C21U's Research Scientist Meryem Yilmaz Soylu, and Director of Research in Education Innovation Jeonghyun Lee. Students used Meta Quest 3 headsets provided by the GT Library.