VR/AR - Using Technology in Education
The invention of the first VR headset by
computer scientist Ivan Sutherland in 1958 was the beginning of augmented and
virtual reality 3D display. It was not long ago we were communicating by the
home telephone and whereas these days we can communicate as well as send and
receive messages anywhere in the world with our smart devices. The virtual
reality market is expected to be worth over 5 billion dollars by the end of
2018 and an estimated worth in excess of 209 billion dollars by 2022,
(Statista, 2014).
What is the difference between Virtual
Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)?
They equally have remarkable capability to
alter our view and perception of the world but are very different as VR is
created from a virtual environment and AR combines the real world with a
virtual creation. Both can be used for games and in a professional environment
for business or education viewed with dedicated headsets worn for lengthy
periods. Take a look at VR
and AR
to see the difference. An example of VR, AR and Mixed Reality
in the medical education in the videos below.
Project Esper: Mixed Reality Anatomy Learning · 19/07/2016 · HD ·
by 3D4Medical
Education in the Future: VR and AR· 31/05/2016 · by Justin Betts
Datavideo Why Datavideo TVS-1000 virtual studio system is so good
for Education?
· 24/07/2015 · HD · by
Datavideo
The new generation are brought up within a
rapidly evolving technological era and are engaged in the technology rather
than learn from traditional methods such as textbooks. Virtual reality
technology can contribute valuable modern ways to educate the new generation
where visuals and pictures can be beneficial in inspiring engagement. With the use of context relevant visuals and
pictures in a scenario of a virtual simulation of real world practices students
can role play and explore the virtual environment to develop their disciplinary
skills. There would be consequences for students and therefore learn from
mistakes such as inability to proceed to the next level, loss of points, game
over, repeat the scenario, etc in a safe environment. See below how reality can
be a fun way to assess the learning.
Anatomy of the human body by VR · 30/08/2018 · HD · by Medical Ideas
Designing Virtual reality real world
practical scenarios for eLearning will encourage and benefit students in terms
of their capability to learn new multifaceted information at a much deeper
level. Students who struggle to learn key concepts and the use of eLearning
scenarios would normally solve problems in a context they understand from the
embedded pictures.
The topics from the augmented library AR/VR
text books or 3D virtual tours can provide high quality visual information for
students to explore the visualization realities and experiences from another
dimension while wearing the VR headset or on smart devices while listening to
the teacher or audio. The traditional method of teaching where the students are
sitting and listening to the teacher can be boring with students not being
engaged and therefore not understanding or learning.
VR creates interest at every age group.
Students will be more willing to watch with interest as it creates an amazing
experience that could not be lived in real life.
VR Technology will increase student
participation and through visual content the student will be engaged to learn
more. Students will be more likely to engage and participate in classroom
activities and motivated to use technology.
VR can eliminate language barriers in
different countries as language can be implemented within the software.
What
could be some of the disadvantages of VR?
VR can be an asset to most discipline
activities, there could also be a disadvantage. In classroom activities I
encourage collaboration through communication and problem solving real world
scenarios. There is a possibility the student will not have personal human
interaction as they will be immersed into the software and the technology. The
students through the lack of group discussions will then ask the teacher for
help which can be a disadvantage as a student. VR in the classrooms is
potentially changing communication between students and the overall social
interactions. For example, desktop VR has developed a 3D virtual world known as
Second Life where the user accesses the internet and are represented in virtual
space as an avatar hence engaging online communication between avatars, Brian
Boyles (2017). Users can interact with
text and audio, create 3D objects, and own their own “land” in the world. not
really it is just changing communication into online dialogue between
avatars. The avatars are good for some
students as they are shy and will communicate and interact more when they are
hiding behind an avatar. There have been studies about this (search second life
VR avatars in education.)
VR is programmed to visually display the
same each time with no room to be flexible and does not consider the student
who will not understand everything.
In a flexible classroom situation, students
can ask questions and receive answers, interact with colleagues, experience
workshop activities. Students cannot take notes while wearing VR headsets.
Like any tool there will be breakdowns in
computer, software or Head gear creating academic disruptions to the student’s
learning in class, an activity or even during exams and is problematic for the
learning development. These problems disrupt the learning motivation which is
not good for the students. Waiting for repairs or replacing very expense VR
head gear can take time.
For some people, VR sickness also called
simulator sickness can occur from the rapid movements or motions in the reality
world when using VR and AR devices Jorge Serrador, Professor of Pharmacology,
Physiology, and Neuroscience at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, (Stephanie
Pappas, 2016).
The creation of the virtual reality
visualization comes at a great cost
and expensive tools.
Virtual Reality is a graphic creation of a
virtual 3D space which needs to be created by specialists with 3D animation
skills. The hire of an animator comes at a cost for their service, or if those
specialists are in house, powerful computers are required to render the 3D
models quickly and 3D modelling software for example, 3D software such Autodesk Maya for realistic models, or Houdini, Maxon's Cinema 4D, Blender,
Modo etc.
For those who have little experience in 3D
creation and wish to tackle the animation Amazon
Sumerian could be one of the best choices. A list of 3D software,
some free, can be found at 3ders.
It all comes down to budget and how realistic the visualization needs to be.
Depending on the discipline taught and if
we are teaching how to identify the working parts, new features, technology
enhancements and the use of a particular piece of equipment such as video
cameras, there will be a need to constantly update the new information with the
ever-changing technological world, if we need to teach real world skills to our
students. This will add more costs to amending or adding to the visual.
Once the visualization is created the 3D VR
will need to view on Smart devices such as, smartphones, computers and
televisions via dedicated apps like, Altspace VR and devices, Janus VR, Oculus
360 Photos, Oculus Video and Virtual Desktop etc. and viewed on VR Headsets
like, Oculus Rift, Sony PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Go or Google Cardboard
for IOs and Android phones. Depending on the quality these VR headsets can be
very expensive to buy and or replace.
Augmented
Reality
AR and VR are both making their way into
the education sector. Choosing which one works best or possibly a combination
of both will depend what is being taught, what and how is the student
understanding the learning and the pedagogy on the learners metacognition.
Augmented Reality integrates the user’s
computer generated virtual technology into the real world environment
interactively in real time, Azuma et al. (2001). This has put students into a
world that comes to life where images pop from books, characters come to life
all in 360 Degrees and in 3D which adds to an engaging learning experience.
The Augmented Reality concept has been used
for some time now in movies, games, television shows, schools and some higher
education courses such as, Medical, Engineering, Architecture and Law etc.
This technology will be applied in the
Higher Education, Screen and Media Degree program. AR and VR will be utilized
to enhance the learning experience through the creation and use of 3D
environments to illustrate particularly technical aspects of film making
equipment and techniques.
‘Lifelong learning’ has been a consistent
theme throughout my career. All my life I have been learning and improving my
skills through activities, listening, visual content, comprehending, utilizing
innovative technology. Ongoing changes throughout the decades have made me very
knowledgeable today compared to say 30 years ago. To keep up with my Film
production I had to embrace technology and keep up with new innovations through
training, improving skills and experiences to keep abreast of the creative
industry. We, as trainers, are living in a time of great responsibility and
simultaneously confronting a blast in innovation and these have significant
implications for education at all levels, but perhaps especially higher
education (University).
Student cohorts are affected by their
social interactions, emotional behaviours, cultural background, learning and
expectation which will have some impact on their styles of learning and
individual performance. As teachers, we tend to forget how it was when we were
students.
Although students may reference reading material,
writing, video references, pictures and sketches -which are certainly very
beneficial - until the student reconciles those reference materials with the
visual, the experiential, and audio components, the learning process in terms
of Sweller’s Schema, will be incomplete. However, that reconciliation is able
to be manifested by the student performing exercises in class, to ‘set in
concrete’ both the knowledge and skills gained.
What is the difference between Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)?
I endeavor to practice clear effective communication focused on the nature of teaching delivery, simulations, reflecting on the focused topic and feedback. This is enhance by preparing and developing lessons that are not undermining the strategies for a deeper understanding in practices of principles for effective learning in higher education.
Whilst students are actively learning even while listening to a formal lecture or presentation in a classroom, there must be more for students to actively learn with engagement and dynamic participation. Constructivism takes the learner into dynamic processes that promote the principles of the use of experiential techniques in such a way to promote ‘discussions, problem solving, cooperative learning, debates, drama, role playing, simulation, and peer teaching’ (Kolb 1984).
As a constructivist I admire the work of Ramsden, Martin and Clark (1995) in a study in Australia on good teachers, but I would like to add that I encourage my students after every lesson to come to me, anytime if they need help. Formative Assessments and quick quizzes are very informal tests to gain useful student information data to guide me in knowing where students are in their learning and where I need to go next.
Focus
by Joe Nucifora
Anatomy of the human body by VR · 30/08/2018 · HD · by Medical Ideas
In closing, depending on the discipline one
is teaching, both VR and AR are great tools to build on student’s pedagogy and
metacognition. With carefully planned fun educational systems, reality
education will benefit the learners to build with confidence their skills,
collaboration in decision making and to follow through with their tasks. The
future is changing, VR and AR are all around us, on television, games,
smartphones, billboards and in schools.
Azuma, R., Baillot, Y., Behringer, R., Feiner, S., Julier, S., & MacIntyre, B. (2001). Recent advances in augmented reality. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 21(6), 34–47. doi:10.1109/38.963459
B Boyles, (2017). Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in Education - United States Military Academy, West Point, NY.
https://www.usma.edu/cfe/Literature/Boyles_17.pdf
Sinclair B and Gunhouse G. (2016). The Promise of Virtual Reality in Higher Education
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/3/the-promise-of-virtual-reality-in-higher-education
elearning Industry. (2018). Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/corporate-elearning-pictures-help-us-learn
Kingma L. (2018).The Ultimate Display - Revisting the world’s first headset,
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Kolb, D. A. (1984): Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. NJ: Prentice Hall.
Ramsden, P., Margetson, D., Martin, E. & Clark, S. (1995). Recognising and Rewarding Good Teaching in Australian Higher Education (Final Report), Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra
Statistica. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/topics/2532/virtual-reality-vr/?utm_campaign=elearningindustry.com&utm_source=%2Fpros-cons-using-virtual-reality-in-the-classroom&utm_medium=link
Pappas S. (2016). Why does virtual reality make people sick?
https://www.livescience.com/authors/?name=Stephanie%20Pappas
https://www.livescience.com/54478-why-vr-makes-you-sick.html
Sweller, John. (2003) Evolution of human cognitive architecture in: The Psychology of Learning & Motivation complied by Brian H Ross, 43, 215-266
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