Non-fiction Virtual Reality Stories of Emigration: Points of Viewing and Creating for the Classroom

Abstract

Chris Milk, in his 2015 TedTalk on Virtual Reality, called VR “the ultimate empathy machine.” The claim is that “immersive storytelling” will give participants a deeper experience. The hope is that the immersion will encourage a visceral reaction to respond, in many cases to an injustice, or at the very least, to learn more about an issue that seems distant to one’s immediate life. Others argue that claims for teaching empathy are overblown and/or irresponsible. This chapter explores explicit teaching of points of view and VR creation for diverse urban classrooms where students already have life knowledge on a common VR topic: emigration. Interviews, classroom trials, and evaluations of documentary VR are used to suggest meaningful investigations and applications by teachers and students.