HOW VIRTUAL REALITY CAN IMPROVE LEARNING
Technology is leaving its finger prints on so many industries and has become a very influential part of our society. With the advent of musical apps like Pandora, Spotify and YouTube, you don't have to go home and turn on your vinyl player to jam to Sweet Caroline or Staying Alive.
Obviously, there is more to technology than creating classic playlist for a dance party. In education, professionals are realizing the positive impact of computers and related devices in their industries. Many of them are taking advantage of the available tools to improve performance in their students. New technologies have come to make what we couldn't even visualize into a reality. Scientists found a way to replicate reality in order to simulate a particular three-dimensional setting or environment.
One of the benefits of virtual reality is the fact that it improves the element of interaction and flexibility in education. Hence, learners tend to be more focused on the subject matter. With this technology, students can now explore simulated places based on real life. Thanks to intelligent developers, we can now take “trips” to museums, galleries and neighboring planets from the comfort of the classroom. Seriously, who would rather doze off looking at boring slides of the solar system while there is technology that offers simulated space exploration? With this new technology, you’ll have more students excited about school and less having a Ferris Bueller's day off.
With virtual reality, students will be able to learn the subject matter by ‘experiencing’ it. Seeing is believing and in many cases, its simpler to experience an event than have someone else try to explain it to you. A few years ago, a group of researchers created a software called “The Giza Project”. This incredible creation permitted users to virtually tour the Pyramids of Egypt. Believe it or not, there will be more software like this that would allow people explore the wonders of the world from the comfort of their homes.
The interactive feature of virtual reality has made it fit well in teaching and learning. I read about a professional soccer coach that used the Google Glass and Oculus Rift to create simulations for his players during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. So get ready; In the next few years, virtual reality is going be a very influential part of our world.
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Bibliography:
Using the Oculus Rift to revolutionize Education. (2016, April 11). Retrieved April 05, 2017, from https://unimersiv.com/using-the-oculus-rift-to-revolutionize-education/
Lawrie, G. (2017, January 23). How our school is using Virtual Reality to prepare pupils for a future dominated by technology . Retrieved April 05, 2017, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/01/23/school-using-virtual-reality-prepare-pupils-future-dominated/
Virtual Reality and Education. (2016, February 23). Retrieved April 05, 2017, from https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality-education/
Images courtesy of http://search.creativecommons.org/
How Wearable Tech is Transforming a Coach's Decision-Making. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2017, from http://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/how-wearable-tech-is-transforming-a-coachs-decision-making/
April 18, 2017
