Well the first thing I need to address is do you know what VR stands for? No? No worries, VR stands for Virtual Reality. Now, the second thing I need to address is do you know what virtual reality means? No? Again, no worries! Here is a great definition describing what virtual reality is:
Virtual reality provides an “artificial environment where people can do things and interact in that environment using mobile devices such as Virtual Reality (VR) glasses.
And now, this is probably your face:
You may be asking…”okay, so what? What does virtual reality have to offer to students and teachers? Why does it matter to me as an educator?”
Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve got an answer to your question thanks to my ECI201 class!!! I was shown many different sources and aspects of this tool while leaning about this unit. Most of the sources I read were talking about the benefits that students AND teachers can get through Virtual Reality. In summary, what virtual reality can do for education as a whole! Feel free to take a look at the sources that were presented to me: https://www.edutopia.org/article/virtual-reality-drive-deeper-learning-holly-korbey & https://elearningindustry.com/augmented-reality-and-virtual-reality-transform-industry-education-5-ways/amp?__twitter_impression=true.
I will briefly be breaking down the benefits that I saw as most important into 3 main categories. The categories are Curiosity, Engagement, and Open-Mindedness.
First on the list is Curiosity.
Virtual Reality allows for students to be filled with curiosity as the world opens up right before their eyes. With Virtual Reality, students can be presented new opportunities like: Virtual field trips, High Tech training, “Internships”, Design and create then & there, and many other opportunities. These opportunities are needed to help fuel the curiosity and creativity of students.
Second is Engagement.
Classrooms nowadays have a significant amount of problems, one of them being classified as “boring”. Students are often looking like this:
When they should really be like this:
Students are given lots of information in a short amount of time which can lead to them: being bored, being disengaged, and learning without purpose. Virtual Reality allows students to have more interaction with what they are learning, this can be done through things like: virtual field trips, virtual science labs, virtual interactive activities, and many other things. These activities are needed to engage students with what they are learning. Which will give what they are leaning more purpose.
Third is Open-Mindedness.
Students have been able to connect to the outside world through things like text and skype. But nothing is more real than having a better sense of place which can given through virtual reality. Through virtual reality, students can: experience things they read about, explore things they see and see how things are put together, “live” in the experience, along with experience many other situations and scenarios. These experiences are needed for students to see the value in what they have and to be more moved to help the values they have reach others. This can clearly be seen through the following video that was presented in my ECI201 class:
By only looking at this video, I was left with a perspective change. I was able to see the different lives that everyone has and the different things other people have to go through. I was left in shock and disbelief. I also felt very emotional with what I was able to see in the video. So, I can only imagine the impact the actual virtual reality glasses have on a person. Being able to see and “feel” what others are going through around the world is a real eye-opener. I am sure that if I got the opportunity to wear the glasses, I would have my view on the world shift completely. Being able to “step” into somebody else’s shoes allows for one to feel empathy. Which opens up the “human” side of people. This is why I believe this is definitely necessary for classrooms of all grades, especially college.
In Conclusion:
It is, almost, without a doubt that future classrooms will be loaded with technology as we see technology advancing rapidly during these times. Virtual Reality has shown to have many great features that will enhance students learning in the best way possible.
In the future, I plan to use Virtual Reality inside my own classrooms. Why? Because of the tremendous positive impact that it can have on my future students. Their curiosity will be fueled, their engagement will be caught, and there open-mindedness will be open. For the curiosity portion of virtual reality, I plan to allow my students to explore. To see what, where, and how the glasses can take them to places. Features like “painting”, “running”, “flying”, and many others are offered through Virtual reality. So, the options are almost limitless for the students. For the engagement portion of virtual reality, I want my students to engage with what they are learning. Interactive games and activities are offered through virtual realities. For example, if we are on a topic about science and cannot get the supplies or environment needed for an experiment…then we’ll use virtual reality! This engagement will also be helpful for all the visual learners that I may have in my future classroom. It will aid their learning by letting them see how everything comes together in a very real visual way. And last but not least, for the open-mindedness of virtual reality, I plan to give my students to experience living in the lives of others. The shoes in which they “step into” and the intensity of the environment will very much depend on the students age. Something like the video about Syria would probably be appropriate for a high schooler but not for a 1st grader. The only thing I would try to accomplish is to open the minds of my students. So that they can see there is a big world beyond the town they live in. I am thankful that ECI201 has open my mind in many aspects, especially on the tool of virtual reality. Now, I am able to bring this knowledge into my future as an educator.
Ideas & Reflections 