“Pygmalion’s Spectacles,” a 1935 science fiction short tale, was the first to mention virtual reality (VR). This concept was groundbreaking at the time, yet it was merely a fantasy, like walking on the moon. According to CNN, VR moved from a concept on paper to a technology utilized in classrooms by more than 6 million kids, In many ways Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.
The Path to Virtual Reality in Education
What happened to make futuristic technologies so widely available? It all started with the Oculus Rift, a 2012 device that linked to a display and submerged the user in a 3D world, according to Wired. Since its inception, virtual reality has changed not only how we interact with video games, but also how we interact with the entire digital environment, including the usage of VR in education.
Since 2012, virtual reality has seen a massive technological transformation. The technology has become far more accessible as headsets have become smaller, more mobile, and more powerful. Furthermore, 5G telephones have enabled access to the virtual world from everywhere.
VR has become a viable choice for schools as a result of its improved accessibility. VR has entered the classroom thanks to 360-degree cameras and new apps like Google Expeditions, allowing teachers and students to approach education in ways they never have before. According to the tech website Built-In, the use of virtual reality in classrooms is expected to skyrocket in the next five years.
Traditional vs. VR Education
Throughout history, little has changed in terms of how kids learn. The traditional approach to education has long been fact retention teaching. The traditional classroom experience consists of studying for tests, sitting in lectures, and attempting to visualize history through a textbook.
Students can now experience their education in a more immersive and engaging way thanks to the arrival of virtual reality (VR). Students can be transported from their desks to Roman ruins, combine volatile chemicals and observe the result without being physically hurt, and interact with virtual worlds.
As a result, the teacher’s job shifts from content delivery to learning facilitation. According to Adobe, “teachers will be focused on creating conditions for exploration rather than offering ready-made knowledge.”
Adobe also posits that VR will benefit students in six ways:
- Students might gain a better feeling of location by immersing themselves in a subject.
- Educators can establish virtual laboratories to minimize expenses and expand accessibility by creating large-scale learning experiences.
- Learning by doing: Instead of simply reading, students can learn by doing projects.
- Emotional reaction: In order to boost student retention, educators create memorable experiences for them.
- Tilt Brush, a technology that encourages children to be more creative, is one example of this.
- Educators can improve visual learners’ comprehension of educational content through visual learning.
Educational Use of VR
Virtual reality has a wide range of uses in education that help both educators and students.
New Teacher Training and Lesson Prep
Teachers are frequently put into classrooms shortly after completing their undergraduate degrees. When it comes to putting their skills into practice, they still have a lot of real-world learning to accomplish.
Virtual reality provides a technique to further train teachers before they enter the classroom. Educators can practice lessons in a mixed-reality setting using systems like TeachLiVe, according to DistrictAdministration.com. Student avatars reply as if they were in a classroom during the session, allowing teachers to practice their abilities. This also helps present teachers by allowing them to rehearse challenging lessons and assess their pupils’ potential learning.
According to Ed Tech, Crosswater Digital Media has even developed a technology that puts educators into conflict scenarios. This helps them to practice dealing with a tough student or issue before it becomes a real-life situation.
Digitized Classroom Sessions
By recording and reproducing genuine classroom sessions, VR can also assist students and teachers in gaining classroom insights. Teachers have already begun to generate detailed recordings of courses using 360-degree cameras, according to software developer spatial. If a student misses a class, they can use these VR recordings to virtually enter their classroom, see their classmates, and learn as if they were there.
Teachers can benefit from virtual classroom sessions as well. Teachers can learn a lot about their student’s learning styles and their own teaching methods by recording and refining classroom sessions.
Enhanced Learning Opportunities
Virtual reality also enhances the possibilities for student field trips and lab sessions. Previously, educational trips were limited by expense, distance, and accessibility; now, virtual reality removes these limitations and opens up a world of possibilities.
From swimming with whales to exploring Mars, Google Expeditions designed virtual reality settings for students to explore. Students can even board real school buses that have had their windows replaced with 4K displays to create VR landscapes.
According to AR Post, science laboratories are being digitized to save money, provide over 100 different experiments, and make them more accessible to low-income communities.
Learn more about VR and how it’s changing education with us at Dubai Coding Club. [email protected]
