Abstract
This paper describes a collaborative, multi-platform, flamenco-themed escape room combining virtual reality (VR) and a learning management system (Canvas) to engage students with this culturally significant art form. The escape room incorporates key flamenco elements—compás, palos, instruments, regions, artists, dance, and cantes—using authentic materials like readings, videos, interviews, and interactive puzzles. Initially envisioned as a video-game-inspired project, it evolved into a multi-chamber experience. The Canvas component offers a self-paced, guided learning experience, accessible individually or in groups, remotely or in person. The VR component provides a four-task collaborative escape room for groups of four, completed using VR headsets and requiring target language negotiation. The design fosters language development, communication skills, negotiation, fluency, higher-order thinking, and problem-solving. The immersive, multi-modal experience provides visual and audio richness, sparking curiosity and offering resources for further exploration. Prioritizing enjoyment and engagement, the project team, with Notre Dame’s academic media and XR developers, navigated the challenges of creating an engaging, visually compelling, and educationally rigorous experience. Initial student feedback is overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating success in educational outcomes and user engagement. This session will share the creation and refinement process, discuss lessons learned and initial findings, and outline the potential of immersive technologies in language and cultural instruction. We also highlight the project’s inclusion in Open Educational Resources, making it accessible for the broader academic community.
Presenters
Elena MangioneTeaching Professor, Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States Tatiana Botero
Teaching Professor, Romance Languages, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
XR, Art, Technology, Language, Culture, Multiplatform, ProjectDesign
