Reality Gets Augmented In New FIU Course

Blair Taylor/Contributing Writer

During this year’s Fall B term, FIU will be offering its students a chance to explore extended reality through COM 4930: Intro to XR.

The eight-week course will teach students about augmented, virtual and mixed reality. 

“This course will hopefully be the start of creating a new program,” said Elizabeth Marsh, an FIU assistant professor of multimedia. “It would be the first class working towards iStar.”

iStar would be an XR hub that would allow the use of programming in the entrepreneur world, Marsh said. 

“All of these technologies have a path for growth,” she said. “And for communication students, it’s another platform that people can communicate with.”

The interest in starting the program began about a one or two years ago, according to Marsh. 

Initially, there was no funding for the program or public interest in learning about XR technology. 

Now that many people seem to be accepting and engaging in XR and the school has the funding for it, Marsh says that this year is the perfect time to introduce the course.

The course will be focusing more on the business applications of XR in the communication field rather than focusing on the production aspects.

To help promote the business side of this field, Marsh said they expect to have guest lecturers, including Ted Schilowitz, a futurist at Paramount. 

Schilowitz works on exploring new forms of technology and puts emphasis on virtual and augmented reality. 

Another guest lecturer expected to help teach the course includes Deborah Worrel, an XR consultant and strategist who helps find XR solutions for large brand marketers and agencies. 

Travis Cloyd, a member of the Producers Guild of America, will also be assisting in the entertainment aspect by teaching storyboard XR.

For those interested in taking the class, it will be offered at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus from Oct. 21 – Dec. 7. The course currently has one seat open.