Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning
Mission
Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning (SCIL) empowers others to create human-to-human connectivity within mixed realities, transforming ideas into living experiences through immersive technology. Founded at Shenandoah University, SCIL is an academic lab where students get hands-on experience working on real world projects.
Vision
We are preeminent pioneers of human-based mixed-reality learning...cultivating, empowering and nurturing the virtual workforce.
Values
We believe story is how humans perceive the world.
We empower individuals, organizations and institutions to share content in ways that transform knowledge into ... skill.
We believe genius is born of collaboration
We advocate for creating a level playing field for all people, supporting a culture of inclusion, mutual opportunity and respect in the virtual workspace
We value opportunities that expand accessibility and transcend geographical barriers
We foster human-to-human connectivity, transforming ideas into living experiences
We value playful work and learning
Contact Us
Mohammad F. Obeid, Ph.D
Associate Professor, Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Design
Program Director, Bachelor of Science Program
mobeid@su.edu | (540) 535-3414
Nathan R. Prestopnik, Ph.D
Explore our Current Projects
Constitutional Convention Debates
Shenandoah students, professors and the Shenandoah Center for immersive Learning (SCiL) are creating a virtual reality project that will transport participants back in time to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and the debates that took place there among the Founding Fathers of the United States.
Winchester Area Technology Entrepreneurs Virtual Reality, 360 Video, and 3D Modeling Help Available at SU at no cost
The Shenandoah University Center for Immersive Learning (SCIL Lab) is available for a limited time to help area entrepreneurs learn how Virtual Reality (VR) experiences, 360 Video and/or 3D models can help pitch new business concepts or promote tech startups. For an appointment complete the inquiry form or email us at scil@su.edu. This opportunity is made possible through funding from Go Virginia to foster business development in the Shenandoah Valley by helping entrepreneurs develop concepts and connect them to the Startup Shenandoah Valley (S2V) accelerator program.
SCIL News & Announcements

Shenandoah Students, Faculty Produce Training Videos For Sons Of The American Revolution
A team of Shenandoah University students, faculty and staff produced a set of videos for the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) to help the organization train its members in activities such as musket drills and ceremonial ... Continue Reading Shenandoah Students, Faculty Produce Training…

Shenandoah Introduces The HIVE With Groundbreaking Celebration On Veterans Day
Shenandoah University celebrated the planned renovation of the former National Guard armory located on its main campus, which will serve as the university’s new Hub for Innovators, Veterans and Entrepreneurs (HIVE), at a groundbreaking ceremony on ... Continue Reading Shenandoah Introduces The HIVE With…

Shenandoah Faculty, Students Showcase VR Project at History Conference
Shenandoah University students and faculty members recently traveled to Boston to present to a national group of U.S. historians a virtual reality project that takes participants back to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The developing project, ... Continue Reading Shenandoah Faculty, Students Showcase VR…
SCIL Virtual Reality Experience
MLK Virtual Reality Experience
Experience SCIL's latest project honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Immerse yourself in the “Atmosphere of Hate,” felt by African-Americans as they engaged in nonviolent protest to challenge segregation by sitting at a whites-only lunch counter in the late 1950s through Virtual Reality. As soon as you don the virtual reality viewer, you’ll feel as if you’re sitting with a group of young African-Americans as they work to integrate a lunch counter, against the jeers and verbal abuse of white patrons. Shenandoah University acting students, staff and local community members, including local high school students, act out the scene, which sparks immediate reactions for anyone who steps through the virtual reality portal.
The Atmosphere Of Hate: Experiencing A Civil Rights Era Sit-In
Fantastic!! Being in the middle of the confrontation brought tears to my eyes. It took those sterile news reports and articles I remember as a kid growing up in Boston, MA, where I wondered why couldn't these people get a sandwich like anybody else and turned them into a gut wrenching reality. Congratulations to the team that put this incredibly powerful experience together!"
—Jeremy Becker-Welts
I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for the excellent display and interaction that we were able to host at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. The compliments have been pouring in and the experience was one that I personally found outstanding and immersive. What an amazing opportunity! Any other opportunity like this—consider me already sold, just let me know when! BRAVO, and thank you for thinking of the Alamo Drafthouse!
—Andy Gyurisin, Programming & Promotions Manager for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema-Winchester
The Role-Player Workforce (RPW)
The Role-Player Workforce (RPW) will develop to meet the needs of immersive learning. A by-product of immersive learning will be the growth of a national workforce in role-players. This trend is already happening in reaction to the medical industry’s need for standardized patients, OSCE, and other human based training. The impact of Virtual Training upon the development of this workforce creates expanding opportunities for economically disadvantaged groups such as the elderly, veterans, and ESOL citizens. The RPW will build new techniques and best practices for professional role-players to engage learners in immersive world experiences. Shenandoah University has more than 5 years’ experience in training and deploying role-players at the highest level, working with entities including multiple divisions of the State Department, the United Nations, various hospitals, law enforcement, and regional fire departments.
Creating Hands-On Learning Opportunities through Simulation for Nursing and Health Professions Students
Role players, trained as actors in Shenandoah University's world-renowned Shenandoah Conservatory, through the Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning (SCIL), help make medical simulation experiences unique. While the medical programs use mannequins in state-of-the-art and easily reconfigured simulation spaces, students also learn by working with acting students who role-play simulated patients. This arrangement allows medical students to interact with live patients before ever stepping foot on the job, and provides acting students with opportunities to practice their craft while still honing their skills. In addition to the role-player workforce, SCIL enhances the university's academic programs with 360 VR, augmented, and virtual reality technologies.
360 Video Learning at Shenandoah
The Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning (SCIL) is part of the vanguard of storytelling and learning in the 360 video and virtual and augmented reality realms. SCiL productions are helmed by students and draw upon a role player workforce that includes Shenandoah Conservatory acting students. Through SCIL's efforts, students build a variety of valuable new skills, while telling stories in ways that make an immediate impact on a viewer. Take a look inside, and see the beginning of something extraordinary.
The Future Is Here!
Bachelor of Arts in Virtual Reality Design
The Virtual Reality Media Concentration is designed for students who plan to specialize in 360 video or AR/VR content production.
The Virtual Reality Digital Stages Concentration is designed for students who are interested in such careers as directing AR/VR productions or acting in AR/VR productions/simulations.
Bachelor of Science in Virtual Reality Design
The Virtual Reality Technology Concentration will prepare students for careers working as technical specialists and/or programmers in AR/VR or related fields.