I began the Immersive Catalog in the Fall of 2021. I realized that the process of finding and organizing immersive content was tedious. Many faculty had difficulty searching for programs applicable to their disciplines, so I built the backend list from scratch within Microsoft Lists. I included two dozen columns of accompanying metadata per immersive program.
The user interface is built within Power BI, it pulls from the backend database to produce visualizations and an easy-to-navigate interface.
Since its creation, the Immersive Catalog has grown to almost 350 virtual reality programs, augmented reality programs, and 360° videos. This resource is beneficial for quickly finding immersive content that spans a large variety of disciplines.
This catalog is currently being built out and is in use by the VAR Edu team and by our partners around the Penn State Commonwealth.
Additionally, a vetting process is being developed that will streamline our review process of immersive programs and that will provide an organized structure for presenting to faculty.
