The VITAL Lab welcomes you!

The VITAL Lab, which stands for Virtual Immersive Technologies and Arts for Learning (VITAL) Laboratory, is a multidisciplinary research and development facility at Ohio University.

The main mission of the VITAL Lab is to create realistic virtual environments and synthetic worlds for use in educational facilities. Whether developing Second Life programs or participating in the STEAM project, our belief at the VITAL Lab is that new technology can improve the age-old processes of teaching and learning.

The VITAL Lab is a truly unique collaboration of several areas of interest, including:The Russ College of Engineering and Technology (specifically the Computer Science and Civil Engineering programs), the College of Education (the Instructional Technology program), the College of Fine Arts (the Aesthetic Technologies Lab) and Ohio University Without Boundaries.

Additionally, the VITAL Lab is currently working with the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ohio Learning Network (OLN) to build virtual educational environments for use in Appalachian Ohio middle and high schools.

The following is a small selection of the VITAL Lab projects:

• STEAM (Science and Technology Enrichment for Appalachian Middle-Schoolers)
• Information Resources Management College
• Princeton Review
• Filene Research Institute
• Ohio Commission on Minority Health
• Two Second Life Learning Communities (The Appalachian Ohio K-12 Second Life Learning Community and the Ohio University Second Life Learning Community)
• Education Technology Service
• Ohio University P3 Project
• 3D-IDE Project
• Current Events