Who we are, what we do: The VITAL Lab @ OU

The Virtual Immersive Technologies and Arts for Learning Laboratory (VITAL Lab) is a multidisciplinary research and development facility at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. We specialize in creating realistic virtual environments and synthetic worlds for educational purposes (such as Second Life programming and software used in the classroom). Our belief at the VITAL Lab is that new technology can improve the age-old processes of teaching and learning.

In addition to being a mainstay of OU's Russ College of Engineering, the VITAL Lab is also associated with OU’s College of Education, OU's College of Fine Arts and Ohio University Without Boundaries. Our staff is comprised of talented Ph.D, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as hardworking professors and professionals.

Currently, the VITAL Lab is partnering with the Smithsonian Institute to build the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum (LVM) in Second Life. The LVM, which is scheduled to open publicly March 2009, is the first 3-D digital initiative committed to improving access to Smithsonian Latino collections and resources. The VITAL Lab is also working with Members United Credit Unions to create a Financial Literacy Game on the Teen Grid of Second Life, which opened its doors to the public on February 12, 2009. We are also participating in our third year of the STEAM project, which provides educational science software to classrooms around Appalachian Ohio. More information about our active projects can be obtained here.