Blog 5: Virtual Reality- CoSpaces EDU

In week 6, we revisited week 2's topic; virtual-reality, however this time we explored a wider-range of VR technologies that can be used to foster student creativity. As discussed in blog 1, 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).

---

CoSpaces

CoSpaces EDU is a VR technology that allows students and teachers to create a 3D-immersive-environment and then viewing it through a VR-headset to create a real-life-experience. It promotes creativity and foster learning as it provides learners with the opportunity to create 3D-environments by adding a variety elements, characters and background-environments. They can also code their objects and characters to function in various manners. CoSpaces develops student's creativity, digital-literacy-skills, critical-thinking, collaboration and communication-skills, coding and design-thinking.

(CoSpaces Edu for Kid-friendly 3D Creation and Coding, n.d.)

---

Teachers can use CoSpaces to foster student creativity and learning in all k-6 subject areas as students can create environments specific to the content taught. For instance, teachers can explore science outcome ST1-4LW-S which requires students to observe features of living things and their environment. CoSpaces supports this outcome as students can create natural environments such as the Great Barrier Reef and observe its features (NESSA, 2017). Teachers can also explore the Earth's environment in stage 2 Geography by allowing students to discover various places and living things found in different geographical locations through a 3D headset. Teachers can utilise their CoSpace environment as a narrative stimulus for stage 2 and 3 to prompt students to apply critical-and-creative-thinking.

CoSpace of The Great Barrier Reef created by me

CoSpaces provides students with an interactive experience allowing them to enhance their creativity and collaboration-skills through creating environments as a group and presenting it to the class. It enables multi-sensory learning, enhances spatial-ability, decreases cognitive-load and strengthens students 21st-century-skills which teach them how to receive and transform information in the real-world (Papanastasiou et al., 2019). It also promotes student's cognitive-exploration of virtual-environments hence it increases their self-efficacy and social-connection (Li et al., 2022). CoSpaces can be used by teachers to deliver multidimensional-experiences rather than using 2D-tools to guide lessons as this better improves their visual-reasoning skills (Lee et al., 2021).

CoSpaces is a difficult software to navigate and is time-consuming. Also, teachers need to purchase the full-version to access all VR features, affecting student creativity and project-ideas. Teachers may also not be able to afford a VR-headset for the VR-environment created. A lack of student learning-support for VR can increase a student’s cognitive-load, affecting their learning-outcomes and creativity negatively (Chang et al., 2020).

---

References

Chang, S., Hsu, T. C., Kuo, W. W., & Jong, M. S. (2020). Effects of applying a VR‐based two‐

tier test strategy to promote elementary students’ learning performance in a Geology class. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(1), 148–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12790

CoSpaces Edu for kid-friendly 3D creation and coding. (n.d.). https://cospaces.io/edu/

Lee, J. Y., Yang, E., & Sun, Z. S. (2021). Using an Immersive Virtual Reality Design Tool to

Support Cognitive Action and Creativity: Educational Insights from Fashion Designers. Design Journal, 24(4), 503–524. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2021.1912902

Li, H., Du, X., Ma, H., Wang, Z., Li, Y., & Wu, J. (2022). The Effect of Virtual-Reality-Based

Restorative Environments on Creativity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12083. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912083

Papanastasiou, G., Drigas, A., Skianis, C., Lytras, M. D., & Papanastasiou, E. (2019). Virtual

and augmented reality effects on K-12, higher and tertiary education students’ twenty-first century skills. Virtual Reality, 23(4), 425–436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-018-0363-2