Developing and Implementing an Immersive Virtual Study Abroad Course on the History and Science of Information

Abstract

The covid pandemic took a tremendous toll on study abroad programs, which are a common hallmark experience in higher education. This adds another challenge for computer science (CS) and physics students for whom there were already few discipline-specific study abroad opportunities. In order to address this issue, we created a virtual, CS/physics-based, short-term study abroad course focused on the history and science of information in England. This work demonstrates that it is possible to offer engaging and immersive virtual travel courses and provides insight into their design and development.