Task 1 Blog: Virtual Reality- Oculus Headset
- ayahsawan7
- Mar 3, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 10, 2023
Digital creativity allows students to learn concepts in a fun and engaging manner. Students of the 21st-century are surrounded by a variety of educational-technologies which are vital for fostering creativity and critical-thinking skills (Henriksen et al., 2016). Do you want to increase your students motivation while they learn? Well thankfully this can be achieved by implementing virtual reality (VR) such as the Oculus-headset into your lesson plans and class activities (Dieck et al., 2021). You may be wondering, well, how does VR support a students learning experience?
Before I dive into the answer, let's define what "VR" is. VR refers to computer-generated-simulations which produce 3D objects and 360 degree environments consisting of realistic sensations and actions via a 3D-headset or other technological-devices (Dieck et al., 2021). It promotes collaborative learning as students work together to solve challenges.
SO, how does VR support a students learning experience?
Teachers who have embedded VR into their lessons have noticed an increase in student motivation, engagement and confidence. Teachers can deliver class content in innovative ways which promote creativity as the students are not limited as to how they communicate their ideas and understandings of the content being taught to them (Du et al., 2022; ). Teachers may use VR to address geography syllabus-outcomes like GE2-1 which requires students to describe how people, places & environments interact (NESA, 2019, p.102). Hence, VR prompts constructive learning as students manipulate their environment to understand content. VR is a better option than handing out images/maps of different countries as it provides students with a real-life experience allowing them to explore their surroundings via their senses, thus promoting experiential-learning.
VR is a more inclusive teaching-approach than traditional-teaching methods as it supports the needs of students with and without disabilities. Students with ADHD and Autism also benefit from VR as it allows them to explore the world freely and increases their social-interaction-skills (Savickaite et al., 2022). VR supports various learning style theories as it allows students to explore their visual and auditory-senses which in turn fosters their imagination and provides a pleasing learning-experience (Du et al., 2022). Thus, students with disabilities are able to access various syllabus-outcomes and content according to their needs.
Despite the positives associated with VR, there are some limitations such as being of extremely high costs meaning not all schools have access to this technology. VR headset games The VR headset is heavy and causes neck and head pain for primary students (Hui et al., 2022). Students may also become distracted by noises in the real-environment and features in the virtual-space causing them to become off-task (Asish et al. (2022)
References
Asish, S. M., Kulshreshth, A., & Borst, C. W. (2022). Detecting distracted students in
educational VR environments using machine learning on eye gaze data. Computers & Graphics, 109, 75–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2022.10.007
Dieck, M. C., Jung, T. H., & Loureiro, S. M. C. (2021). Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality:
New Trends in Immersive Technology. Springer Publishing.
Du, W., Liang, R., & Liu, D. (2022). Factors Influencing School Teachers’ Continuous Usage
Intention of Using VR Technology for Classroom Teaching. SAGE Open, 12(3), 215824402211143. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221114325
Henriksen, D., Mishra, P., & Fisser, P. (2016). Infusing creativity and technology in 21st
century education: A systemic view for change. Educational Technology & Society, 19(3), 27–37. http://www.ifets.info/journals/19_3/4.pdf
Hui, J., Zhou, Y., Oubibi, M., Di, W., Zhang, L., & Zhang, S. (2022). Research on Art Teaching
Practice Supported by Virtual Reality (VR) Technology in the Primary Schools. Sustainability, 14(3), 1246. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031246
NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). (2019, Winter 12). English K-10 syllabus.
NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).
Savickaite, S., McNaughton, K., Gaillard, E., Amaya, J., McDonnell, N., Millington, E., &
Simmons, D. (2022). Exploratory study on the use of HMD virtual reality to investigate individual differences in visual processing styles. Journal of Enabling Technologies, 16(1), 48–69. https://doi.org/10.1108/jet-06-2021-0028
Hi Ayha,
I really love your blog post! After reading your post I get understand more about what is VR. At the same time, I really love the part you describe the VR could support and help disability students and invite them to enjoy the digital technology. Futhermore, your blog is showed out how VR support educators and help students to improve their creativity in the classroom. Well done!
Anqi Li
09/03/2023
Hi Ayah,
Your blog was a great read and I have gained a better understanding on the use of VR in the classroom. The positives and negatives are clearly outlined and easy to navigate through. I especially appreciated that you included how VR can benefit special needs students, and backing that information with scholarly articles. However, I would suggest adding a video that shows VR perspective of something that students may learn in school.
Overall, I enjoyed reading your blog and have gained a better understanding about this topic.
Jana Khaled (08/08/2023)
Hi,
After reading your blog post I have gained a more thorough understanding and visualisation of how virtual reality can be utilised in the classroom. The discussions regarding the benefits and limitations of virtual reality in the classroom throughout your post are clearly outlined and can be easily understood by viewers. Your blog post is supported by a variety of scholarly articles which makes it very academic and relevant.
Your blog post was highly engaging towards my personal experience as a viewer, however, I believe virtual reality is a significantly broad topic. Thus, I would suggest you can specify your blog post focusing towards a chosen particular aspect of Virtual reality, where you can provide a more in-depth and detailed…
Hello Ayah Sawan,
I really enjoyed reading your blog and learning more about VR. First I wanted to say great job on the set up. Your blog was really easy to navigate and great use of appropriate videos and photos. I liked how you referenced and quoted what part of the NESA your topic fall under. There were many arguments that were supported with academic scholarships.
Although it was a great read, I think it would have been beneficial to add a video showcases an example of how to use it in a classroom and create a more creative environment. Besides that I really enjoyed your blog.
Great job!
Mariam Haideri (07/03/2023)
Good topic Ayah! Great layout it is very organised and easy to navigate. You have discussed the negatives and positives of VR very well and you also linked it to the appropriate NSW syllabus and Geography content strand. Great explanation of how VR is inclusive towards all children including, those with learning difficulties and disabilities. In future, you could include a video of the point of view of the VR in order to increase the readers understanding of how it works.
Dyala Chahab (06/03/2023)