頑張れ Ganbare: Persistence Through Japanese Incarceration

Mixed Reality

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頑張れ Ganbare: Persistence Through Japanese Incarceration

ROLES

Designer, researcher

In the United States, there is no nationally mandated history curriculum, meaning that states and districts decide what is taught in classrooms, and how. This has allowed many historical events to be intentionally left out or whitewashed, including the incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent during WWII. As a result of social studies curricula varying greatly from state to state, there is no central database of what is and isn’t being taught in schools, and there is little to no data on how Japanese incarceration is being taught, if at all. (Waxman, 2021) Asian American history has been diluted and generalized, and the impacts of not knowing these histories and the connections to racism, systemic oppression, and xenophobia are still seen today with the rise in Anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Museums provide valuable spaces for informal learning, and can design learning experiences that are unique and tailored to certain topics and subject areas.

BACKGROUND

Overall, the aim of this project was to design a learning experience that promotes empathy and perspective taking of visitors, and to motivate them to be curious about this historical event and pursue further learning outside of the museum.

In my project, I create this initial interest by using the VR experience to establish an emotional and memorable connection between the visitor and Sarah Sato. Creating this link to the history of Japanese incarceration will help to increase the chances that the visitor will engage with this topic again in the future, even if this engagement is something small like recalling this VR experience they had. 

GOAL

    • Research foundation: I initially conducted extensive research on the affordances of virtual reality in learning environments, and the impacts on user empathy and perspective taking. I wanted to see how to best integrate VR with a physical exhibit space to create a dynamic, engaging, and motivating learning experience. My design is also heavily influenced by the research I have done on motivational theories for learning.  

    • Subject matter expert interviews: I interviewed and worked with experts in the fields of museum exhibit design and evaluation, design thinking, Extended Reality technologies (XR), education, and Japanese American history. 

    • Task design/MVP: I tested the initial scene I had prototyped for the VR experience with users, creating a short video clip with my initial storyboards to mimic the experience of 360 VR. 

    • User testing and feedback: One key piece of feedback that I received was that users wanted to see more of Sarah and listen to her tell stories before transitioning into content/scenes about WWII and incarceration. They wanted more opportunity to connect with her on a personal level to better understand her experience in the scenes following. 

DESIGN PROCESS

    • Design iterations: With this feedback, I focused on developing the scenes for “Part I”, where Sarah tells stories of her childhood, seeing that highlighting narratives that people can relate to will be essential for creating connection and engagement. 

    • From the user feedback I chose stories of Sarah’s that would be familiar to a larger audience, and that visitors could personally relate to. I focused on developing scenes for “Part I”, creating experiences for the user that would induce emotional empathy. It was also important to consider what types of stories to use for the VR content, and what emotions they may evoke for the user. 

Scene 1 of Ganbare- “Santa Letters”

Scene 2 “Times Tables” & Scene 3 “Testing the Rules” of Ganbare

    • Phase I: Conduct research, document oral history of Sarah’s story, design and prototype the VR experience, user testing, 

      Phase II: Build out Parts II and III of the VR experience, continue designing the physical exhibit space, continue to conduct user testing and get feedback from SME on this history. 

      Phase III: Develop the physical exhibit space for showing, evolve the VR experience at the end of the exhibit to function as a standalone VR experience for users to experience outside of the museum (at home, in classrooms, etc.)

PRODUCT

In using immersive technologies, I have found that the most important factor in successful learning is to design the incorporation of this technology in the context of authentic learning, that promotes learning transfer and action. To do this, you need a foundational understanding of both how to design in VR as well as how to produce motivating and authentic learning. As AR and VR are increasing in accessibility, use, and demand, it can be easy to rely too heavily on the technology itself in assuming learning outcomes of users and their engagement. I have been extremely fortunate to work alongside expert educators who work at the intersection of education and XR technologies, in developing a critical eye as to where this technology detracts from learning and where it is most beneficial.

I was also very fortunate to have the opportunity to design a learning experience around a topic that is very close to my personal life and passion. Sarah Sato is my grandmother, and this experience has allowed me to become closer with my family and community, and to imagine what history education could look like when we intentionally choose to incorporate the voices and expertise of those in the communities most impacted. As I continue to develop this exhibit, I plan to utilize these technologies and design methods through the lens of community, social justice, and action towards liberation of not only the Asian community, but in solidarity with other marginalized communities. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

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