Developing Virtual Reality Open Educational Resources in a Sino-Foreign Higher Education Institution: Challenges and Strategies

Open educational resources (OERs) are teaching, learning, and research resources that have been made available such that they can be used, shared, and modified freely. Motivated by recent OER development successes, an interdisciplinary team at a Sino-foreign Higher Education Institution in China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), have been engaged in the creation of a new virtual reality (VR) OER, initially aimed at students and educators in the institution's Civil Engineering department. The VR OER centres around the creation of a virtual field trip (VFT), capturing knowledge and experience not often available to students. This paper examines the background and motivations to the project, outlining the strategies and cooperation so far employed, and explores the progress and challenges encountered. Anticipated further challenges, and potential mitigation, as the project continues are also discussed.