The Implementation and Impact of the Surrogate Avatar Experience (SuAvE) on Interrelationships Within Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education learning environments rapidly reshape traditional notions of learning, stemming from digital environments predominantly utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic. As digital technologies increasingly become more utilized within curriculum and learning spaces, examining pedagogy, technology, and the configurations of these spaces requires further exploration and examination. This paper discusses the implementation and impact of the Surrogate Avatar Experience (SuAvE) on the interrelationships within higher education learning spaces. SuAvE navigates the intersection of digital technologies, bridging them to the physical realm of learning to provide physical embodiment within the hybridization of educational spaces. Four case environments where implementations of SuAvE are analyzed to understand the interrelationship in the four defined dimensions of connected, embodied, relational, and socio-material space. Through methodology and results, this paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding the transformation of learning spaces. It offers an innovative approach to combat the limitations of physical embodiment within current hybrid-learning practices. This multidimensional lens evaluates SuAvE's impact on higher education, recognizing its role as both a catalyst and a canvas for innovation and transformation.