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The Learning Matrix: lessons from the movie

The Learning Matrix: lessons from the movie

This week marks the 20th anniversary of one of my favourite films ever, The Matrix. Directed by the (then) Wachowski Brothers and starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving, the movie was a sensation grossing more than $460 million. It was a cyberpunk action movie with a philosophical soul (something that ended up strangling the subsequent sequels somewhat) and a killer premise – what if everything you thought was real was actually a virtual

5 Key Barriers to VR Adoption in Schools

5 Key Barriers to VR Adoption in Schools

Over the last couple of years, many educators have told me that they really want to start integrating VR in their schools and institutions but have found it difficult. Often this is due to management and school leaders vetoing project proposals. I‘ve spoken and written about the “Why” of VR in education many times, highlighting the benefits that virtual reality offers in the modern classroom, but for a presentation at GESS Dubai last month, I decided to flip my focus and try

10 Key Benefits of VR in Education

10 Key Benefits of VR in Education

Last month was an incredibly busy one for me, building towards my biggest role ever at the GESS Dubai conference where I coordinated and then hosted a VR Experience stage for 3 days straight. As I was so focused on prep for this huge event I didn't manage to turn around my monthly column for VR Focus in February. To make up for this I decided to offer them an article which I had intended on publishing here on my own site. The article ties in with the one presentation I delive

100 Voices of AR and VR in Education

100 Voices of AR and VR in Education

Just over a year and a half ago I set up this website with two specific goals - 1. To share ideas and examples of best practice in the use of AR and VR in education 2. To connect with like-minded educators and pioneers working with immersive technologies. As I sit here writing the site’s 100th article, I think it’s safe to say that I’m doing pretty well with regards to my first goal but I never dreamed that I would build such an amazing network of colleagues, collaborators an

AR vs VR in Education: The Final Round

AR vs VR in Education: The Final Round

About a year ago I started what was set to be a five-part series here on VirtualiTeach around the theme of AR vs VR in Education. It was a common question I was getting asked at events and I thought that to a good approach to tackling the theme would be to look at it from five different angles. My plan was to release one part each week for five weeks, with a winner in each round, building towards a final decision… Anyone who’s been following the site for a while now will know

VR - from "Consume" to "Experience"

VR - from "Consume" to "Experience"

I'm connected with some truly inspirational people in the field of VR and AR across social media, both within educational circles and the broader XR community. One such person who is a regular source of great content is Helen Situ who is the creator and editor of the Virtual Reality Pop Newsletter. Boasting a lineup of writers including Charlie Fink and Robert Scoble, Virtual Reality Pop is an amazing source of expert insight into the world of immersive technology. So when H

The Common Sense Media VR Report

The Common Sense Media VR Report

Two weeks ago a report about VR use with children was published by Common Sense Media in collaboration with Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab. Aimed at parents, the report details the results of an extensive parent survey carried out by Common Sense Media regarding the use of VR by children. The report was supplemented by some other new content on Common Sense Media including a post dedicated to VR in education, a short animation with tips

AR vs VR in Education: Round 4

AR vs VR in Education: Round 4

Apologies to those who have been following this series and wondering what happened to Part 4. Traditional Christmas chaos kicked in at school and then I travelled home for the holidays for the first time in eight years so the amount of time I could spend on writing was limited. We're back now though and ready to see this thing through to a decisive conclusion. For those that are just diving into the series, here are the links to the previous rounds: Round 1: Ease of Implement

AR vs VR in Education: Round 3

AR vs VR in Education: Round 3

What's better for education - AR or VR? That's the question I'm exploring across this five part series. Obviously I feel that they both have merit, otherwise this site would only be dedicated to one of them. This series is exploring the pros and cons of each across five rounds of head-to-head analysis using a set of five key criteria. PREVIOUS ROUNDS Click the links be,low to access the previous parts of this series: Round One - ease of implementation. Round Two - range of co

Why AR? 8 reasons to use AR in education

Why AR? 8 reasons to use AR in education

Most of the presentations I’ve been asked to deliver at events recently have been solely focused on VR in education so I was happy to get the chance to chat about both AR and VR at the recent EdEX MENA event here in Dubai. Whilst putting my slide deck together I realised that I’d never given AR the same focus in terms of theory as I had done to VR. As a first step towards balancing them, I decided to delve into the Why of AR in the same way I explored the why of VR last month

AR vs VR in Education: Round 2

AR vs VR in Education: Round 2

What's better for education - Ar or VR? That's the question I'm exploring across this five part series. Obviously I feel that they both have merit, otherwise this site would only be dedicated to one of them. This series is exploring the pros and cons of each across five rounds of head-to-head analysis using a set of five key criteria. Please do join the conversation by sharing the posts on social media or adding your own comments to each round. ROUND 2: Range of Content So in

AR vs VR in Education: Round 1

AR vs VR in Education: Round 1

With Tim Cook and Apple pushing AR whilst Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook push VR, there has never been a brighter light shone on the world of AR and VR. One question I seem to be getting asked quite regularly at events I am presenting at recently is, “What’s better for education – AR or VR?” It’s a fair question - educators are hearing more and more about these emergent technologies and simply want to know if one or the other should be their focus. Their concerns are also often

8 key reasons VR will transform education

8 key reasons VR will transform education

It's been a hectic couple of weeks for me. I've just completed a run of four conferences in ten days, with multiple opportunities to share my work with VR. The first of these events was GITEX Technology Week here in Duba. Now in its 37th year, GITEX is the single biggest conference in the region and takes over the entire Convention Centre at the World Trade Centre. It's a technology event but parallel conferences are integrated focusing on specific industries. This year I was

Exploring the Virtuality Continuum

Exploring the Virtuality Continuum

The one thing about the world of AR and VR in education that I think still confuses the everyday teacher is the terminology. There are so many terms flying around that at times seem synonymous and at others seem very different. Augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality – what do they actually mean? In 2015, I found myself waiting to get my hands on a Vive when Microsoft announced the HoloLens, dubbing it “mixed reality.” I was confused by the terminology being used an

vSafety: How online dangers will transpose into VR

vSafety: How online dangers will transpose into VR

Whatever technology students have been using in classrooms over the last several years, one thing that has remained integral within digital education is esafety. Unfortunately, we live in dangerous times and predators look to exploit the lack of awareness many children have about such dangers. The internet has become the largest city in the world and yet often our children wander its digital streets unaccompanied. There are many aspects to safety that educators and parents mu