If you have ever wanted to take your students back in time to show them that history is as interesting as you tell them, then you need to learn more about using Virtual Reality (VR) technology in the classroom. This post will take you through everything you need to know before you start buying VR supplies. We will start with the differences between Augmented Reality (AR) and VR, the benefits of VR, and how it can help your students learn more.
A general rule in learning is that students remember 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, and 50% of what they both see and hear. They remember 80% of the things they experience personally. To take advantage of this level of remembrance, you need to utilize VR and AR technology because it is one of the only ways to give the students a personal experience in the classroom.
What is the difference between AR and VR anyway? They are two new technologies shaking up the world of education. AR is software that projects a layer on the surroundings of the user. The software can project parts of the surroundings, project an object, and much more but the projection only appears on the screen. On the other hand, VR is a wholly digital environment surrounding the user. The user can see and interact with the new surroundings. In short, VR feels much more real than AR, and it is the perfect immersive experience that students need.
VR provides a level of immersion that is second to none. Students can immerse themselves completely in the subject of their surroundings. The types of surroundings are only limited by the imagination of the one creating them. There is nothing more immersive than going back in time.
If you are a history teacher who is getting tired of telling everyone how amazing history is, then you should just show it to them! A full VR experience in history is one of the only ways to bring your subject to life. You and your students will go back in time to visit ancient cities, buildings, battles, and much more. If you cannot get your students excited about history after this, then nothing can. You can also take them back in time to show them how good they have it by being born in this time.
VR provides a very innovative way to step into the shoes of people experiencing a hard time. These can be hard times in the past or hard times that people are experiencing in other parts of the world. Taking students on a trip to the difficult spots in the world will make sure that they understand the difficulties of life and develop empathy.
If you are a career counselor and you want to help students pick the perfect career for them, then you need to get a VR kit for them to experience different careers. Experiencing careers first-hand might give the students a better understanding of their likes, and dislikes.
There are an estimated 6.1 million kids affected by ADHD. VR learning can help students with ADHD to pay more attention to the learning material. In the VR space, there are no distractions, so they are more likely to pay attention to the education material surrounding them.
If you cannot stop yourself from giving VR a shot in your classroom, you can visit this website. The website has VR resources for a variety of subjects for students. You can book a demo and check it out yourself.
Although VR technology has so many benefits, there are some things you need to look out for. Let’s go through some of them.
When you start using VR in the classroom, you need a lot of space. VR is a “physically involved” technology where the students need to move around or at the very least move their arms around. You will need a lot of space before you start implementing VR in the classroom. You also need to make sure that you do not misuse VR in the classroom.
You should not overuse VR technology in the classroom because VR can create fake memories in children. There are published papers that show this. Fake memories include children remembering visiting places and doing things that they have never visited or done before. This means that it is up to the teacher to not overuse VR technology in the classroom.
Technology will never replace human interaction so do not think that a VR experience will be a substitute for a teacher. Students will require teachers and friends to learn more in the classroom.
VR technology is very exciting, and students would just want to have fun with them. To limit your students from going off-topic every 10 seconds, you need a solid plan for VR learning. You need to be able to guide your students along in the virtual world so that they make the most out of the VR experience and learn everything.
In conclusion, Virtual Reality technology is the next big step in education. VR has so many advantages for the classroom that it would be criminal not to use it in the classroom. VR gives students a first-hand experience in many subjects, and we know that students remember 80% of the experiences they have. You can use VR to take your student on a journey through time, through the human body, to different parts of the world, and through space. You can also show your students how people in different parts of the world live. If you have students diagnosed with ADHD, a VR headset will help them focus on what is being taught. Although VR is a very interesting technology, be sure to have enough space for it in the classroom and not overuse the technology in the classroom. There have been instances of children having fake memories after being in the virtual world too long. A virtual world will never replace a teacher in education, so it is not the solution to everything.