Work · Case study
Arts & humanities, made for XR.
How Christopher Newport University built a national model in months, not years, without adding staff, time or complexity.
The challenge
Funding without a plan is the most common place to get stuck.
Donor funding had unlocked the door, but a $150K first allocation to deploy in four months left no room for false starts. Faculty ranged from experienced digital producers to people who joked they couldn't turn on a computer, all in the same room, all needing to ship real work.
- No strategic frameworkNo clarity on what the lab was, who it served, or how it would be sustained.
- A compressed timelineEvery decision had to hold up on the first pass.
- Mixed technical readinessFrom expert producers to self-described tech avoiders.
- The fear of failing publiclyFaculty needed a culture of safety, not just a curriculum.
Two phases. One blueprint.
Foundation
Assessment · Roadmap · Lab design · Build
We embedded with CNU to understand its culture, people and vision before a line was drawn or a dollar spent. A former computer lab became a themed “time-ship”: a space that earns its place on the campus tour, not just the syllabus. All hardware was procured and configured with Apple and Insight Public Sector.
Activation
Workshops · Project development · Launch
Six faculty, eight weeks. We started with 360: familiar enough to feel possible, immersive enough to feel new. Every participant shipped a finished experience tied to their own discipline. No demos, no homework, real published work. CNU then joined the NEXTWave Network.
A creative lab, not a gadget room.
- EnvironmentA themed “time-ship”
Layout, workstation flow and thematic detail that invite curiosity from the moment you walk in.
- Capture360 cameras · iPad & iPhone
Field-ready capture for performances, historical sites and locations. Faculty took cameras out on day one.
- Create & editApple Mac Studio
Stitch, trim, annotate, layer in spatial audio and narration, with a toolchain built for faculty rather than specialists.
- Deploy & experienceApple Vision Pro · Meta Quest
Multiple stations where students are co-creators, not just consumers.
- OperationsManaged device enrollment · AppleCare
Low IT overhead, so the focus stays on teaching and learning.
Measured in months, not years.
Within three months the lab had attracted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a research partner, turning a campus learning space into a collaborator for government-grade immersive work.
The work
- HistoryPhil
Took a 360 camera to Revolutionary War sites so students can stand where Henry Knox stood while he narrates what happened and why it still matters.
Students describe feeling the weight of what Knox accomplished. - EnglishMary
A literary tour of New Orleans as a 360 reading environment. She began with zero comfort with technology and finished as filmmaker, sound engineer and storyteller.
Her students now walk the city with her and find their own stories. - MusicMax
A playground for spatial audio: cameras and microphones in unusual spaces, mood as curriculum. The lab became his instrument.
Students spend twice as long with the work as any other assignment format. - ClassicsDavid
Years of 360 capture from Rome and Pompeii, reshaped into narrated field trips students stand inside.
Students call the Pompeii experience the most memorable moment of their semester.
In their words
“We had donor funding and genuine enthusiasm and absolutely no idea what to do with it. Ruscella Immersive gave us a blueprint, managed every decision, and launched us on time.”
Institution leadership, Christopher Newport University“I came into this as someone who jokes that I can barely turn on a computer. By week six I had filmed on location, edited spatial audio, and published an immersive experience my students could step inside.”
CNU Institute for Public Humanities“Technology makes immersive learning possible, but storytelling makes it meaningful.”
Dr. Jana Adamitis, Dean, College of Arts and Humanities, CNU (via Insight)“Major universities are throwing $100 million at buildings, but not $100,000 at students to build something meaningful. Immersive technologies flip that dynamic.”
JJ Ruscella, Co-Founder and CEO, Ruscella ImmersiveTake the full case study with you
The four-page case study includes the lab plan, the two-phase blueprint and the outcomes above, ready to share with your leadership.
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