Student success in nursing degree programs is contingent upon work-integrated learning (WIL) success, particularly given the mandated curriculum requirement for clinical hours in WIL environments. The impacts of COVID-19 disrupted study and resulted in anxiety for nursing students. For most first year nursing students this also included an interruption of their socialization to university, provoking uncertainty. This paper presents a case study of the development and implementation of a new virtual environment explorer tool for simulated learning at one multi-campus university in Australia (February-June 2020). COVID-19 illuminated the extended utility of this tool, for supporting ongoing nursing student orientation to the university environment and to the materiality of the simulated clinical setting. Educational theory is drawn upon to discuss the implementation and evaluation, of this tool, within the COVID-19 context. Findings suggest inclusive teaching practices underpin effective preparation for WIL, especially in uncertain times, and must be valued more highly.