An interdisciplinary research project led by the University of Waterloo uses virtual reality (VR) and haptics — a sense of touch — to create an immersive educational experience rooted in restorative justice.
The Digital Oral Histories for Reconciliation (DOHR) project engages students in bearing witness to historical harm by "bringing to life" the stories of former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, which closed in 1978. Waterloo Engineering professor Dr. Oliver Schneider was part of the research team led by Dr. Kristina Llewellyn, a professor of history.
The experience is designed to engage listeners with the school's tragic history as well as with its former residents' resilience and activism, and encourage more awareness and responsiveness when encountering racism today.
Schneider, a management sciences and engineering professor and member of Waterloo's Games Institute, specializes in computer haptics, the technology that enables the sense of touch.
“We’re also focused on how restorative processes can inform the development of the technology ... and as we develop this technology, we’re learning methods and processes that others can use to develop their technology in a justice focused way as well,” he said.
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