Virtual and mixed reality technology is becoming more ubiquitous and now AI improvements have made these immersive applications even more relevant to our teaching and learning environments.

Information Technology Services continues to take advantage of these improvements in our Virtual Reality Lab. We are pleased to share that our widely used application, Ovation, used by students to improve their presentation and interview skills now includes generative AI.

What does this mean? The participant can now have engaging two-way conversations with an avatar as opposed to the original version, which was more of a passive one-way exchange. In addition, there are customized settings that can be used (e.g., boardroom, one-on-one, etc.). The new version of Ovation also allows for more than one person to be in the room. Finally, dynamic reporting templates are available.

Consider the endless possibilities for a student who needs to prepare for an assignment, perhaps argue a case, prep for a presentation, sell a product, and, of course, interview. There are endless opportunities.

Please take the time to review the following video clips, which demonstrates Ovation in practice for:

We are requesting volunteers for next semester. Please contact Linda.John@csi.cuny.edu if you are interested.

By Patricia Kahn, PhD