Texas Tech University System

Many Undergraduate and Professional Animal and Veterinary Science Students in the United States Come From Non-rural, Non-farm Backgrounds. in Order to Gain Exposure to Animal Production, Students Must Primarily Rely on Their Course and Laboratory Work Within Their Degree Programs. While Courses Often Incorporate Limited Access to University and Commercial Farms, There Are a Number of Challenges (i.e. Funding, Biosecurity, Large Class Sizes) That Prevent Students From Gaining Adequate Farm Exposure and Experience Solving Common Animal-related Challenges. the Purpose of This Proposal Is to Investigate an Additional Mechanism for Students to Gain On-farm Experience Through the Use of Virtual Reality (VR) Modules Focusing on Swine and Dairy Production Systems and Common Welfare Issues They Would Likely Come Across While Working in the Livestock Industry.the Objectives Are as FOLLOWS:1. Create, Develop and Evaluate the Use of VR Modules in an Entry-level Freshman Course to Increase Student Interest and Understanding of Swine and Dairy Production SYSTEMS.2. Create, Develop and Evaluate the Use of Vr-based Animal Welfare Case Studies That Can Be Introduced in Upper-level Animal Welfare, Capstone Production, or First-year Graduate/veterinary COURSES.3. Provide Training Opportunities for Animal Science-related Faculty at Other U.s. Institutions to Utilize and Assess the Success of the VR Modules in Their Own Classrooms.to Accomplish These Objectives, the Primary Investigators on This Study Will Utilize a Multi-collaborator, Multi-university and Private Business Approach to Develop, Utilize and Evaluate Whether VR Could Be a Useful Tool for Preparing Undergraduate Students for a Future in Animal Agriculture.