Social Work Professor Taps Into Teaching Potential of Virtual Reality Tools

ATLANTA — Kristie Seelman, an associate professor in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies’ School of Social Work, has long explored innovative ways to teach. In 2024 she was awarded a one-year, $3,500 minigrant from Georgia State University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Online Education (CETLOE) for her project, “Creation of Immersive Virtual Productions for Social Work Education and Training.”

In collaboration with faculty in the university’s Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII), Seelman is learning how to use 3D engines to create realistic virtual scenarios she can integrate into future social work courses.

In the Q&A that follows, Seelman reveals how she’s tapping into this creative way to teach using this relatively new medium, a process she encourages other faculty to follow.

Why use 3D engines for virtual scenarios?

Virtual production allows us to quickly and easily create compelling stories that can be integrated into our classes.

In the past, when we might have wanted to create a really compelling case study video, we would have had to work with several people in CETLOE: Someone with a video camera and someone to draft the script, and actors along with the set, lights and all the things you need to film a 2- to 3-minute interaction. The 3D technology allows you to recreate a scene or scenario using only your computer.

How will you use these scenarios in your teaching?

There are many ways this technology can be used. I’m working on short-form films with various scenes that model various interactions for our students. For example, when we examine a question or scenarios about safety risks for kids, the virtual video can take the students’ experience and learning to a more complex level.

My goal with this grant is to create two products we can use in our classes. For the first video, I’m working with a colleague to create a case scenario about an adolescent where students would learn about the case and then be prompted to answer questions related to the scenario. This would be for an online class.

For the second project, I’m working with another colleague to create a short film about a historical figure who advocated for better education for Black youth. Students would see the film about this individual — Anna Julia Cooper — and be inspired by a story about taking risks and speaking out about something she was passionate about and influencing the history of our field. This video will probably also be for an online course.

How do you expect these virtual scenarios to impact your students?

I think there’s a struggle with online students. They do so much reading of texts, books, articles and instructions, case examples and worksheets, that we’re looking for ways to connect with them emotionally. I hope these videos can add another dimension to their learning.

Is virtual reality or 3D technology used broadly in social work education?

I’ve noticed a growth in the number of people talking at conferences about using virtual and augmented reality in social work education. What I don’t hear is anyone talking about learning the skills to create virtual reality learning scenarios. I don’t see much out there yet about how faculty can learn more about this technology and how they can be involved in the process of creating it. Also, I’m not hearing people ask what the ethical and social justice issues are around creating these images of social work situations.

Do you plan to share what you’ve learned with other faculty?

I could see presenting this project to social work faculty at conferences, sharing the value of knowing what these technologies can do. It’s worth looking into and I encourage others to learn. There are available platforms like Unreal Engine, but 95 percent of social workers have never heard of it. There is a broad spectrum of 3D programs and character-creating programs available, and I think the technology will only be more accessible with artificial intelligence (AI).

For example, there is a technology you can prompt to make a character walk and balance like they’re walking along a tightrope. AI can make the character do it. You may not know how to code it, but you can learn the prompts that allow the character to act that way.

I’m still figuring out how to bring this knowledge into conference settings. It feels too early to say. I’ve applied for CETLOE’s Catalyst grant for next year to build on this more, and we recently learned that we’ve been awarded that grant! Our department will be working collaboratively with Professor of Practice Jeasy Sehgal and students at the CMII to further integrate this technology into our teaching. That work will help me figure it out.

Any last thoughts on what motivates you to seek out innovative new teaching tools?

I think we sometimes overlook the creative possibilities of teaching. It calls for a lot of imagination, and this technology allows you to use your imagination for students, showing them how to apply their learning and skills in a variety of situations. It’s another example of the creative use of imagination and technology to teach our students to learn.

NOTE: To see an example of a short video Seelman created with this technology, go to https://youtu.be/XFFLJpe6dZw.