Tina Shankar
Special to In Motion
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, also known as VR and AR, are two forms of technology being taught in local schools, including Daytona State College. Both are allowing students to expand their interactivity by learning and experiencing through innovation.
Studies show that millennial students love to learn in engaging and creative ways, rather than sitting down and listening to a lecture. Now, students are benefiting from such a technological advancement by utilizing AR and VR in positive ways.
Virtual reality consists of a user being absorbed in a virtual world and augmented reality consists of users integrating digital information in real time. VR is a 3-D environment projected through a headset, whereas AR is animated objects displayed via smartphones. Using VR, for example, you can “visit” a planet outer space and using AR you can go outside and use your phone, pointed at the sky, and learn names and physical outlines of stars.
“I actually just used the VR headsets in a room with a student who never talks and she was talking up a storm because she was so excited. Her teachers were amazed and I couldn’t believe it was a student who never talks, because all of a sudden she was the most talkative in the entire class,” said Kristin Harrington, a District Support Colleague at Flagler County Schools.
There are many opportunities of learning and creativity presented in both methods and it provides another way for people to interact.
In the Interactive Media program at Daytona State, instructors are teaching VR and AR to show students how immersive and advantageous it will be for students in the future. There are many education, learning and training opportunities that both forms have to offer. For instance, the Institue for Health Services at Daytona State also uses VR to practice surgery and heart failure in a simulated learning environment.
“Students can use VR and AR to experience things that they could never do before. Like visiting a distant country or having an underwater experience. This can help with experience learning and help the students be more well-rounded,” said Hector Valle, Manager/IT Instructional Resources at DSC, who has been teaching in the Interactive Media program for several years.
“Also, AR can be used to help students with technical skills and trades, such as automotive or AC repair. AR could guide them through the process”,
Students can experience real life scenarios, then and act upon them, through VR and AR teaching them new techniques. DSC and other schools, K-12, are beginning to invest in the technology to help students learn more effectively.
Prices for VR and AR can be expensive, but companies such as Google are making it more affordable so anyone can experience it. To that end, Google designed the VR Google Cardboard headset that costs $15, where you can download apps straight to a smartphone to get the experience of virtual reality. Several years ago, the New York Times mailed a free headset to every subscriber.
“I took a Digital Media course at Daytona State and we learned a little about VR and AR. It was really fun and the whole class was fascinated with using the $15 Google VR headset and just our phones,” said Destinee Santana, a DSC student majoring in Nursing.
Studies show that 93 percent of teachers say their students would be excited to use virtual reality and 83 percent say that virtual reality might help improve learning outcomes.
Imagine taking a tour across the world visiting cities everywhere, all from sitting down at a classroom desk. VR and AR are bringing the impossible to individuals everywhere and leaving them astonished with the results. Having a 360-environment with capabilities of a visual learning experience provides a better understanding for students to increase their cognitive memory.
AR and VR are impacting schools worldwide in many different countries with what the technology has to offer. Being immersed in a virtual world or in the real world using 3-D graphics to capture users, is making history for a better future.
Educators and computer experts alike believe this will become the next generation of education and learning, providing endless opportunities for interactivity and engagement of students wanting to “feel” the experience of learning.