Presentation Panel Panel
Metaverse, VR, and Pedagogical Escape Rooms for Competency Development
This session examines the design and implementation of immersive learning environments using Metaverse and VR technology, addressing both the opportunities and limitations. Discover how pedagogical escape games can enhance subject integration, teamwork, and 21st-century skills. Experience firsthand how virtual escape rooms can spark student interest in critical languages through engaging, game-based challenges.
Marina Petrova
Senior UX Designer/Media Designer, ESMT Berlin
Marina is a Senior UX Designer and Media Designer at the Learning Innovation Lab at ESMT Berlin. She brings over a decade of experience in creating engaging digital products and media for learning in higher education and beyond. With a background in architecture, filmmaking, and education, Marina fuses innovative design frameworks, media, and learning science to cultivate impactful learning experiences.
Piia Siitonen
University teacher, University of Eastern Finland
Madeline Shellgren
Director of Global Outreach, Online Learning Consortium
Madeline (Maddie) Shellgren serves as the Online Learning Consortium’s (OLC) Director of Global Outreach, providing oversight on the implementation of the organization’s global strategy, with a focus on collaborations, initiatives, communications, special programming, and the global experience. Prior to this position, she worked as OLC’s Director of Community Strategy and Engagement, working as the lead innovator, designer, and project manager of the OLC's portfolio of engagement opportunities. Maddie has dedicated her professional life to teaching and learning related initiatives and has strategically sought out opportunities that give her a multi-dimensional perspective on learning and development.
Moderator
Philipp Höllermann
Chief Transformation Officer, DWG - A Klett Company
Philipp Höllermann is an expert in digital transformation, e-learning, and higher education. His work focuses on digitizing (learning) processes, mobile, social and blended learning, open innovation, and artificial intelligence. Mr. Höllermann is a member of several digital learning initiatives, such as the German Forum for Higher Education in the Digital Age, the Network for Digital Education, and Bitkom, and regularly appears as a speaker on topics related to online learning and digital transformation. He currently works as Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) at DWG, one of the largest education holdings in Germany.
Mission in the Snow: Team Building in the Metaverse, Marina Petrova, Claudia Ocera
The "Mission in the Snow" project presentation offers participants hands-on insights and practical skills in utilizing XR/VR for soft-skill building. Attendees will explore a real case study of an immersive technology experience in business education at ESMT Berlin. They will learn how to create engaging and interactive learning environments and understand the benefits and challenges of integrating XR/VR into a higher education environment.
UEF Pakoteekki VR – Virtual Escape Room in Pharmacy Education, Piia Siitonen
Pedagogical escape games can be used in higher education to enhance integration of subjects and simulate real-life scenarios and tasks. The UEF Pakoteekki VR represents a pioneering approach in pharmacy education, integrating virtual reality (VR) technology to create an immersive escape room experience.
Leveraging Virtual Escape Rooms for Competency Development, Madeline Shellgren
Explore the innovative use of virtual escape rooms as a dynamic learning strategy through the OLC STARTALK E-SCAPE project, which engages 11th-16th grade students in critical language learning. This session will demonstrate how virtual escape rooms, with their playful and story-based challenges, can spark interest in languages like Arabic, Chinese, and Russian, while also supporting the development of real-world competencies. Participants will experience these immersive escape rooms firsthand and discover how to integrate them into their own teaching practices to foster creativity and engagement in learners.