Meet Dr. Joshua Fisher

Written by: Steven Donahoe

EMDD’s resident augmented reality expert Dr. Joshua Fisher is a self-proclaimed workaholic, and Fisher channels the bulk of his energy and talents into inspiring his students to strive for excellence. However, he says that the journey to where he is today is “the opposite of a straight line.”

Fisher spent his childhood in Highland Park, Ill., a northern suburb of Chicago. He always loved video games (and still does), sinking countless hours into Quake 2, Doom, and Diablo. Still, despite appreciating the artistic and design elements of video games, Fisher never considered the possibility of working in the gaming industry. Instead, when he turned 18, he pursued a major in biochemistry at Illinois State University.

“I was sitting in my first class, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, I hate this.’”

Fisher switched his major to English and began working on becoming a writer – more specifically, a poet. After winning a few poetry competitions, Fisher graduated from Illinois State and began doing freelance writing work – namely how-to articles. However, despite having achieved his dream of becoming a professional writer, he found the reality of his career choice to be less romantic than he had imagined.

“I spent eight hours a day in a room writing articles that I’m pretty sure were for Wikihow. I remember one was ‘How to Plan a Wedding,’ which I had no business writing about.”

Fisher eventually stopped freelance writing and began traveling the world, first participating in the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program in Portugal and later teaching English in South Korea. In his travels, Fisher took special note of how the young people in these countries used their devices for storytelling. This sparked his interest in digital storytelling, inspiring him to return to the US to earn a master’s degree in writing and publishing and a doctorate in digital media.

With a special focus in augmented reality, Fisher founded the Immersive Media program at Columbia College Chicago where he taught for three years before arriving at EMDD.

His current research examines how AR can be used in community workshops for cultural heritage, civic storytelling, and social change. Fisher wants to understand how participants end up using AR outside of the workshops and if they view AR as a capable tool for empowerment. Ultimately, his goal is to shift the view of AR from pure entertainment to utility.