(If you have not read my recent blog about Augmented reality (AR), I would suggest reading it before continuing with this blog. Find my blog on AR HERE.)
If you are aware of AR, the next natural step is usually to become familiar with its more advanced sibling: Virtual reality (VR). VR allows its user. with the assistance of a VR headset (often in combination with hand controllers) and a VR tool, to become immersed in a virtual world that can often mimic the real world or an in-game experience (University of Toronto, 2022).
Most people that are familiar with VR have probably experienced it using Playstation VR or Meta Quest (Greenwald, 2023). Sadly these VR tools are expensive and do not have much content that is specific to education, and as a result, become very inaccessible to a large group of students. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative that students can use in an educational setting, there are inexpensive cardboard VR headsets that you can buy, such as THESE, (or make it yourself like THIS) that can allow for VR to be accessible through smartphone devices. If used in combination with various smartphone VR apps, this inexpensive version can be a decent alternative to the more expensive version.
One such smartphone VR app is CoSpaces EDU. It is a digital platform that allows users to create animated interactive worlds using simple coding tools. It is designed for both educators and students to be able to create and share knowledge. Users can start from scratch or begin with templates to create museum exhibitions on anything from literature to volcanoes. Teachers can create games that are targeted to specific 3D experiments to test knowledge and much more (see the video below for two examples of worlds created by students in CoSpaces EDU). As such students can creatively build their 21st-century skills such as communication and critical thinking skills whilst learning from the syllabus in an immersive manner (Niu et al., 2021; Papanastasiou, 2019). Users can create and use CoSpaces EDU on web browsers and smartphone devices, but the VR tool can only be accessed using a smartphone device.
Although there are many positive outcomes to be had by using VR there are a few issues to be addressed. As mentioned earlier it can get expensive and it relies heavily on access to technology, however, the most pressing risk is the physical and psychological dangers that come with VR. Unless implemented gradually and with care, students can experience physical damage by bumping into objects as well as motion sickness, headaches, nausea, and panic attacks (Souchet et al., 2022). As such, VR should be implemented with care and continued supervision (Kovalenko et al., 2022).
References
Greenwald, W. (2023, March 02). The Best VR Headsets for 2023. PC Magazine. https://au.pcmag.com/virtual-reality-1/42713/the-best-vr-headsets
Kovalenko, V. V., Marienko, M. V., & Sukhikh, A. S. (2022). Use of augmented and virtual reality tools in general secondary education institution in the context of blended learning. Information Technologies and Learning Tools, 86(6), 70–86. https://doi.org/10.33407/itlt.v86i6.4664
Niu, M., Lo, C. H., & Yu, Z. (2021). Embedding Virtual Reality Technology in Teaching 3D Design for Secondary Education. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.661920
Papanastasiou, G., Drigas, A., Skianis, C., Lytras, M., & Papanastasiou, E. (2019). Virtual and augmented reality effects on K-12, higher and tertiary education students’ twenty-first century skills. Virtual Reality : the Journal of the Virtual Reality Society, 23(4), 425–436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-018-0363-2
Souchet, A. D., Lourdeaux, D., Pagani, A., & Rebenitsch, L. (2022). A narrative review of immersive virtual reality’s ergonomics and risks at the workplace: cybersickness, visual fatigue, muscular fatigue, acute stress, and mental overload. Virtual Reality : the Journal of the Virtual Reality Society, 27(1), 19–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-022-00672-0
University of Toronto. (2022, December 17). What is virtual reality? University of Toronto. https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=607624&p=4938314
Hi Pia,
Great heading, the rhetorical nature of it has allowed me to create some initial thinking before reading your content! Definitely grabbed my attention.
You’ve given an informative introduction to VR and some of its past usage in different technologies. I didn’t know it was used among Playstation users! You’ve provided links to a lot of the sub-aspects you’re concerning which I found very helpful. I’m just wondering what sort of games teachers can make for their students, perhaps some examples to elaborate on this idea… Does this mean that teachers can create and share their own projects with various students? – If so, that’s pretty awesome!
I hadn’t thought of the physical and psychological dangers that come with…