Does online work as well as face-to-face learning? Phil Regier, the CEO of EdPlus at Arizona State University says the answer is a resounding yes.

Regier explains how data helps inform how courses are taught. “The idea for the Action Lab was to figure out how to be able to use all of these incredible backend resources that we get in terms of data and actually use it to improve teaching and learning.”

Additionally, a new development uses technology to transport students to a digital world to enhance their learning. ASU and Dreamscape Immersive are rolling out their Dreamscape Learn pod next year—which will, initially, offer science majors a virtual reality experience to problem solve.

“One problem we have is people think that they can’t learn science,” says Regier. “What we’re trying to do is make the engagement in a scientific endeavor so amazing and so instructive that people overcome that reticence and will go on to careers in STEM. It’s really a startlingly, impressive environment. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Click here to learn more about EdPlus at ASU.

WorkingNation—a collaborating partner of the ASU+GSV Summit—sat down with Regier in San Diego as part of our #WorkingNationOverheard social media series.

Hear from more innovators in education and tech in the public, private, and nonprofit spheres attending the ASU+GSV Summit 2021 here.

Follow the conversation on social media: #asugsvsummit #workingnationoverheard