Speaker: Jenn Halen

Can Virtual Reality be used in a time of extreme isolation to connect undergraduate students from Harvard with mentees in a juvenile detention center in meaningful ways? Will this service-learning environment be as fulfilling as in person work? How can VR provide unique educational opportunities to mentees now and in the future?

Talk Recording (External Link)

About the Presenter

Dr. Jenn Halen is a Lecturer in the Department of Government at Harvard University. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Minnesota and was previously a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University (2017-2019) and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (2014-2017). Her research and teaching interests have focused on issues such as the political and social implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), innovative applications of Virtual Reality (VR), pedagogy, and prison/police abolition.

About the Harvard Discovery Series

Formerly known as The Digital Futures Discovery Series, the Harvard Discovery Series is a collaboration between Cabot Science Library and the Harvard University Digital Scholarship Group (DSSG). This event series brings scholars on the frontiers of digital knowledge-making to a Harvard audience in an intimate and interactive setting. All presentations will be virtual during the fall 2021.