Students at Montgomery County Community College taking one public speaking course have a new tool to help them combat speech anxiety. This semester, they’re incorporating virtual reality technology into their speeches to learn how to confidently stand and deliver.

Communication Studies Assistant Professor Meredith Frank launched a pilot program last spring and continued it again this semester to incorporate virtual reality headsets into her classes, after watching a demonstration Academic Technologies Innovation Specialist Matt Kilbride gave about the possibilities of using the wearable technology.

“After seeing the demonstration, I wondered, how can I do this?” said Frank. “If students have the glasses on, would they be more comfortable presenting?”

Using the Meta Quest 2 VR headset, students are able to enter into a digital landscape to give their speeches.

“It’s an immersive experience, where students are disconnected from their current reality,” said Kilbride, “and brought to another environment.”

When she first incorporated the technology in her Communication Studies 120 class last spring, Frank said students were skeptical at first but quickly took to the experience.

“One student was shy but came out of his shell,” she said. “He felt way more comfortable with the headset on.”

Students first delivered a speech on a virtual TED talk stage. Then they presented in a virtual classroom setting, which they preferred. Many, however, said they wished they had gotten a chance to try it sooner.

“On the whole, every student said it made them feel more comfortable,” said Kilbride.

For the fall semester, Frank decided to introduce the technology for the first set of speeches for the same class. Over the summer, she and Kilbride collaborated on selecting other virtual environments to try, landing on a digital classroom. The room features a computer, projector, white board, and students can view their notes through a teleprompter, along with any other visual components they’ve incorporated, as they present.

“For virtual reality environments can be almost anything,” said Kilbride. “It captures the senses and brings you to another place.  It can be impactful for learning because rooms can be clinical settings or you can send students to space, practice customer service soft skills, construction safety, or even chemistry labs.”

At first, the class could see a live video of what the presenter saw in the headset. However, because of the rapid head movements, it became too disorienting, so now they only see the slide decks that students prepare, said Frank.  

The technology can help students improve their speech skills. It has the ability to record students’ vocal pauses, filler words, timing, and their eye contact. It also records and replays their presentations using a virtual avatar to help them improve, said Kilbride.

TJ Grumm, a first-year Mass Media Production major, said he found the experience of wearing the headset interesting, although it was a little challenging at first.

“I consider myself a good public speaker, and the headset threw off my groove early on,” he said. “I like to play to the crowd and not being able to see the actual people in the room with me hurt my flow to start.”

During his speech, Grumm said because he was wearing the headset, he did feel calmer during moments where he felt off track in his speech.

“No one who I’m looking at with my own eyes is judging me right now, so I should be good,” he remembered thinking. “It helped me to get back on track sooner.”

Grumm overall would recommend the experience to anyone who’s nervous about public speaking, he said.

“There’s definitely a plus to it,” he said. “For people who have anxiety, you don’t have to worry that this person is not even interested in what I’m talking about. Everything you see are people with their eyes on you.”

This isn’t the first time MCCC has incorporated VR technology into the classroom setting. Kilbride recently helped Radiography students practice giving X-rays using the technology.

“I think VR technology has a unique place in the future of teaching,” he said. “Both of these pilots address a very specific niche in the classroom. For Radiography, it was about helping students develop clinical skills in a safe environment. Whereas in this situation, it’s about leveraging immersive settings to supplement communicative skills and through anxiety. We collaborate on where the technology can provide more opportunities to connect students with the objectives of the course.”

Frank said the positive feedback from students has encouraged her to find new ways to incorporate the technology. During MCCC’s Technology and Learning Conference, she said she’s proposed creating a speech lab at Pottstown Campus, where students could practice their speeches using the VR headset during times when she’s tutoring. Students across all areas of the College would be welcome to use it to practice.

“It doesn’t matter what class they’re in,” she said. “This way it will make them feel more comfortable before they give a live speech. The end result will be they’ll be able to get up in the classroom and present.”

Updated: 10/10/2023