SCHOMS 2016 at the University of Bath

29 Jun 2016

Prof Nigel John was invited to give a talk at the SCHOMS annual conference held at the University of Bath. SCHOMS is the professional body for Senior Managers working within UK Higher Education, and its members lead and manage a diverse set of educational, technological, media and institutional development and support services. They give strategic direction to support technological trends and promote excellence in teaching and learning practices and their environments.

Nigel was invited as somebody who regularly uses the latest technologies available in their academic role. In the talk he considered how the technology needed to build a virtual environment has changed dramatically over the last fifteen years. He gave examples of three different technology builds that he has been responsible for, with a particular emphasis on their use for medical education and training applications. The first was a large multi-projector curved screen installation from the University of Manchester. This was followed by a Powerwall installation at Bangor University. Finally, Nigel looked at the latest VR technology that he is using at the University of Chester, including head mounted displays, and holographic displays. The functionality and cost of these different scenarios were discussed, and some future predictions given.