Tag: RP1

Virtual reality (VR) is the future of the education system. Using VR, there is a completely different physical and emotional effect on a person than in real life. These fantasies allow for a new level of experiential learning. In a TEDtalk by Chris Milk he discusses how VR appeals to people’s emotions. Additionally, an online article “VR and its Educational Possibilities”, highlights the benefits to education on both an elementary and collegiate level. Although virtual reality can still have a negative stigma, as all technology does, the potential to be somewhere unattainable in the real world, submerged 360 degrees, allows for an abundance of knowledge that cannot be learned without VR. VR benefits visual learners and gives students a safe place to fail. Because of this, VR should be used in the curriculum as an additional “textbook” when appropriate to each lesson.

As early as the elementary level students can begin to benefit from VR. Using this advanced technology is different than showing a video in class because it completely surpasses the ability of any video. Instead of students being told to a watch a video on say, pyramids in Egypt, they can actually be put in the Egyptian setting and explore the pyramids themselves. In “VR and its Educational Possibilities” Elliot Hu-Au states, “This affordance of VR gives students the ability to construct visual and manipulable objects to represent knowledge, an allowance that traditional learning methods lack.” (Hu-Au “VR and its Educational Possibilities”). Hu-Au is simply suggesting that modern day learning cannot possibly teach students to the depth that VR can.

With that said, this becomes a very convenient method of learning for visual learners. This is where I see the potential in VR. I can read from a textbook over and over again but will not retain as much information as I should. VR gives a visual and interactive approach as opposed to just reading words from a page and that is the kind of learning I can take something away from. Even watching videos in class does not meet my academic needs because there are constant distractions happening everywhere. Using VR in the curriculum instead of showing films where students are asked to take notes, would be a good place to start using this tool. Due to the fact that VR forces students to focus, this makes the lesson independent and blocks out other students in the class and distractions they possess. It is impossible to multitask while immersed in the VR world so all attention is directed towards it and that allows for a stronger comprehension of material.

In addition, students hate failing. Whether they are in first grade or twelfth grade, nobody likes to fail. This can hold some students back from trying and take away their desire to participate. VR gives a safe place to fail. This is because no one is watching, it is strictly the student and the VR world, and it is fake. The failures in VR will have no effect on their life in the real world. Elliot Hu-Au claims, “Research has shown in virtual world-building simulations, low-performing students improved academically more than those learning through traditional methods, even more so than their high-achieving counterparts” (Hu-Au “VR and its Educational Possibilities”). The fear of failure is the exact reason for this additional positive effect of VR. Students do not have to feel pressured or put on the spot and are instead immersed in customized learning environments where they can work at their own pace. In Ready Player One, Ernest Cline states, “No one could even touch me. In the OASIS, I was safe” (Cline 26). This is another example of how a pretend world allows its users to feel safe and protected. There is no possible danger or error bound to happen. There is no stressing that comes from not wanting to “mess up”.  In this case, classrooms for students learning at a slower pace, with learning disabilities should incorporate the use of VR into their classrooms to give their students an alternative way to learn that is more interactive.

Even though VR sounds like an unarguable addition to education, it does have its flaws. For example, there are a majority of students who get motion sickness. This becomes a problem when asked to take a wild tour of a VR jungle in science class. I do not get motion sickness but my head did hurt a little bit after using VR for the first time. This is not a reason to abandon the idea of using VR in the curriculum. After using VR a few times I believe students would become accustomed to the new digital learning system. I bet the first class to use computers in the classrooms were uncomfortable and needed time to get adjusted, but now look at the development of computers in education since then. The same process applies for VR. Afterall, Chris Milk claims that VR “has the ability to change the world” (Milk “TEDtalk”). So why deny that possibility?  

In conclusion, virtual reality has the ability to enhance education for students of all ages. Aside from the inevitable discomfort of VR at first, it allows for a deeper level of understanding and provides students with experiences unattainable in real life. If VR was to be used in classrooms instead of showing old school videos or reading from textbooks, students would comprehend much more information. Visual learners and slower learners would also have the chance to use the resources that best suit them. Overall, implementing VR into the education system only enriches the learning experience of all students.

 

Using virtual reality in an educational setting can have mostly irrefutable impacts on students but can be accompanied with some drawbacks. The specific effects include the ability to connect on a realistic level to a learning environment, engage and explore experiences that show a different perception, and promote collaboration and engagement between student and teachers on a much different level as opposed to traditional teaching.  Additionally a couple drawbacks are also prevalent in the use of VR as an educational tool such as cost and technical problems.

 

The ability to engage and explore experiences with virtual reality shows a different perception and is what makes this a great educational implement. How Virtual Reality Can Create The Ultimate Empathy Machine with Chris Milk was a clear example of showing students other parts of the world and how they go about their daily lives in the refugee camps and war-torn areas of Syria and Jordan.  It explored the different environments and allowed you to walk around and stand next to the hosts of the these stories. The story of Sidra, the twelve year-old girl from Syria forced you to merge into their lives and feel how they feel when they go about their everyday struggles of life.  It made a connection between the viewer and the host much stronger than watching a fifteen min video on war in the middle east and africa. This connection gave you an understanding and an urge to help whoever was on the opposite end of the VR equipment something not easily done any other viewing way.

 

Another conclusive effect is the connection on a realistic level to a learning environment.  In Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One the main character Wade uses a virtual school to attend his classes.  This comes with many benefits and could be used in many cases in which someone has a physical disability or they want to experience school in a way that suits them.  In Wade’s case he uses this virtual school as a great alternative because of his low self-esteem and poor social skills: “I didn’t have problem talking to people or making friends.  But in the real world, interacting with other people especially kids my own age made me a nervous wreck”(Cline 30). This is a great approach that could be used today with kids that have similar issues.  This could promote more engagement in class without without the fear of sparking psychological issues rooted in physical classrooms.

 

Thirdly, an explicit effect is the promotion of collaboration and engagement between the student and teachers from implementing processes or methods using virtual reality for example a particular math formula or coding example.  This is described in an scholarly article by Jelia R. Domingo and Elizabeth G. Bradley in which they highlight that virtual reality is learning tool from the participation of students and teachers in a mostly university setting. “As higher education programs move increasingly to an online format, lack of connection between students, instructors, and learners has become a challenge”(Domingo,Bradley 1).  This shows that the connection between virtual reality and the classroom could be of great benefit offering more than just an online course and significantly more than a traditional course. “This simulated environment, along with identification of one’s avatar within that environment, contributes to a sense of presence”(Domingo,Bradley 2). “Thus, those who collaborate within that space have a sense of “being with” each other, rather than simply communicating. The sense of presence, both in the experience of the physical space as well as in interactions with others in the space, is the key to experiencing authentic and satisfying learning activities in the 3D virtual environment” (Domingo, Bradley 2).  These meaningful interactions can produce positive and fun experiences from the students wanting them to utilize virtual reality more often which shows a great need for this in the institutional technology for schools.

 

Lastly, the effect of VR technology comes with some great positives and if used correctly can vastly improve education in all kinds of classes ranging from history, computer science, english, and much more.  Along the way cost may be a drawback because of the high cost for some of these products especially if they are to be used in a large setting such as a elementary school or high school but there are cheaper alternatives and the cost does not outweigh the benefit.  As with all technology there will also be some technical problems but can be easily maneuvered around and patched. All around using VR as an education tool can promote collaboration and engagement,connection on a realistic level, and show a different perception someone would not have otherwise seen.  It is something worth exploring and using and would be a detriment for not integrating into the educational system.

 

Ethan Jarmush

Dr. Licastro

Eng 151 OM14

Virtual Reality Uses for Education

Virtual Reality (VR) might seem like something out of a sci-fi film from the future, but it has actually been around as early as the 1960’s, and has been used by NASA and the military for training, preparation, and rehabilitation.. If asked whether or not VR will have an impact on education, the answer is a definite yes, and not only that, but it will be a positive one. The uses can go as early as elementary school all the way up to medical school. Once the technology improves, not only will we have more uses for virtual reality, but the places it is being used in right now will improve drastically.

Right now, virtual reality is being used, and has the capacity to be used, in many different areas of education. The scientific article titled “Utilizing virtual and augmented reality for educational and clinical enhancements in neurosurgery” by Panayiotis Pelargos talks about how the military uses it “for training and rehabilitation of soldiers”. Training soldiers in virtual reality can help immensely as it gives them a sense of real combat but without putting them in danger before hand. Pelargos continues to talk about how the Air Force uses virtual reality for flight simulators and NASA uses it for developing HMDs (Head mounted display) for astronauts (Pelargos et al.). It’s not only large organizations that use virtual reality for education and training though, my college English class has used virtual reality and the topic of virtual reality for educational purposes. We’ve used the Google Cardboards to watch videos on the NYT VR app which transports us to many places around the world to learn about different cultures and situations that people live in. Furthermore, medical research laboratories are using virtual reality rudimentarily and trying to develop it further in order for the them to assist with surgery or other applications. Once the technology increases, not only will we see it used to train surgeons but all the other applications used so far will improve as well.

In the future, we could end up seeing virtual reality everywhere we go. As stated before with neurosurgeons, Pelargos and his team decided to conduct research on the applications for virtual reality in the medical field, and what needs to be met for it to be implemented. Pelargos believes that “VR may become an extremely valuable tool for education due to the intricate and complex nature of neurosurgical procedures” (Pelargos et al.). Not only can VR be used to train up and coming neurosurgeons, but veterans of the field can use it to hone their skills or prepare for a big surgery coming up so when it get to the real thing, they are already acclimated with what they need to do. All of this will allow for “greater efficiency, improved patient care, and minimization of technical errors that are inherent to the surgical learning curve” (Pelargos et al.). Besides neurosurgery, depending on how the technology develops, it can also be used in the public school system like its shown in the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. In the book, everyone uses virtual reality and it can be used to go anywhere, do anything, and be anyone. Cline goes into detail about how virtual reality is used in the classroom by saying “In astronomy class we visited each of Jupiter’s moons” (Cline 48). They also traveled back in time to the discovery of King Tut’s tomb (Cline 48). Something like this could easily be implemented today and it would grow and strengthen children’s understanding of these topics to an extent not available today like being able to interact with the environment they’re in or talk to people from different time periods.. Lastly, Chris Milk wants to use VR in film because “It connects humans to other humans in a profound way that I’ve never seen before in any other form of media” (Milk “Empathy Machine”). Like what our class did with the Google Cardboards, he wants to do on a larger scale to connect with others around the world in a way we haven’t yet been able to do. For example, like with what Ready Player One can do, we could interact physically or speak with whatever you’re observing. These are the kinds of things that the future of VR holds, but getting there will not be without its struggles.

There are a few barriers to entry which is the reason VR is not as widespread as you may think since the technology has been around for 60 years. Since it has not reached commercial success among the populous, it hinders the development of the technology since it is harder to fund it. In order for VR to be worthwhile to use in education, the physical gear needs to be safe, reliable, and the results need to be valid. Getting all this accurate can be difficult to do and needs to be done correctly. The equipment also needs to be mobile, immersive, flexible, and affordable. It is no wonder that due to companies like Sony and Samsung having a difficult time funding these projects and making sure all the specifics are done right, that it has taken so long for VR to be considered seriously as an education tool.

So despite these barriers to entry, in the future when the technology progresses, not only will the places VR could be utilized in expand like in the medical field or public school, but areas it is being used currently will improve greatly like with military rehabilitation and training at NASA. Once VR reaches commercial success, we could end up seeing VR in many aspects of our lives we never dreamed of.  

 

Brianna Johnson
ENG 151
Dr. Amanda Licastro
November 13, 2018

Virtual Reality in Education
Virtual Reality (VR) is taking place over doing traditional activities for an assignment from kindergarten through 12th grade. The education system should study the effects and advantages of using virtual reality, and then implement it into kindergarten through 12th grade. Virtual reality is an advantage in the education system due to how it is engaging and interactive. It can help students learn from a first hand experience that can’t be obtained in any other forms. For example, in “Reasons to use Virtual Reality in education and training courses and a model to determine when to use Virtual Reality”, Veronica Pantelidis states a study done by YoungBlut where the researcher took questions about the effectiveness of VR from kindergarten through 12th grade. The test results showed what VR is capable of as well as effectiveness of retaining information on that topic. Starting with the younger group of children, the study exposed students to a world where they can explore and be motivated to learn simultaneously. This process is something that has never happened before, but will continue to expand to other age groups due to its popularity. Virtual reality is an advantage that will help educate all grade levels and tackle the problem of learning disabilities and help you learn at your own pace.
Many studies have been conducted on the use and application of VR in the 80s and 90s, but now it’s becoming more prominent due to the advancement of technology itself and cost-effectiveness. There are core reasons why VR should be used in education and training purposes. For example, VR draws on the strengths of visual presentation by showing different ways to present information by showing different angles, for example being up close and personal with the content and subject matter. This feature was made to allow for the ability to stay focused on one task and keep your attention and to show you events that wouldn’t be possible by any other means. The visual presentation sets a platform for it to motivate children to want to be engaged and interact, rather than to be inactive. Without the interaction and active participation, it would just be like an ordinary app for school. Virtual reality is interactive which appeals to kindergarten through 12th grade because of the attention span of the age groups they designed it specifically for. Lastly, VR has the best aspect of being free to explore without having time constraints. It allows the individual to learn through the experience at their own pace and learning style which can be an advantage for both regular school children as well as disabled school children. Virtual reality creators specifically did this so children can have an equal opportunity to learn about other cultures and styles on their own given time. In relationship to Pantelidis opinion on virtual reality, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Cline mentions,”Teachers could take their students on a virtual reality field trip every day, without ever leaving the school grounds”(Cline 47). This statement presented by Cline suggests that in a virtual reality school they applied virtual reality within to take educational trips to learn through a personal experience. Wade and his classmates travel to King Tut’s tomb in his world history class. By adventuring to King Tut’s tomb, the student’s got a better understanding of history. Not only did they travel here but to the inside of a human’s body.With this up close and personal experience, individuals in the OASIS got an education like no other experience. In relationship to Cline, I have experienced VR in my English class while using both the InMind app and the NYVTR app. The NYVTR app allowed us to see videos from a wide array of topics in a 360-degree space and hear sound. This experience allowed me to hands on see the situation the kids were living in like I was really there, versus just hearing about it or seeing a video. Both these apps examined areas and events that could not have been seen from a personal experience. Virtual reality will soon become a platform for learning topics from past events and present.
Although education and training techniques have started using VR there are few downfalls to it. The disadvantages of using VR are related to the time needed to use the equipment, the cost, and health and safety factors for kids. As with all technology, they are still being perfected. There is a lot of time needed to learn how to use the equipment due to how it’s a brand-new concept that is being tried and has to adjust to the software of the mobile device. Health and safety factors for kids play a role due to how the virtual reality space is constantly moving around, even though you as a person aren’t moving. This can lead to motion sickness as well as trigger other ailments the individual is currently dealing with. The equipment need to accomplish virtual reality are costly therefore it would be hard to integrate this technology into a course if the funds necessary aren’t provided. All technology faces these problems, but the issues could potentially go away the more it is integrated into a curriculum. Educators typically use textbooks, videos, blogs, and podcasts to help their students learn for various courses; but you have to determine what the lesson is about, how you want it to be taught, what you want the kids to get out of the lesson and other options to determine how to present the following information. All new technology has its advantages and disadvantages but over time technology will be integrated into the course or curriculum as a well needed skill to succeed.
From a personal experience, virtual reality seems to be a new concept that motivate learners to learn through 3D experience. Occasionally at local malls, they will have video game console machines that you can sit in and it takes you on an adventure. The console I was in was enclosed and moved like a real simulation. As it moved, it was talking and presenting a video on the screen above. My first encounter was scary due to how it was moving and talking therefore making me confused about the space I was in, but afterwards I learned new information and of course wanted to play again. In correlation to my experience Pantelidis explains why we experience these emotions, by stating, “studies have shown that a virtual environment can stimulate learning and comprehension because it provides a tight coupling between symbolic and experiential information”. The study suggests that VR goes beyond what is seen or known to create a relationship between concepts and experience, while learning through a hands on experience and reflecting. Chris Milk states,”You feel your way inside of it. It’s a machine, but inside of it, it feels like real life, it feels like truth. And you feel like present in the world that you’re inside and you feel present with the people that you’re inside of it with”. Milk’s personal experience allows the individual to understand how the emotions play a role in the virtual reality world. Our emotional state affects what we remember and how we remember it and how much time you would be willing to invest in it. Once you are engaged in the content, your brain and emotions change to shape the world. Furthermore, VR gives us the possibility immerse ourselves in another reality we thought wasn’t possible activating the brains of our brain to process and feel empathy.
In conclusion, VR is an advantage given to help all learning styles and adjusted for certain educator’s techniques. For these reasons mentioned above, VR should be incorporated in the education due to its more accessible and interactive for individuals who want to learn at a different pace. As technology evolves so does the platforms which we use does to, and VR can help provide a growing system for many forms of education. Currently instructors implement learning tools based upon practices already used in the classroom. To bring VR into a classroom, it would benefit the students as well as help them develop a learning style they haven’t thought of before. VR will allow students to be up to date with current technology at the same time as giving them a comprehension and stimulating learning environment. Virtual reality will become an important aspect as we are learning skills and concepts that will be needed as we head to the future. Incorporating into the curriculum ensures that no matter what grade level we are educating students on a new level that will motivate them to learn. The major issues we need to discuss on this topic is how will we implement this into the education and what will the success rate be for future generations to come.

Thanks to Virtual Reality (VR), we can travel to places thought to be impossible before. We can surf on a blood vessel delivering oxygen throughout the human body, travel to faraway galaxies in a matter of seconds, and go back in time to experience from a first person point of view what it was like to fight for the Union during the American Civil War. These are but a few examples of how VR can be incorporated into our current educational curriculum. The use of VR in the classroom should be needed, not entirely in the sense of entertainment but rather in the benefits that can be procured. This VR experience is best to use in a high school setting where students are mature enough to use VR while also giving them a better understanding of the curriculum that they are studying in class.

 

In Ernest Cline’s novel, Ready Player One, the main protagonist Wade Watts shares with the reader some of his experiences in the virtual classroom. Wade mentions how he “traveled through the human heart and watched it pump from the inside” (Cline 48) in biology class. How interesting is that? Before, a biology teacher would most likely show a chart to the class our a movie that uses animations. That’s all well and good, but in VR you could view the same animation but have the ability to move the camera as you like in the 360 degree environment. Another benefit that can be found in Wade’s experience is what any educational system dreams of, no fights. The way the virtual school was created in Ready Player One, fighting was never a concern because the simulation didn’t allow for it. However, it’s true that people can still say just about whatever they want and get away with it but there’s one button to solve that problem. Being poor, Wade gets made fun of by many people for his appearance in the virtual environment; it costs money to have the trendy clothes in the virtual world. As such, Wade has learned to use a very resourceful tool when being bullied vocally: a mute button. If someone’s making fun of the way he looks, he usually makes a snarky comeback and mutes the other person before they can reply and it shows when someone mutes another. Now the better response would have been to mute the bully in the first place but Wade was somewhat tired of the remarks coming from the same bully that day and decided to show it. As explained here bullies and fights are a thing of the past thanks to VR.

 

Moving back to the classroom, one of the biggest benefits to VR is that it grabs your attention. As Wade describes a classroom, “It was a lot easier for online teachers to hold their students attention, because here in the OASIS, classrooms where like holodecks” (Cline 47) you could experience everything. Wade also mentions a big budget saver for schools thanks to the virtual environment. With the OASIS, “Teachers could take their students on a virtual field trip every day, without ever leaving the school grounds” (Cline 47).  It’s no wonder that the OASIS is valued so much, the entire novel revolves around this virtual paradise where you can be whatever you want and not be judged or restricted by others. However, given that this is a virtual paradise why would someone leave it. Indeed there are some downfalls to VR, in a sense like an addiction. There are stories that can be found online describing streamers, gamers, and other people so immersed into the environment that they forget to eat, sleep, and do everyday tasks. These are extreme examples, the virtual environment can be controlled so that this doesn’t happen. By using a timer on the headsets worn to view the virtual environment, the VR session can be limited to however long the teacher wishes for it to be.

 

As Chris Milk describes VR “It’s not a video game peripheral. It connects humans to other humans in a profound way that I’ve never seen before in any other form of media”(Milk “Empathy Machine”). The way that Milk uses VR helps to share the stories of people who are less fortunate. He brought a video that was filmed in a Syrian refugee camp located in Jordan to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The video was shown “to a group of people whose decisions affect the lives of millions of people. And these are people who might not otherwise be sitting in a tent in a refugee camp in Jordan”(Milk “Empathy Machine”). To summarize the response that was received by these people; “they were affected by it”(Milk “Empathy Machine”). With VR, those people are there with the refugees rather than watching a documentary about them. They experience what the refugees feel, and they come to have a better understanding of the situation as a result.

 

Coming back to an educational perspective, VR has great potential. Students have a tendency to do well in certain classes because of interest. As I’ve seen going through school, many students who weren’t interested in history received low grades in comparison to students who were interested. With high schoolers, it’s of great importance to help them succeed. Some chose to go straight into the workforce, others will go to college, and then there are those who drop out of high school due to this lack of interest or being unprepared for the future. With VR, we can better prepare those who are struggling and bring more interest to the classroom. VR has limitless possibilities, but the only thing that limits them are the choices that we make.

 

Just speaking hypothetically, what if it was a possibility to put some lenses on your head and to be able to see with your own two eyes, child birth? Or specific instructions and procedures to a heart surgery? Or even the simple, yet amazing concept of our solar system? Now that all sounds great, but what is I told you that is all already happening? With modern technology, we are now able to see, hear, or in the rarest cases, feel things without us actually being there. This is due to Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Things like Google Glass, Oculus, and other VR systems make it possible to do these miraculous things, all while staying in your seat, home, classroom or any place of convenience. This level of advanced technology can be used in a multitude of ways. VR through focused education (specific to major, subject, etc.) is a prime example of how Virtual Reality technology can create an entirely new aspect of learning, exploring, and discovering. It needs to be integrated into the school curriculum, as it can take education to an even higher level than years past.

Starting at the lowest level, going all the way up to post-secondary education, grade- schools and all forms of post-secondary education are already adapting to the “new wave” of VR learning and exploring. According to an article by Kelly Walsh, writer and educator, titled “Real Uses of Virtual Reality in Education: How Schools are Using VR”, teachers and other educators around the U.S. are taking full advantage of the ascendancies that VR learning has over traditional learning. A prime example of this are Virtual field trips. Educators are providing students with VR experiences and  in order to give them the experience that some have not, or possibly will not have the pleasure of doing so themselves. Students may now go to the zoo right from the comfort of their classroom. Expanding it further than just the zoo, the aquarium, or some other cliché field trip that can be seen with their own eyes, students are being taken on a trip to the solar system. According to the article, students use “Titans of space”, an app available for the oculus Go or the Samsung Gear VR, that allows you to see the solar system, which is both a privilege and an experience in itself (“Real Uses of Virtual Reality in Education: How Schools are Using VR”). This is only one example of how educators are placing students in the experience so that they may not only see it, but hear it as well. Another example of this is taking students back to the Jurassic Age, through a various number of apps, where these students can see, hear, and experience a time much before all of us. Virtual field trips are just the surface of what VR’s can do for education.

In addition to the virtual field trips children and adolescents alike may indulge in, VRs can also be used within the college education system. In the article by Kelly Walsh, he explains in a multitude of ways how VR through education can assist college students in grabbing a real-life experience while in class. In the article, he mentions college students on job sites pertaining to their specific field, they identified hazardous content, which in turn removes students from an actual job site filled with hazards, and prevents being in a potentially dangerous environment in order to learn (“Real Uses of Virtual Reality in Education: How Schools are Using VR”). Another prime example of college students getting a real-life experience through VR for education would include medical purposes. Colleges and institutions like UCLA are using VR to train neurosurgeons to perform surgery. Another location such thing takes place is Chu Angers University Hospital in Europe using VR to simulate stimulating a patient’s brain during a medical procedure.

All of these examples, from field trips, to medical procedures are amazing examples of ways VR can be effectively used in education. Referring to my personal experience with a VR in a classroom environment, I got the opportunity in my English-151 class to use Google Glass in combination with my iPhone and the NYTVR app to go through experiences of war and hardship. An informational VR experience titled, “The Displaced” guided me through an experience of a family, as well as other families, being forced to move out of their homes due to a brewing battle within their hometown, only to comeback to nothing but rubble and destroyed homes. This experience, seeing the rubble beneath me, drew a certain level of sympathy for that particular family, and the dozens of other families in the same situation as them. The educational part of using the VR is an amazing step forward in the direction of the age we live in, but being able to share an experience and feel sympathy or even empathy, is an entirely different aspect of it.

Not only does this VR through education help us learn and grow intellectually, it lets us share feelings with others without actually being there. In a TED talk presented by Christopher Milk titled “How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine”, he talks about how VR through film making and education can draw people together. He makes a powerful statement just before he closes his presentation. He states, “So, it’s a machine, but through this machine we become more compassionate, we become more empathetic, and we become more connected. And ultimately, we become more human (“How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine”). This really signifies the different aspects of education that the VR can bring, not attributing just the educational side of things, but the psychological and emotional side of things as well.

The VR should be and needs to be integrated into the educational system and you should highly consider using it when instructing your class, it can open up a new world of learning never experienced before by possibly yourself, and the students that have the privilege of experiencing such an thing. It draws students closer and can create a level of sympathy and personal connection possibly never achieved before.

Higher education is the first step before students venture off into their desired career path. Students majoring in nursing, psychology, English, and history have to learn to connect to with their audiences better in order to be successful. University professors should incorporate virtual reality (VR) into their curriculum to allow students to gain an insight on what will happen in their profession to better understand the roles that will required and real life challenges that happen every day. This will allow students the opportunity to know if that profession is something they will not only want to do, but have a passion for, when deciding on a career.

In the article “Virtual Reality in Education and Training Courses” by Veronica S. Pantelidis, she explain the reasons as to why virtual reality should and should not be used. Pantelidis states, reasons to use virtual reality are because these experiences cannot be obtained in any other way in formal education (Pantelidis “Virtual Reality in Education and Training Courses”). This is why primarily nursing, psychology, English, and history majors should use virtual reality. As a nursing major it is imperative that I know what I am doing, and be able to obtain as much information as possible to either save a life or tend to someone that is in need. As a freshman, many internships and second hand resources are geared towards juniors and seniors because they have gone through their stimulation courses where they work with artificial human dolls for experience. Virtual reality will allow me the insight of how to do my stimulations by the time I am a junior or senior and I will be able to obtain more information because virtual reality gave me the opportunity to watch how simulations are properly done as if I was in the same room. For example during my upperclassman course my stimulation will consist of how I treat the patient, reading the patients file correctly and knowing what drug and dosage to give to the patient. Depending on what drug I give him or her the artificial doll will act accordingly whether it is regurgitating, body temperature changes, seizures or any type of allergic reaction. Having the ability to see it performed early in advance will prepare me for future circumstances.

Students taking psychology, English and history have to be able to get inspiration from their surroundings for example to study the mind psychology majors can tour someone’s pass through the virtual reality to understand why that person may behave the way they do today. In reality we can illustrate in our mind from details given as to how someone’s past may have been but to actually walk through the house see the good and bad things that happened to their patient to really understand the person in today’s time. English majors cover a great deal of prospective. The virtual reality will allow inspiration as to how to interpret information from various viewpoints. Courses like English and History will be able to travel back in time, mentally go to the places they are learning about or have to write a paper about.

Educators can allow students to work in shared groups to understand what happened after leaving the virtual reality. This will allow students to share ideas on what they did or did not understand and help them improve together. In the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline he illustrated how to future could look. In this book Cline allowed students to go to school in the virtual reality world called the OASIS. The school in the OASIS is a great idea as to how to solve the problem for a student or teacher that cannot physically make it to class. In the book it says, “The real public-school system, the one run by the government, had been an underfunded, overcrowded train wreck for decades” (Cline Ready Player One). The school in the OASIS was the only way students were able to gain an education. Situations like this is beneficial when using the VR because of the poverty they are living in. The class will be able to learn from their homes and still gain the information needed for that day.

Virtual reality could be used in higher education because of how the deeply it can be used to inspire thinking and understanding. For younger users virtual reality is said to result in lateralization. A stimulation can be so convincing that some users could confuse model with reality (Staurt  “Virtual Reality in Education and Training Courses”). Professors should incorporate virtual reality into their curriculum to allow their students to explore outside of their own minds. The virtual reality will test the students on what they thought they knew and how it makes them feel.

VR is going to change the world. VR is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image that can be interacted with in a seemingly real way by a person using electronic equipment. It changes the way people look at the world and gives them a different passageway to the future. It puts you into a new world dimension that we have never seen before. It could be the passageway of the new educational aspect in schools and will change the way students live their lives and do their work. Teachers will soon evolve around the VR method and make it a desired way of learning. I believe it will due to kids having different ways of learning, and different ways of processing information. Schools will soon be all VR and be learning all subjects on VR. Jobs will be using VR also. You never know what VR could do unless you try it, and it’s always good to experience something new because you never know what could happen.

For the teachers of math, this can be the way out of personally teaching a lesson out loud. Even though they all love to teach, it could be the break point of being there for just extra help. With the VR, the students that have trouble learning by just listening, and are better with visual aspects, this is the way to success. In the article, Vivek Wadhwa’s uses in example with a made-up guy named Clifford. For example, “if students are learning shapes, Clifford makes them put on VR headsets and sends them to Egypt” (The future of education is virtual). The source explains how the VR benefits a child in education and what it could do for someone who has trouble learning and seeing things from an eye view. By sending them to Egypt, it gives them the chance to see the pyramids and what angles and what shapes they are. As well as learning math, in a matter of fact, they are learning something about history and how they were formed. Unfortunately, some students have trouble with VR due to the colors and all the moving around, so it makes it hard for them. It takes away the advantage portion of being a visual learner, but there are ways to prevent it from happening, that these students can learn to be successful in the field of math. With VR, it makes the surroundings so much bigger. For example, with the shapes, instead of seeing it on the board in tiny hand writing, it is in your face at maximum level size and very graphic. In addition, when it comes to math, there are so many problems and space that is needed to learn what is going on, and the VR gives you the advantage and making it easy.

Imagine if you did not have to go to class? Wade Watts does not. In the novel, Ready Player One, Wade Watts uses VR to go to virtual class and be someone that is not really him but could look like him. For example, “the school bell rang, and a warning flashed in the corner of my display, informing me I had forty minutes until the start of first period” (Cline 29). He doesn’t even go to real school, he sits in his hideout and goes to school virtually. This could be beneficial because in reality, no student ever wants to get up for class, but imagine if school started later and all they had to do was put on a headset. It would make school so much more interesting for the students and they might just enjoy coming to class on VR. Also, the students are not really themselves. Have you ever wanted to be someone other than yourself? This invention gives you the opportunity to be that someone else and live a different life. Even though you have the same name, which is good for the teachers, students can have fun while learning academics like they are supposed to. Some students are barely awake in their first period class, but when they put on the VR, it gives them the excitement of in a place, where it is like a new home, that everyone can enjoy.

Biology classes will have a different outlook of the experiments they experience. Usually teachers put the molecules up on the board, and it is just on a PowerPoint. Imagine seeing it in 3D structure. The depth and picture through the DNA molecules and body of a human would be unreal. It would be like being inside an actual body floating around the structure and bones and being on a rollercoaster. Likewise, in Vivek Wadhwa’s article, he states that Clifford also teaches biology. With the VR, he can, “observe the children’s pupillary size, their eye movements and subtle changes in the tone of their voice” (The future of education is virtual). Beneficially, there would be no work involved with the assignments, but by just seeing how the student reacts, it is noticeable that the student is handling it well. Everyone knows that somedays, teachers do not want to be in class and they deserve a break from all the work they do for us; this will benefit the teacher due to the fact that they do not even have the teach. The VR system does the work for them. All the teachers have to do is observe and see how the students react. It is all a process, and whether it is going to be big time in the future.

VR is going to change the world one day. Not today, or not tomorrow, but one of these days, it is going to be the gateway to success. Seeing how you can learn biology, and learn about shapes in math, and even not even go to class, but go to class from home, is a life changer. It is giving the students and faculty a new outlook on life. Having the VR can be the new computer in a sense, that instead of watching videos in bad quality, the virtual gives you the 3D all the time. It is a matter of who wants the change and who doesn’t. It takes one person to make a difference but takes everyone to change a lifestyle.

Virtual Reality (VR), is a technological advancement that allows three-dimensional images or environments be simulated and recalled by a person. Education is the process of receiving or giving information systematically. The two didn’t have a connection until now. Virtual reality is a tool that is starting to make an impact on not only our daily lives, but also on the education system as well. VR is a tool that should be allowed in all education systems.
Chris Milk, a man who is an American director and CEO of a VR company makes arguments about how VR can teach and change people’s minds. Chris Milk discussed in his TEDtalk that virtual reality is an experimental machine that makes you “feel present in the world that you’re inside and you feel present with the people that you’re inside of it with”(Milk “Empathy Machine”). According to what Milk had said, virtual reality and education may go hand-in-hand. If you’re in a history class for example and your professor says that you are going to be using virtual reality in order to fully understand the history of the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers you can expect to feel as if you were there and get the bigger picture of the event rather than just reading about it. Professors can benefit from incorporating virtual reality into their teachings to better engage the students and so you can be what Chris Milk describes how using the virtual reality will create opportunities to say “I saw people having an even deeper emotional reaction to this, the things that I had made in rectangles”(Milk “Empathy Machine”). Chris Milk also brought out how “we can change minds with this machine”(Milk “Empathy Machine”). Virtual reality can change the minds of people as Chris Milk says because it will give us insight on different aspects of history or viewpoints of other people we may not have thought about, so why not allow virtual reality to have a positive effect on education.
Just like Chris Milk, Jelia R. Domingo and Elizabeth Gates Bradley argues the positive effects of virtual reality in education through tests they did regarding students perception of virtual reality in education in their article “Education Student Perceptions of
Virtual Reality as a Learning Tool”. Domingo and Bradley believes that “virtual reality can be considered a tool. The reason that virtual reality can have a positive effect on education because “Instructors can customize virtual classrooms to have content-specific information and resources continuously available in the virtual environment”(Domingo & Bradley,330) which allows for students to attend a class that may focus on subjects that can be more beneficial in a virtual environment than it would if the subject was just being taught straight from a book. I can relate when I used the Google Cardboard in class and watched videos on the NYT VR application on my phone which made me feel as if I was in the same environment as the people within the virtual reality experience. VR has become a tool in our education system because many educational based institutions have made strides to have three-dimensional worlds in their courses that are online(Domingo,331). If the situation of not knowing if students may have a good experience with virtual reality arises, Domingo’s tests reveal that little over half of the student participants said they had a good experience with virtual reality(Domingo,339).
Ready Player One, a book that depicts a fictionalized version of our world using virtual reality, has many aspects of the way virtual reality may have an effect on our education. There is the example of using virtual reality to go to school as the character Wade Watts uses the Oasis to go to school just as the other kids do in that world(Cline,28). In our education system virtual reality can be a useful tool because if the student is not able to physically make it to school then they’re able to attend school in the virtual reality world that is created. Attending school in a virtual environment will have differences than attending school in the real world because in the real world people may call you by your first name or a nickname you like while in a virtual school you will be seen with a gaming tag with your first name and a set of numbers at the end of it(Cline,29). VR gives many aspects that may appeal to people in the education system that would like for VR to be a factor in the way they use it in their teachings.
VR a technological tool that is starting to make an impact on our education. Why not use virtual reality to hold a class so you can witness an event for yourself in a history class instead of reading about it in a book or watching a video that does not give you much insight on the topic. Instead of having bland lectures, professors can use virtual reality in order to incorporate three-dimensional environments within the classroom. Virtual reality can be used as an option of going to school if not physically capable as well. As Chris Milk said “we can change the minds with this machine”(Milk “Empathy Machine”) so why not take advantage of virtual reality and incorporate it into the education.

When most people think of Virtual Reality, they imagine a futuristic scene, in which every aspect of life has been highly modernized. What they fail to recognize, is that Virtual Reality is a present-day concept, and while it may not be readily available for all people, it certainly is a thing that exists. Virtual reality has been a fast-growing market as of late, with many companies trying to pile onto the metaphorical bandwagon and market VR to the public.  While Virtual Reality is primarily an entertainment-based market, some companies, such as the New York Times and Google, have shifted their focus towards the educational side of Virtual Reality. With virtual video games, the average person can go on adventures and explore the world. Why can’t this concept be translated into educational value? Instead of learning about history, Virtual Reality would make it possible to experience history. One of the main problems with history classes is that students don’t feel connection to what they’re learning. With Virtual Reality, this problem could be solved easily. Students would be able to really and truly experience events, and connect with those who are affected by them, and form a genuine bond with the subject matter.

And that is only one possibility. VR has such a high educational value, and it would be a monumental mishap to let such an opportunity slip through our fingers. VR, if implemented correctly into the educational system, will have a huge impact on education, and can change the way that schools are run forever.

VR is still in its early stages, and the media is quick to report every single happenstance the moment it comes out: new gear, new games, new concepts and possibilities. While most Virtual Reality is for entertainment purposes, there have been major breakthroughs with Virtual Reality and education. As mentioned before, Google and the New York Times have teamed up to create the Google Cardboard, a portable VR device that allows you to experience the world of VR. Or rather, the world in VR. With the Google Cardboard and the NYT VR app, you are able to travel around the world and experience it in ways that you would likely be unable to otherwise. One of the most striking experiences that I myself had, was with the NYT VR app. I was watching The Click Effect, a short film about a group of researchers that interact with dolphins, hoping to crack their speech pattern “code”. Of course, the research was mind-blowing. But I was more astounded by the fact that I was able to experience everything that the researchers saw. I could see the dolphins, as well as the rest of the ocean, in 360 degrees. I could hear their clicking and know which direction it was coming from. It was truly a euphoric experience. Possibilities flooded into my head immediately. Not much about the ocean is known; we know more about our surroundings in space than we do the depths of the ocean on our own planet. If I am able to swim in the ocean while sitting on my living room couch, then researchers can most definitely use this technology to map the ocean in real-time. And even further, students can absolutely use this technology in the classroom to truly experience what they are learning about. My psychology teacher in high school had always told me that experiential learning was best, and I have taken this belief to heart.

However, I am not the only one who feels this way about the educational aspect of Virtual Reality. In all honesty, I’m late to the virtual party here. Much like the New York Times, a famous director by the name of Christopher Milk also seeks to use VR as an educational enhancement. In his TEDTalk, The Empathy Machine, he mentions his short film, Clouds Over Sidra, the story of a young girl living in a Syrian refugee camp. But why is this striking? Why should we care? There have been countless documentaries, and countless news stories about the lives of Syrian refugees. Why is this one any different? In the words of Christopher Milk himself, “You empathize with her in a deeper way.” (Milk “The Empathy Machine”).

When you have the Virtual Reality headset on, you are experiencing everything as if you are right there with her. You experience the same things that she does. I had mentioned earlier that one of the main problems with history classes in schools is that students fail to connect with what they’re learning about, and if VR was implemented in classes, it would solve that problem immediately. Christopher Milk, in his TEDTalk presentation, has affirmed that. At the World Economic Forum, Milk presented his short film to the attendees. In his TEDTalk, he had this to say,“And these are people who might not otherwise be sitting in a tent in a refugee camp in Jordan. But in January, one afternoon in Switzerland, they suddenly all found themselves there. And they were affected by it.” (Milk “The Empathy Machine”).

To me, that said more about the endless possibilities of VR than it did the VR itself. Truly, Virtual Reality can change the world. As naive as that statement is, I very deeply feel this to be true. In this day and age, it’s hard to find genuine human compassion and empathy. To see policymakers and politicians, people who can affect the lives of everyone else, really experiencing and actively empathizing with those in need is an awe-inspiring experience. I feel that, if this technology were broadened and strengthened, it will bring us closer together as humans.

And while I’m imagining the future, I can actively see a world in which education and VR are synonymous. They will go hand-in-hand with each other. With virtual education, students will be able to learn more about their subjects than they ever were before. And maybe…just maybe…students will actually like going to school. Students will wake up and feel excited, and wonder what virtual adventure they’ll be going on next. And they’ll want more.

It would be so magical to see that, because of Virtual Reality, students will be actively engaged in their studies, and will want even more knowledge. Our society would be able to progress so much if this were to happen!

But of course…it’s only an if.

It’s not entirely out of reach, though. In order to make all of this, plus more, possible in the future, we need to do something now, before the trend of VR falls through. All of these concepts can be established in our lifetime, if we are careful with it. The educational system needs to take careful steps to ensure that classrooms across America will be able to use Virtual Reality, or at least have a VR setup in their school. This may be tricky, and may take some time, but with the future of the world potentially riding on a two-letter abbreviation, I am confident that it will be worth it.