How is VR being used right now in education?
Virtual Reality is still in its infancy and how to use it in education is still evolving. As content and hardware become more readily available and cheaper, the possibilities will continue to explode. VR has been shown to help the brain absorb information, change behaviour and save money. |
Current Applications
Learn it by Living it!
VR is bringing curriculum to life by taking students to a virtual space that helps communicate the fundamentals of a topic. Examples of this can be seen through all disciplines and levels of education but generally are places that are too expensive or dangerous to have students visit in real life.
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Learn it by Creating it!
Allowing students to create their own experiences, whether those be 360 pictures or custom VR worlds, allows them to apply 21st century skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy skills.
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Example VR Applications
This video demonstrates some of the current state and the benefits of using an open source platform like Engage.
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Google Expeditions take people on virtual field trips so learners can experience what it is like be at different points on Everest, or at the Natural History Museum or even on the Space Station.
Arts & Culture: Google’s Arts and Culture app lets users explore some of the world’s renowned galleries and museums. Learners can experience cultural events like the Fireworks of the Festa Del Redentore or tour the Valley of the Temples.
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History Lessons can come to life by taking students to a specific time or space. VR Terra-Cotta Warriors takes students to ancient China to learn about the culture and the terracotta statues built for Qin Shi Huang.
Simulations: This is applicable from the medical field to sports to business training. Strivr, a corporate training VR company, has produced a VR experience for employees of Walmart to experience what it is like in stores on Good Friday. There is no way to prepare for that without experiencing it.
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Activity: Create a Virtual Reality World
Exercise Overview
CoSpaces Edu is an example of entry level educational VR. It can be used to create educational VR spaces or to allow learners to create VR spaces of their own. You will use this virtual makerspace to create and share a VR space of your own! Learning Outcome The outcome of this exercise is to gain the base skills needed to create VR worlds. The principles and tools used in the CoSpaces platform are very similar, albeit less robust, to those you’d find in other VR and 3D programs such as Unreal Engine, Unity or Maya. As you work through this exercise be thinking of ways you could apply this technology to your practice. |
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The Process
**Edit: This process has been edited since the beginning of the week to allow for a stronger experience. If you have already begun a student account, feel free to continue with that but know that it takes time on the back-end to give you sharing abilities. The only change is to create a TEACHER account as this allows your to share your spaces instantly. Simply follow these steps to get started using CoSpaces Edu as a Teacher:
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