On Day 2 of watching my classmates’ Educational Technology presentations, we learned about a few forms of Virtual Reality and it’s applications in the classroom.

Group 4: Virtual Reality Experiences in the Classroom

3 Types of VR:

Virtual reality – Headset tracking movement in completely virtual environment

Augmented reality – headset or glasses seeing real world with overlay – Google Glass, Pokemon Go

Extended reality – used for therapy, in the military, fighter pilot simulations

Playstation VR

Pros:

  • Engaging
  • Novel
  • Engrossing
  • Hands on
  • Learning in new ways
  • Technology continues to advance
  • High performance

Cons:

  • Outdated hardware + software
  • Immobile
  • Gaming bias – not all educational games
  • Motion sickness
  • Expensive
  • Arduous setup

Meta Quest 2 (Standalone VR)

Educational uses:

  • Librarium – virtual library with flash cards, books, study space, preset courses and study guides, import your own flashcards
  • Hand Physics Lab – Move manipulatives with hands
  • Nanome – Chemistry visualization software
  • Star Chart – Interact with space

Pros:

  • Simple setup
  • Portable
  • Affordable
  • Diverse software – less gaming bias
  • More of a computer than a gimmick
  • Multiplayer

Cons:

  • Lower computing power
  • Have to charge after 4 hours
  • Potentially distracting for students
  • One at a time, can’t be used in partners
  • Educational software is still limited
  • Limited support for people with physical limitations

Group 5: Virtual Field Trips – KaiXR

Kindergarten – Field trip to the zoo

  • See what a bear habitat looks like
  • Students use KaiXr to create their own habitat, assess what they learned about bear habitats

Grade 8 – Field trip to Mount St. Helens

  • Use flash cards to quiz students learning from “field trip”
  • Students will have all information from completing the tour

Pros:

  • Engaging
  • Physical limitations can attend
  • Inclusive
  • Can visit places that aren’t otherwise possible – Space station, top of Mount St Helens

Cons:

  • Technology challenges
  • Can be expensive – have to pay for entry to “field trip”
  • A lot of prep to make it feel special for kids vs actual field trip