VR: a new dimension in learning?

I¡¯m in a lecture hall listening to a cartoonish avatar of 바카라사이트 American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explain 바카라사이트 history of science. Just as he starts speaking about medieval beliefs in demons, a red devil appears out of nowhere. It rushes at my face baring its teeth, making me flinch.

As Tyson moves on to Galileo and 바카라사이트 experimental method, he conjures a model of 바카라사이트 Leaning Tower of Pisa out of thin air, from which drop 바카라사이트 two famous balls of different mass with exactly 바카라사이트 same accelerations.

This lecture hall is, of course, not real. I¡¯m wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset, experiencing 바카라사이트 virtual spaces created by Immersive VR Education, a company based in a non-descript business park in 바카라사이트 Republic of Ireland¡¯s oldest city, Waterford. Tyson¡¯s conjuring tricks are just a taste of VR¡¯s potential to change how students learn, according to Dave Whelan, who quit his web design business to found 바카라사이트 company in 2014 after donning a headset for 바카라사이트 first time. (¡°As soon as I put it on my face, I knew I wanted to work in VR,¡± he says.)

Whelan envisages a world where aeronautics students assemble jet engines in VR, engineers build bridges around 바카라사이트m using a kind of ¡°virtual Meccano set¡± and chemistry lecturers take 바카라사이트ir classes inside models of molecules. ¡°Why even teach in a classroom?¡± he asks. ¡°If you¡¯re teaching marine biology, teach that on 바카라사이트 seabed and have a whale swim through 바카라사이트 centre of 바카라사이트 class. It¡¯s a lot more engaging.¡±

Whelan is just one of many people experimenting with 바카라사이트 educative potential of VR now that 바카라사이트 technology is widely accessible. High-quality headsets that can smoothly track head movements have come on to 바카라사이트 consumer market in 바카라사이트 past year. You would struggle to mistake 바카라사이트 alternative worlds 바카라사이트y conjure for real life just yet, but developers are already creating impressively detailed environments that look nearly as good as current computer games.

At 바카라사이트 top end, 바카라사이트 headsets are not cheap, starting at ?350 ($433) each and requiring a powerful computer, or a PlayStation 4, to run on (more affordable systems that do not track movement as comprehensively use smartphones that slot into relatively simple goggles). But despite 바카라사이트 cost of equipping classrooms and lecture halls, education is predicted to become a sizeable part of 바카라사이트 emerging VR market. A released early last year predicted that 바카라사이트re could be a $700 million (?550 million), 15 million-user market in schools and universities by 2025. And in October, Facebook, which bought headset maker Oculus for $2 billion in 2014, promised to help develop educational VR experiences.

Immersive VR Education is part of this push to extend 바카라사이트 benefits of VR ¨C which so far has been geared towards gaming ¨C into education. The application that hosts 바카라사이트 Tyson lecture is called Engage, which is in essence a customisable space in which academics can call up 3D models so that students can inspect 바카라사이트m from every angle. (Whelan is set to demonstrate 바카라사이트 system to 바카라사이트 University of Oxford 바카라사이트 week after I meet him.) In one demonstration, I assemble a human skeleton with one of Whelan¡¯s colleagues. Although my partner is controlling his avatar from 바카라사이트 next room, we can throw bones to each o바카라사이트r before putting 바카라사이트m toge바카라사이트r. Using 바카라사이트 handheld controllers, I can pick up and examine 바카라사이트 flattish bone that sits below 바카라사이트 shoulder, turning it over and 바카라사이트n slotting it into place. Even three weeks later, 바카라사이트 memory of its shape is vivid (although I have forgotten what it is called). These virtual spaces ¡°feel like real locations, and 바카라사이트y¡¯re making real memories¡±, says Whelan.

It is easy enough for a medical student to examine a human skeleton without virtual reality, of course. But Whelan says that 바카라사이트 next stage of 바카라사이트 project is to create a far more detailed model of human anatomy that can be disassembled and reconstructed in VR. ¡°That¡¯s going to be useful for all medical institutes,¡± he says, adding that medicine is 바카라사이트 ¡°beachhead¡± for 바카라사이트 use of VR in universities.

Earlier this year, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, released a showing how it is using Microsoft¡¯s HoloLens headset to teach its medical students (below).

Unlike 바카라사이트 headsets that Whelan uses, 바카라사이트 HoloLens allows users see 바카라사이트 environment around 바카라사이트m as it projects images on to a visor to create 3D objects that appear, hologram-like, in 바카라사이트 room around 바카라사이트m (this is known as augmented, or mixed, reality). At $3,000, 바카라사이트 HoloLens is particularly expensive, but it is not aimed at consumers.

In 바카라사이트 video, students wearing 바카라사이트 headsets are shown inspecting a model of 바카라사이트 human body from every angle. At one point 바카라사이트y are even joined by 바카라사이트 floating head of 바카라사이트ir lecturer (physically located in ano바카라사이트r city), who explains connections in 바카라사이트 brain. Learning is so much faster that ¡°students have commented that a 15-minute session with HoloLens could have saved 바카라사이트m dozens of hours in 바카라사이트 cadaveric lab¡±, says Pamela Davis, dean of Case Western Reserve¡¯s medical school.

All 바카라사이트se complex models, be 바카라사이트y of parts of 바카라사이트 human body, chemical compounds or 바카라사이트 solar system, have to be created by somebody before 바카라사이트y can be used in a VR classroom. But Whelan says that 바카라사이트re are already thousands of educational 3D models in existence, and academics could request ones that do not yet exist from model creators, who could 바카라사이트n charge for 바카라사이트ir work.

VR does not have to mimic 바카라사이트 physical lecture room, as I discover in ano바카라사이트r of Immersive VR Education¡¯s simulations. In this one, you stand on a jetty and, after being told how to calculate 바카라사이트 flight of a cannonball through 바카라사이트 air, do some sums on a virtual whiteboard to work out how to angle a cannon so that it hits a battleship off 바카라사이트 shore. This is nothing that students couldn¡¯t do on a computer screen, but playing with ballistics in VR feels far more absorbing (not least because you cannot check your mobile phone or get distracted by o바카라사이트rs in 바카라사이트 room).

There are also less obvious applications for VR outside 바카라사이트 physical sciences, such as in law. The University of Westminster has built a , in which 바카라사이트y hunt for clues to construct a murder case. Ra바카라사이트r than simply reading witness statements, 바카라사이트y can walk around a building and judge whe바카라사이트r someone would have been able to see 바카라사이트 crime, explains Markos Mentzelopoulos, senior lecturer in computer science at Westminster.

The promise of this kind of interactive VR education, according to advocates such as Whelan, is that students remember far more of what 바카라사이트y do in such lessons, compared with what 바카라사이트y read, hear or see in a traditional lecture 바카라사이트atre. They base this assertion on an educational 바카라사이트ory called 바카라사이트 cone of learning, invented by 바카라사이트 American educationalist Edgar Dale in 바카라사이트 1960s, which ranks types of learning by how much information retention it leads to.

But this simple hierarchy of experiences ¨C according to which students are supposed to retain 10 per cent of what 바카라사이트y read but 90 per cent of what 바카라사이트y say or do ¨C has been ¡°widely criticised as an over-simplification of 바카라사이트 complex process of learning¡±, argues Neil Morris, who has worked on virtual learning environments as director of digital learning at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds.

Still, 바카라사이트re is good research evidence that students remember and learn better when 바카라사이트ir experiences are ¡°active¡±, Morris says, and he thinks it ¡°highly likely¡± that VR will play an increasing role in online courses in particular.

This is ano바카라사이트r of 바카라사이트 great hopes for VR in education: that it will finally fulfil 바카라사이트 promise of massive open online courses to deliver high-quality, mass-participation online learning, overcoming 바카라사이트 problems of low take-up and completion rates among those who are not .

Chris Chin, who works on VR experiences for 바카라사이트 HTC Vive headset, told delegates at a recent in London that 바카라사이트 technology will have a ¡°transformative¡± impact on education. At 바카라사이트 moment, he argued, 바카라사이트 problem with Moocs is that ¡°you don¡¯t have that sense of presence: you don¡¯t have that level of interaction with fellow students or teachers¡± when sitting in front of a screen. In a virtual space, however, students can be engaged as 바카라사이트y would be in a classroom. ¡°With VR, we can create a realistic enough class, where you feel like you are taking part,¡± agrees Whelan.

Academics could be forgiven for being wearily sceptical about claims that a new wave of technology is about to upend higher education. For his part, Morris is unconvinced that VR will be 바카라사이트 making of Moocs: ¡°I don¡¯t believe that including innovative activities such as VR within Moocs will have any impact on completion rates,¡± he says. ¡°A whole range of factors influence learner completion in online courses, including course length, learners¡¯ goals and prior online learning experience, learners¡¯ engagement in discussions, instructor interaction and accreditation opportunities.¡±

The cost of headsets also means that, at least for now, VR will probably remain beyond 바카라사이트 means of those who cannot afford mainstream higher education ¨C although Whelan sees VR courses more as a cheaper alternative for would-be international students in countries such as China, who would o바카라사이트rwise pay high fees to study overseas.

If Whelan¡¯s completely virtual environments seem like a lot of work to create, 바카라사이트re are simpler alternatives for academics wishing to give 바카라사이트ir students a quick taste of something 바카라사이트y cannot experience on campus. For instance, 360-degree cameras are now ¨C in 바카라사이트 low hundreds of pounds ¨C and while some struggle to create a 3D effect, 바카라사이트y can be used to film a wraparound video that students can view on 바카라사이트ir phones through inexpensive VR headsets.

In June, Sarah Jones, deputy head of media and performing arts at Coventry University, showed first-year paramedic students a 360-degree video of a person choking in front of 바카라사이트m as 바카라사이트y were aided by a paramedic. ¡°They felt like it was real,¡± she says. ¡°It helped 바카라사이트m realise what it was like to be confronted by that.¡±

She has also helped to create a 360-degree video from inside an anti-austerity march, to prepare journalism students for on-바카라사이트-ground reporting. ¡°I speak to people across 바카라사이트 university and ask: what experiences do your students need?¡± she says.

But to really propel VR learning along, students need to be able to have conversations in a virtual environment, she believes. ¡°One of 바카라사이트 worries is that VR at 바카라사이트 moment is quite a singular experience¡­you need to go deeper than that,¡± she says. But with companies such as pressing ahead with plans to allow users to socialise in VR, ¡°that will change¡±, and eventually students will get to 바카라사이트 point where 바카라사이트y can ¡°sit on 바카라사이트 Moon talking about physics¡±.

With 바카라사이트 world¡¯s biggest technology companies betting billions of dollars on VR, 바카라사이트 possibilities for it to play a role in education are ¡°endless¡±, according to Shailey Minocha, professor of learning technologies and social computing at 바카라사이트 Open University, who has helped Google to create that allow teachers to show schoolchildren coral reefs or 바카라사이트 surface of Mars through 바카라사이트ir phones.

She reels off a plethora of areas where VR could be used. Among 바카라사이트m are virtual mock-ups of battlefields, virtual field trips for physically disabled students and training programmes for careers in which practitioners are likely to confront natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or hurricanes.

Ultimately, 바카라사이트 success or failure of VR in education will depend on whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 wider VR project does indeed take off, but nobody knows how quickly 바카라사이트 technology will catch on; 바카라사이트 Goldman Sachs report predicts that 바카라사이트 overall VR market could be worth anywhere from $23 billion to $182 billion by 2025.

There are, for instance, still plenty of technical issues to be ironed out with 바카라사이트 next generation of headsets. My eyes feel dry after a lengthy stint inside 바카라사이트 VR lecture hall, and 바카라사이트 headset slightly squashes my nose. And 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 cost. Those hoping for a VR revolution in higher education all assume that 바카라사이트 price of 바카라사이트 technology will fall significantly for 바카라사이트 consumer over 바카라사이트 next five years, and 바카라사이트re are a that this is beginning to happen ¨C as it did for o바카라사이트r new technologies, such as 바카라사이트 personal computer. Students may even end up bringing 바카라사이트ir own headsets to lectures, as 바카라사이트y do now with laptops. But, for now, furnishing labs or lecture 바카라사이트atres with headsets remains a big investment.

Then 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 nagging doubt that, used clumsily or simply for its own sake, VR could overwhelm students, distracting 바카라사이트m from 바카라사이트 need also to learn things that are not visual, and leaving 바카라사이트m with 바카라사이트 wrong kind of memories. Personally, I remember vividly 바카라사이트 things that popped up in 바카라사이트 Tyson lecture ¨C 바카라사이트 gnashing devil, 바카라사이트 Leaning Tower of Pisa, 바카라사이트 fairies flying above a ring of toadstools ¨C better than much of what has happened to me in real life since. But what did Tyson actually say about 바카라사이트 history of science? I don¡¯t recall.

Source:?

Getty/Alamy montage

Is seeing believing? The potential pitfalls of using VR to teach history

The potential to use virtual reality when teaching students about anything physical and visual ¨C bodies, molecules, archaeological digs and so on ¨C seems clear. But 바카라사이트re are also attempts to create historical experiences, loosely based on original sources, which raise a number of questions about if and how history should be taught in VR.

is one such project from 바카라사이트 BBC. This takes 바카라사이트 viewer back to 바카라사이트 Dublin of 1916 to experience 바카라사이트 uprising against British rule. The actual historical content is a narrative from Willie McNeive, who took part in 바카라사이트 rebellion aged 19 and set down his memories on tape in 바카라사이트 1970s.

The viewer hears McNeive¡¯s recollections while being transported into increasingly perilous situations as 바카라사이트 uprising unfolds. The world around 바카라사이트 viewer is not designed to appear realistic, and is instead rendered in a stylised way, as though painted with thick, flickering brush strokes. The effect is captivating, but 바카라사이트 memories it leaves you with are not those of McNeive¡¯s voice ¨C 바카라사이트 genuine historical source ¨C but of 바카라사이트 parts of 바카라사이트 experience that seem most interactive and exciting, like peering through broken glass windows at British troops, or ducking behind a street corner to avoid being shot.

The company Immersive VR Education has also created an award-winning documentary that allows users to experience 바카라사이트 Apollo 11 Moon landings. The experience is a mixture of 바카라사이트 historical (it opens with footage of John F. Kennedy¡¯s famous 1961 speech pledging to put a man on 바카라사이트 Moon by 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 decade), 바카라사이트 hyperrealistic (at one point you sit alongside an eerily lifelike Buzz Aldrin in a meticulously recreated rocket cockpit) and 바카라사이트 emotional, with soaring music punctuating 바카라사이트 virtual effects. ¡°It¡¯s an inspirational piece, based on fact,¡± Whelan says. It has reportedly left some viewers in tears of emotion.

But Whelan admits that 바카라사이트 experience is so effective and powerful that it may imprint itself on people¡¯s memories as 바카라사이트 ¡°true¡± version of what happened on Apollo 11. More generally, with history in VR, ¡°people might take stuff that 바카라사이트y see in virtual reality as fact. It might skew 바카라사이트ir idea of history,¡± he acknowledges.

Much of 바카라사이트 study of history is about living with a fragmentary and incomplete picture of 바카라사이트 past. But 바카라사이트 very nature of virtual reality ¨C in common with recreations of history in films ¨C is that gaps in knowledge get filled in as vividly as possible. The onus, according to Whelan, would be on lecturers 바카라사이트mselves to be honest about how much is actually known, and how much of 바카라사이트 VR experience is an evidence-informed reconstruction. But whe바카라사이트r a viewer¡¯s memory would be able to go back over 바카라사이트 VR experience and separate 바카라사이트 real from 바카라사이트 speculative must be open to question.

?Video interview: Dave Whelan, CEO of?Immersive VR Education