For some residents at Shalom Village, a Campus of Care for seniors, in Hamilton, exploring a museum, travelling to a new destination, or going on a safari may not always be physically possible. Humber Polytechnic student Nathan Richards spent his summer bringing some of those experiences a little closer to home through virtual reality.
As part of a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) experience, Nathan worked with Shalom Village to develop a virtual reality activity program designed to give residents opportunities to explore, connect and experience something new.
The project began as a pilot to explore whether VR could have a place in Shalom Village's recreation programming.
Nathan worked alongside staff to develop three 90-minute main VR sessions. Residents experienced a variety of virtual activities, including guided tours of Versailles, a performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and a meditation at Gibraltar's Peak.
Rather than just developing the program for residents, Nathan focused on working with them and adapting the experience based on their feedback.
One of the biggest lessons he took away was challenging assumptions about older adults and technology.
"They taught me that our assumptions about aging and technology are doing more work than the evidence supports," said Nathan. "Most adapted to an unfamiliar way of interacting with minimal difficulty."
As the sessions progressed, the experiences became more personalized to each resident. One resident expressed an interest in going on a safari, so Nathan and the team found a VR experience that placed them in a boat surrounded by elephants.
"They looked like they were in awe and wonder. You could see them looking around and experiencing a whole new world," said Tracy Humphreys, who supports programming for residents at Shalom Village.
For Nathan, the project also highlighted the potential for VR to create opportunities for connection, not just individual experiences.
"Although a pilot can only tell you so much, the enjoyment and wonder we saw in the room was consistent enough to recommend that Shalom Village purchase headsets of their own," he said.
The experience allowed Nathan to apply his classroom learning in a real-world setting while working directly with an older adult community. It also showed him the importance of involving users in the development of technology from the beginning.
"Bringing older adults in earlier would produce technology that's more accessible to people of every age, and the population it serves includes all of us," said Nathan.
Projects like Nathan's show how evolving technology can create new opportunities for connection, engagement and meaningful experiences in communities like Shalom Village.
