Virtual Reality in the Classroom

The future of education is near, technology is moving quickly, and the new and fresher technology is being introduced in the classroom every year. Some tend to fail and some succeed in massive ways, one of the collaborations and teaching tools that I found most interesting and useful in the classroom would be Virtual and Augmented Reality and the many features that it brings to the forefront of any study, subject or field of learning.

Virtual Reality is mostly contained in goggles that produce images and simulates real-life locations or abstracts. They originally became popular with gaming software and its ability to improve gaming experiences, many different brands have adopted the concept and implemented them into their own systems, for their own benefits and profits. These brands include brands such as Playstation VR for the PlayStation 4 gaming system, Samsung VR for the high-end Samsung smartphone and even major Social Media company Facebook’s Oculus; among many others.

These systems have impacted the market in almost every way, from gaming, social media, music and videos; the idea of being immersed in what is being predicted is arguably becoming an important factor in what was is offered to the viewer. That being said, this opens up the need and or reason to pursue the use of these items in the classrooms.

There is a big chance that students are currently utilizing these items in their home, whether they are the higher-end products or the universal Smart Phone VRs that fit close to any smartphone; Students are going home to explore them. As like any other new tech, there are possibilities of use in the classroom. That being said I would like to replicate a few ideas that I have accumulated online to help persuade current and future teachers to see the benefits of VR and encourage their use:

Travel to and explore places all over the world without leaving the classroom.

Vr Allows Virtual Field Trips to be even more in depth, Students are able to feel as close to actually being in that location as possible. Furthermore, with updating systems, students are able to interact with the environment or location they are viewing; for example, facts could be shown when interacting or even some physical movements can be made to make it even more realistic.

Experience different careers first-hand.

VR Opens the doors to many different career paths for students. Using Vr students can see first hand the day to day of doctors, surgeons, historians, artists and more that may spur an interest in them.

Helps with understanding complex subjects/theories/concepts.

Because VR immerses students, they are more likely to understand the more abstract ideas that may be difficult otherwise, these difficult ideas can include anything from visually seeing something happen or some understand weather conditions in a science class.

Outstanding visualizations, suited to all types of learning styles, e.g. visual

One of the biggest parts of the VR is the visualizations that they provide. Because of this, VR supports visual learners but also touches on kinesthetic, auditory and linguistic learners as well.

Social Integration of Students

VR in the classroom can be made into a social integration event as well because students are more likely to find common interests in the tool they will able to interact with each other and make better relationships that promote learning.

These are five reasons among many more that promote the use of VR in the classroom. The possibilities of the tool are still being discovered and the as technology continues to evolve it is likely that the tool becomes even greater and provides even more learning benefits.

I would suggest all educators test the tool in their classroom and share their ideas with other educators and PLN’s.

Furthermore, in order to get the best out of the Vr, Try using these apps,

Google Expeditions

Google provides a global experience with or without the VR goggles and provides over 900 expeditions for your classroom.

Titans of Space

A great application when focusing on the space and the solar system and can place your students in the center of it all in order to truly understand the concept.