By: Alexandra Maseda
A new concept that is being brought to light is virtual reality in the classroom. The idea of virtual reality has always seemed futuristic and far off, but now it seems closer than ever before. Kids play video games with it, and plans to incorporate it in films and television is in the works. It won’t be too long until teachers and students can experience a new world using it too. What purpose could virtual reality serve in the classroom? Well, the possibilities are endless.
In Science class the moon and other planets and experiments can feel closer than ever. In history students can walk the same street as George Washington. In English students can be there when Jay Gatsby throws his elaborate parties. The best part is that all of these will help students absorb information that may have been difficult before. To really feel like you’re a part of an event really can trigger your brain to focus better on what is happening around you. You were “there” paying attention and therefore it is easier to remember. It offers more than a textbook or film would.
Even better, virtual reality provides the opportunity for students to understand the world better. Not just history, planets, or fictional places but real peoples stories too. Current events and things most relevant to the current world. The New York Times provides a great lesson plan for using virtual reality to its full potential. Most intriguing, there is a lesson plan that involves visiting children around the world whos homes have been overtaken by war zones. This lesson plan educates students on a life they have not experienced and allows them to feel sympathy and be connected to these children in places like Ukraine or Syria. Virtual reality allows for these students to really feel the atmosphere around them in a way a simple computer camera or textbook could not provide. These students can see that their home life, family life, school life, and experience’s in general are much different from the kids they are observing.
The lesson plan then provides a few questions for the students who had visited these other countries. One question that sticks out is ‘What moments effected you most’. A new level of observance is possible with virtual reality and it allows for students to realize these circumstances are realities in the world and these children need people to care. A new level of connectedness is achieved from virtual reality. What these students see in virtual reality is then taken out in to reality when they are asked about how they could help the children. Awareness and change happen and students are able to work towards a better world.