_edited.png)
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 and friends from all corners of the globe along the way. It really has been inspirational to connect with so many outstanding, innovative people working to integrate VR and AR in meaningful ways to produce transformational learning opportunities for students around the world.
So when I realised that the 100th article on VirtualiTeach was on the horizon, I started planning something special, something big, something that I’d never done before. My idea was to reach out to 100 of these amazing pioneers and ask them to contribute a short reflection (100 words approximately) to a shared vision of AR and VR in Education. I figured that this would produce a great list of people that others could connect with (and social media profiles are linked under the entries) as well as some profound insight into the subject from a broad range of perspectives (and some stellar quotes for those delivering presentations on the theme!)
What followed was a six week marathon to collate this enormous collaborative project. I wanted a wide variety of voices for the project so I tried to bring in pioneers from a range of fields. As such you’ll find edtech legends like Mark Anderson and Kathy Schrock as well as academic thought-leaders like Jeremy Bailenson and Tom You’ll find developers pioneering the use of immersive technology for learning like Ben Kidd and Mike Armstong alongside VR education trailblazers like Jaime Donally and Micah Shippee. I even had the honour of including BATFA and Emmy Award-winning VR film-maker Anthony Geffen in the mix.
Honestly – the list is both amazing and genuinely humbling so I want to say a HUGE thank you to each and every one of these amazing individuals both for taking the time to be a part of this project and for driving their respective industries to new levels of creativity and innovation.
So just before we kick things off, let me just clarify a few things:
1. I personally chose who was included on this list.
2. No-one bought their place on the list in any way. (it's a non-profit website folks)
3. There are obviously lots of other people that could have been included and some of them may have been contacted but not have been able to contribute or not responded.
4. Contributors were given an approximate word count but allowed to approach the task how they saw fit.
5. The list is in no particular order.
Oh and I added a picture after every five entries just to break the text up a little.
I hope you enjoy delving into it and thank you all for the continued support too.
Steve
I am thoroughly impressed with the strides the industry has been taking in 2018. The idea of teaching and educating through VR and AR is starting to be looked at with strong consideration, and I even see some industry companies pivoting toward the education technology market. As part of our Virtual Reality Day initiative for 2019, we’re partnering with the Earth Day Network to help bring conservation education through VR and AR more to the forefront as they approach the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in April 2020. I only see brightness ahead for the industry as a whole.
Robert Fine
Editor-in-Chief - VR Voice
Augmented & Virtual Reality are powerful tools that can exponentially increase the resources available in your classroom. AR allows you to bring almost anything you need into your classroom and VR allows you to take your students almost anywhere in the universe. I have a few go-to apps in my AR/VR tool belt that I'd like to share: Google Street View, NYT VR, Google Expeditions, Merge Cube, GeoGebra AR, Spacecraft 3D. And to create AR & VR try out Thinglink VR, Google Tour Creator, CoSpaces Edu, and Metaverse.
Michael Fricano II
Technology Integration Specialist K-6'- Iolani School
Both AR and VR have the potential to change education for the better. With tools more accessible to students and increased educator understanding, we will see instructional shifts that better benefit our students. If I had to pick one right now that excites me the most, I would choose AR. I see AR leveraged to provide students with in-the-moment experiences that relate to their immediate surroundings. With AR we can deploy interactive museum pieces and models. We can also support student identification of elements and objects around them. These types of learning opportunities allow students to maintain an unprecedented sense of mindfulness toward their learning context. Micah Shippee, PhD
Teacher, Middle School Social Studies - Liverpool Central School District
We know the traditional classroom setting is not conducive to stimulated learning, where with VR the classroom itself can activate the whole of the brain to form stronger more effective memories. VR (often seen as simply a fun new way to learn), is more than a ‘cool side show’ to have out during inspections. VR can also assist with the financial efficiencies. Consider collaborative cross campus sharing of teaching staff. This removes the need for unnecessary/excess travel or hiring of extra staff for small class sizes on specialised subjects. Even opening up new revenue streams in the home schooling market? Chris Long
Business Developer - Immersive VR Education
After all of the experimentation over the last 40 years, there is no question about the extraordinary impact of immersive computing on education and training, which are and will always be the ultimate applications for virtual and augmented reality. The magic dust is that (if done well) sensory immersive unlocks spatial memory and students remember. In essence being in a virtual world is like writing on the brain with permanent ink. The challenges now are: 1) developing the content that is discipline specific and meets the standards established by the state and local school districts; and 2) convincing the teachers that they adopt VR into their teaching portfolio.
Tom Furness
Professor University of Washington & Founder of The Virtual World Society
VR has been proven to be an effective way to teach time and time again, but many startups are still struggling to build business that use VR for education. The main problem is not the how, but the what that is being taught. Instead of the typical virtual field trips or chemistry experiments, startups need to focus on higher value problems that students and parents are already spending for. One such opportunity is SAT test prep. Families spend anywhere from $1000-2000 per student for SAT prep and if VR could improve SAT scores by 20%, every family would own VR.
Tipatat Chennavasin
General Partner - The Venture Reality Fund
In Virtual Reality, classrooms become infinite. That's the real power of VR. You can visualize concepts that you otherwise never could – like a rocket launch in science class or chemistry experiments that would have explosive (or even radioactive) results. Additionally, when you are in VR, all your focus is on the topic at hand and the best teachers in the world are just one click away. Add to that the fact that the educational content is all around you instead of on a 2D piece of paper, the value for VR in education is easy to grasp.
Dominic Eskofier
Head of Virtual Reality (EMEIA) - NVIDIA & Founder - aVRica
Augmented learning, like most learning technologies, is a double edged sword. But the effects stand to be exacerbated to the nth degree, greatly enhancing what mobile learning affords us but also automating human inquiry to possibly dangerous levels. (http://erichawkinson.com)
Eric Hawkinson
Research Coordinator- Mixed, Augmented, and Virtual Realities in Learning Research Group (MAVR)
My Higher Education colleagues are researchers and educators. Some are gamers. With the exception of those in relevant disciplines (Computer Science, Engineering, Arts) few of the others have worn a VR headset, much less thought how to use it in education. I think high impacts in VR will come from making it more accessible to new creators (students and staff). Don’t estimate the power of VR; not only can it transport you to a different time/place, it can skip milestones of lived experiences to alter how you see your future self. “It’s like I’m there” becomes “This is me, now”.
Dr Sarah Fielding
Professional Specialist in Learning Design - University of Southampton
The field trip is the perfect metaphor for VR learning. On a field trip you get to go somewhere special, a place where “being there” matters. Field trips don’t happen every day, of course; they are designed to augment the classroom, not replace it. Most learning still utilizes the “telling” model, where teachers speak and students listen. VR is not going to replace classrooms overnight. Nor should it. What I look forward to seeing, and indeed will actively promote, is a slow, careful, but steady trial-and-error integration of this new and powerful technology into the classroom.
Jeremy Baillenson
Director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab - Stanford University
Technology has the potential to change everything but equally has the potential to change nothing, when you don't think about its use carefully. Augmented and Virtual Reality fall very squarely into this remit. Lots of opportunities for the use of AR and VR are hugely gimmicky, but equally there are some things you can do that are tremendous. AR and VR bring opportunities for learning and experiencing things in ways that simply wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the technology. From painting in virtual reality, honing your artistic skills in 3 dimensions using amazing tools such as Google's 'Tilt Brush' to piloting huge ships practicing this in simulated environments, AR and VR can be fantastic. Remember, using technology as a gimmick devalues you as a teacher, devalues the technology and ultimately what you are doing in the classroom - keep the depth of challenge and focus on the learning.
Mark Anderson
ICT Evangelist
Immersive technology presents an extremely exciting opportunity to reinvent education by learning through experience. We've seen a variety of educators use Mindshow to teach English, perform scenes in drama class, and even help inform kindergartners about internet safety. Excited to see how we can be even more helpful to schools in the future!
Cosmo Scharf
Co-Founder - Mindshow
Immersive technologies like AR & VR are enhancing learner engagement across a wide gamut of educational purposes, from putting theory into practice, allowing access to places in deeper, richer ways or by inspiring imaginations in a manner a picture or video simply can't achieve. 360º photos and videos have paved the way to more interactive experiences for many establishments, with cost effective VR hardware solutions like Oculus Go and Vive Focus making IT operations easier to maintain and control beyond smartphones and Cardboard. Tablets running AR apps means existing hardware can be repurposed for immersive content beyond the flat touchscreen. Since the consumer new wave in 2016, there are now a wealth of websites, portals and social media advice groups offering free content related to a range of subject matters, suitable for a range of ages and education levels. The best advice is to take some devices home and have fun exploring to find the most suitable for specific needs and objectives.
Sam Watts
Director of Immersive Technologies - Make Real
The future of how we educate lies in rapid skills training using a combination of VR/AR, AI and Blockchain to deliver highly relevant, engaging and effective training at scale. Using platforms like Engage, Google Expeditions, Victory VR and others will give students the ability to learn from world experts in a whole new way. VR Training in enterprise has already demonstrated up 40% decrease in training times and up to 70% higher retention rates. If these kind of numbers are any indication, VR/AR education has a bright future.My personal mission is to inspire and educate using these technologies to teach the fundamentals of success; gratitude, mindfulness, positivity, mentorship alongside product development, marketing, sales, financial planning and investing.
Alan Smithson CEO - MetaVRse @metaVRse
The ability to learn, improve oneself and pass on knowledge is the core reason humans have growth to dominate this planet. We have evolved over millions of years to maximize learning when all our senses are engaged. Unfortunately, most current education systems are limited to lectures and written text. With VR/AR supplemented education, students of all ages can be seamlessly transported into any imaginable scenario where they can receive an immersive learning experience engaging both the body and the mind, forming memories that can last a lifetime. It truly has the potential to unleash the hidden genius in every child.
Alvin Wang Graylin
China President - HTC Vive
VR promised to engulf the viewers and revolutionize the way information is perceived - and it did. The trend for the technology has seen a turnaround since it has become so affordable and accessible. Facebook, NASA, Google - all are using it to give the users flabbergasting, immersive experiences that they can relish and remember till hours later. Virtual Reality is an optimistic window to break the shackles of the existing modes of information. It has a compelling advantage of keeping a person glued through rich simulations and enabling them to feel its vividness. It bears along a directional shift. The head turning technology has caught the audience in a frenzy while the professional VR market continues to scale new heights.
Dr Sana Farid
Co-Founder - Munfarid Consulting
My advice “don’t worry take the VR/AR plunge, both you and students will soar”. How can you get started? Try incorporating VR/AR as a visual learning tool in one of your classes, let students fly over a live volcano with National Geographic, or understand the human anatomy in AR. If you are a builder/creator keen on building your own VR/AR environment, there are tons of beginners tools like Co-Spaces, A-Frame or the professional tools like Unity3D, Unreal Engine. This is just the beginning, take the first step, we will support and help you succeed. Good luck !
Rohit Chaube
Co-founder - VRoKCs Program
We explore AR/VR to create vibrant, 21st Century Learning Environments. Kids use VR to virtualize the school's art gallery shows and the school's theater for virtual staging. They have created a school tour in AV and used VR collaborations with another school (through Engage) to engineer and launch a weather balloon. AR/VR provides content and function to the learning environment beyond traditional classroom.
Joe Wise
COO - The Wildwood Institute for STEM Research and Development
I value VR as an educational tool because it can bring different environments to a traditional lecture theatre/classroom, and thus enable students to practice skills in a safe way and without fear of making mistakes. Bournemouth University Nursing students have reported that learning with VR simulation helps them to visualise and understand diabetic concepts. They can also revisit the activities multiple times when they get home, and have said the activities will be useful for exam revision. The students also reported improved engagement and enjoyment of their learning, when using VR simulation. VR is great for experiential learning.
Heidi Singleton
PhD Student - Bournemouth University
Augmented and virtual reality in education is providing many different learning opportunities for our students. Our classroom limitations are dissolving and our students are engaging with technology that will be standard in their future. More importantly, our students can be the creators of content using immersive technology to impact generations to come.
Jaime Donally
Author | Speaker | Consultant - ARVRinEDU
I became involved in Augmented Reality because as a designer within education, I believe education will move away from simply learning the content to feeling it instead, allowing students to become inquisitive, explorational and more involved in the learning experience. AR has the power to bring print and digital content together providing a certain sparkle in the classroom and inspire the minds of our future generations. Immersive technologies will never replace the traditions of printed materials. Instead, they will become additional learning tools for teachers to ulitise in order to meet the increasing demands of tech savy students.
Christina Eland
Senior Designer - Solent University
This is an incredible time to be an educator. Rapid advances in spacial computing technologies are moving us towards an Experiential Age in which Virtual and Augmented realities allow us, via embodied avatars, to be experientially present with each other regardless of our geophysical location. Any environment, real or imagined, is now accesible enabling us to interact, work, play, entertain, collaborate, create, teach and learn similar to the physical world but without real world limitations, unlocking endless opportunities for any learning experiences one can imagine.
Chris Madsen
Business Development - Immersive VR Education
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are, put quite simply, the greatest and most pedagogically sound pedagogical tools available to the world. They unlock the unbridled potential of students and allow them to be creators of their own learning and not merely consumers. I would highly recommend: Jigspace, Metaverse, Blippar, Aurasma, Figment and CoSpaces Edu, as well as apps used with the Merge Cube including: Merge Things, Explorer and HoloGlobe. Advice I would offer curious educators is to explore the aforementioned applications and to ask themselves, "How could this enhance student learning?" The sky is no longer the limit!
Anthony John Peters
Lead English Teacher - Space Studio Banbury
I'm convinced that the interaction between teachers and students should and will remain a core part of the learning process, and that social VR opens up extraordinary new opportunities for students and teachers to interact that transcends physical distance. People ARE content, and VR provides the medium in which we can come together, feel together, inquire together, and learn together. It's a brave new world. I think Socrates would have loved social VR.
Gabe Baker
Founder - Frame
I think all educators with an interest on in immersive technologies should listen to thevirtualrealitypodcast.com (but I’m biased) I also recommend jumping in! An Oculus Go at $199 is an affordable way to begin to explore virtual reality. For content, educators can utilize social media to find resources, and should reach out to other teachers. Conferences (like ISTE) are a great way to check out the latest AR/VR innovations. Of course, this website is a great resource as well :). Steve has been a real advocate and leader for VR in education.
Alex Chaucer Founder - thevirtualrealitypodcast.com @geoparadigm
I value VR as an educational tool because it has the ability to create strong memories through the power of presence. Linking key critical core senses together, hearing, sight, and sometimes touch, allows for strong, life-like, experiences for users to take part in and learn from. Users may consciously know they are in a simulation, however, the sub-conscious mind considers this real. When presence is combined with high level interactions within the simulation, those memories can be baked into the learner's mind quicker. Through this VR has the power to provide equitable access to experiences not easily accessible to learners
Steven Sato
Director of Technology - Rolling Hills Country Day School
I believe #AR & #VR hold the key to revolutionizing Education, by providing students immersive access to a world full of knowledge and cultural experiences, by simply donning a Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality Headset or picking up an AR-enabled device. The students of today and tomorrow will be free to learn whatever subjects they need to reach their chosen career / life goals, wherever, whenever and from whomever they choose. Educators will be able to teach and mentor aspiring students from around the world, in the comfort of their living rooms. Long live the #XRtocracy!
John Westra
VIO - VUTURUS
For me, VR and AR are most powerful in Literacy. Immersing children in a VR world to inspire creative writing, using paint apps like Tiltbrush to bring words to life and using AR to bring characters from stories into their world. It creates awe and wonder for all children, but is especially transformative for those who find creative writing challenging... they can't stop talking about what they've seen.
Faye Ellis
Director of Digital Technology - Thomas' School, Clapham
As we venture further into the digital technology age, methods of learning should be changing at a commiserate rate. Immersion technology, such as AR and VR offers so much in the way of retention, experience, and showcasing knowledge, it should be an integral part of learning at every age. Companies like CoSpaces and MergeVR are really keeping pace with the type of learning needed for today’s learner. I would encourage all educators to check out both companies and reach out on Twitter to connect with other educators already integrating AR & VR in the classroom.
James McCrary
Director of Technology & Innovation - St. James Day School + Co-Host of The VR Podcast
A tool is only powerful when used for an appropriate task, e.g a spoon makes a pretty weak screwdriver, and a screwdriver makes pretty weak tea. AR and VR are no different. Only use immersive technology where it can be uniquely employed or you will reduce its value as perceived by others. Think about what does AR/VR do that anything else would be less, not more, e.g. skydiving in VR is less compelling compared to skydiving in reality (because skydiving is accessible). However using VR to go back in time, is more than the impossible alternative.
Ben Kidd
Co-Founder - Curiscope
Here are my top 5 tips for incorporating VR into your classes: 1. Connect with like-minded educators/VR developers through meet-ups, or create a group at your school. You can join the @xredutech Facebook group, if you’d like to get started. 2. Have an open mind. 3. Try VR and vet experiences relevant to your subject. Alternatively, see your students as creators of content. 4. Create a lesson to compliment the experience. This will guide students with a purpose. 5. Pairing students with one VR headset, makes it more accessible and social. Use google cardboard with phones for a low cost starting point.
Azine Davoudzadeh
Founder - XR EDU & Computer Science Teacher - Dougherty Valley High School
AR and VR are great for education because they let us visualize things that are hard or impossible to see. Have you ever understood how 4D geometry work? Well, me not…until the game 4D Toys immersed me in VR in a 4D geometry playground. We can’t have a 4D world in real life, but thanks to VR we can find ourselves in that and learning by having fun. XR has this power of immersing us in the things we have to learn. And to transform everything in a game, so we can learn in a new and intriguing interactive way.
Antony "Skarredghost" Vitillo
XR development at New Technology Walkers
Immersive technologies present huge opportunities to creative educators. It’s important that teachers see what this technology is. It’s easy to get hung up on hardware barriers and costs, but good content will always deliver impact, regardless of the delivery mechanism. VR and AR provides a visible and immediate cognitive trigger. Immersion amplifies reality and when that is done properly and in context, understanding and learning is also amplified.
Phil Birchinall
Managing Director - Inspyro Limited
PGH in 360: Youth Perspectives is designed to introduce young people to creating in XR through producing 360-degree videos. In intensive, 1- to 2-week programs, we partner with community organizations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to give youth the opportunity to conceptualize, film, and edit 360 videos about issues that matter to them. The program gives youth experience with storytelling in 360 degrees, familiarity with editing software, and confidence in their abilities to create immersive media. Youth in the program gain skills in collaboration and project management, in addition to making their views on their world available to others.
Karen Alexander
Director, - XRconnectED + PGH in 360: Youth Perspectives
One of the most interesting areas in terms of VR storytelling is the use of Facial Recognition which works by monitoring and interpreting subtle facial expressions in real time, allowing us to understand the emotions of the viewer and analyse it using AI. The area around the face and eyes is believed to display 90 percent of everything we think and feel. Currently, we have been using it in partnership with Harvard Medical School to understand Autism. In the future, it will amplify storytelling, which will be unique to the industry because there is no other medium where you can be giving each user a personal experience.
Anthony Gefffen
CEO and Creative Director - Alchemy
There is no doubt in my mind that VR and AR can have a major impact on learning as studies and student feedback will continue to show. However, for teachers to take full advantage of these emerging technologies, to develop student curiosity and deepen learning, it will need time; many forms of training, an ongoing conversation and a significant evolution of pedagogy. I recognise the technology is not mature enough yet, but it is essential that teachers begin considering developing their understanding now, so they can take advantage of its enormous potential when it is ready in the next few Ian Phillips
Chair of the Independent Schools council's Digital Strategy Group - HabsBoys and ISC
I value virtual reality as an educational tool because research tells us that immersive subject matter is more likely to be remembered than today's traditional methods. If you are in a fully immersed classroom environment then it is completely accessible to everyone across the world (so long as desktop and VR headsets are both access options). As an adult learner I can attend educational events without the costs of travel, accommodation or the need to make any childcare arrangements. The flipside is that we can have the best educators teach us without those barriers too. It's a win win!
Suzanne Lee
Founder - Pivotal Reality Ltd
When approaching AR/VR for education, it is very easy to get caught up in the hype and excitement of all the possibilities the technology can bring to the classroom. That’s because there is a lot to get excited about! But do take the time to know everything before completely investing into the technology. Explore the many methods of how AR/VR is delivered as well as all the amazing experiences available. Even understand its shortcomings. AR/VR alone isn’t the future of learning, but a blended learning environment where AR/VR along with traditional learning environment, is – and together, it can be an incredibly awesome environment for education. Bobby Carlton
VR/AR/XR Consultant / Writer - Engagement Through Technology / Writer for VRScout
Technology is allowing educators to design learning in a way that simply was not possible in the past. Technology for many educators has also created a divisive opinion into the impact on learning. However, increasingly, tools that allow for effciencies in learning and timing saving are winning the argument. Augmented reality is one such tool that is allowing students and teachers to experience learning in a way that was not possible in the past. The Olive Tree has developed the Hologo app in conjucntion with developers in the Maldives. This collaboration now allows children to be ‘transported’ to different parts of the world whilst still having a portal open to ‘return’ back to the classroom. Teachers are using this at the school to improve boys writing through inspiring creative thinking. The impact has been measurable.
Abdul Chohan
Co-Founder - The Olive Tree
I created the Moment app at first as a tool needed to help my wife that's a school psychologist. She needed something to help her assess kids, which AR and the Mergecube by MergeVR was perfect for. With just the prototype, she was getting results in minutes where kids were expressing emotions and feelings they never expressed before. The app is evidence and research base, where AR provides the immersion, engagement, and increased the comments per session by 3x!
Kevin Chaja
Creator - Moment AR
We’re at a stage of development, as a collective species, when we’re re-learning how to effectively connect, to form networks that hinge on new values, among them open knowledge sharing and trust in each other. It’s about being connected humans, inside and out. We’re not just using technology, we’re becoming part of it, and it has the chance to be an intentional, purposeful fusion of experience. VR and AR are powerful vehicles for learning, in part because they allow us to form a new relationship with our own mind, adopting multiple views and perceptions, stretching beyond perceived limits, and even helping to reframe the dialectic of humanity. Caitlin Krause
Founder, -MindWise, Inc.
Why: No limits: students can make mistakes and retry as many times as they want, without extra costs, without danger and XR let’s them experience impossible events. Next, it can be used for a wide range of goals such as creating awareness, stimulating creativity or analyzing abstract concepts… It also offers teachers a clear insight on the performance of their students. What: VR is not individual. Let students create virtual worlds in CoSpaces or Assemblr and share them with each other. How: the most important advice to teachers: set goals first. What do you want to do and is XR the right answer to it?
Carl Boel
Researcher VR in education - Ghent University + Odisee University College, Belgium
I will never forget the raucous laughter of three girls as they met for the first time in the enormous eyeball they had built in virtual reality during science lessons in our VR School Study. They had constructed the eyeball on a desktop computer but as they donned the headsets and entered the virtual environment, they shouted with delight and flew rapidly around the eyeball to glide through its pupil and meet inside the structure to continue their work. The thing about this type of VR, where it’s possible to navigate, interact, collaborate and create, is that it is positively amazing. And shouldn’t all learning inspire this kind of wonder?
Erica Southgate
Associate Professor of Education - University of Newcastle, Australia
https://ericasouthgateonline.wordpress.com
I am a paramedic educator at Georgian College in Ontario, Canada and I have been exploring immersive virtual reality (VR) in education. As I see it, there are three key areas where VR will be transformative for paramedic/medical education. The first is in patient simulation where students can practice assessing and treating patients with different conditions, different ages, genders, ethnicities and within different environments. The sense of “presence” can emulate the stress of treating the critically ill and injured and can also be used for stress inoculation. The second area in which VR will be transformative is in the area of teaching empathy whereby students can experience “being in someone else’s shoes”. The third area of opportunity is to use social VR for synchronous online learning.
Rob Theriault M.E.T., BHSc, CCP
Professor, Paramedic Programs - Georgian College
Today virtual reality offers students greater engagement, better knowledge retention, and increased understanding. In terms of practical advice I would say start simple and iterate. Find what works in your classroom and complements your lesson plans. Start with short topic openers and task your "digi leaders" with finding and evaluating more sophisticated applications. Virtual reality is evolving rapidly and your students will be the ones who shape it's future. What would they do in a classroom without the limits of time and space? "We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives in the dream" - Upanishads
Rupert Rawnsley
Technical Director - Avantis Education
AR & VR has changed the how of learning in schools. We have incorporated AR and VR into our curriculum through our Digital Learning Leaders who find the WHY in integrating these engaging tools into day to day learning opportunities K-12. There are resources out there to help & support and your students know more than you, don't let your knowledge hinder potential learning opportunities. Starting with the WHY is the most important piece of the puzzle. As Simon Sinek says "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it".\
Craig Kemp
Head of Digital Learning and Innovation - Stamford American International School Singapore
@mrkempnz and www.mrkempnz.com
VR is like the TARDIS – a small set of goggles with a huge universe inside! It allows the mind to imagine the unimaginable. We can make our own worlds, our own interpretations of reality. We are only just beginning to explore it’s potential for empathy and understanding between people and cultures. I have been having fun with the development of Historical Photos coming to life through AR and Unity. It is easy to place smoke on a chimney and a talking, animated character on the picture frame! We now start a fun, silly and enjoyable historical walkthrough of our region.
Lynne Telfer
Educator - The Grange College P12
I think VR is an amazing educational tool because it empowers students to easily carry out impossible tasks such as time travel, the ability to travel to any location in the world without leaving the room and exploring the impossible, among others. It offers an unmatched learning experience where students (and teachers!) are not just spectators but participants.
Clement Cheah
STEAM Coordinator - Zurich International School
AR/VR are valuable educational tools because they are modern day equalizers for the wide range of thinkers that exist within classrooms.These mediums manage to occupy the elusive “in between” by bridging imagination, design and logical thinking. AR/VR allow traditionally technical students to use art, poetry and the freedom of self expression to connect with others and share their perspective of the world. Conversely, these mediums give traditionally liberal arts oriented students a scientific approach for visualizing their stories in a code based format. The ability to connect these disparate thinkers makes AR and VR powerful educational tools. Kwaku Aning
Director, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Thinking (CIET) - San Diego Jewish Academy
We wanted new ways to utilise technology for our advocacy initiative, BBC CAPE and VR was at the top of our list. We wanted to generate a conversation in the workplace; to replace the stigma of hidden disabilities with the appreciation for and acceptance of Neurodiversity and the hidden, personal realities that many people have. We’ve seen through our VR film, ND DAZE that VR connects people, providing access to experiences and personal stories they wouldn’t, couldn’t, otherwise have. VR changes learning, turning it from something that happened to others into something that happened to me.
Sean Gilroy
Head of Cognitive Design - BBC CAPE
Gone are the days of personal computers! Now we are living in the age of smartphones and we have amazing educational content available to us at our fingertips, such as powering AR & VR experiences from mobile devices. The next biggest hardware innovation will be wearable & fashionable AR headsets. These wearables devices will propel us from the age of smartphones to the age of spatial computing. That’s when Virtual, Augmented & Mixed Reality technology will truly transform the education system. So let’s begin to adapt to this reality now!
Eedham Rasheed
Cofounder and CEO - HologoWorld
I value AR/VR as an educational tool because audiences experience ideas as though they are right infront of you. I deal with clients trying to communicate complex concepts and VR allows audiences to see tangible visualizations of these ideas and experience them instead of having to imagine. I believe VR is a tool first and not always the final solution, I recommend creative applications such as Google Tilbrush, Gravity Sketch and many others as a medium to create with a robust set of tools. My advice to educators is combined technology to fix problems and don’t ask for permission. Sean Continuum
Virtual Reality Artist - Continuum
Sport fans have always desired immersive experiences to help them connect to the sport or teams they follow. Now more than ever, technology is positioned to deliver those experiences. Specifically, augmented reality (AR) seems uniquely suited to provide these immersive experiences. In fact, the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NASCAR along with other leagues and teams have already implemented AR interactions. In just one such example, earlier this year, Jordan Brand utilized an AR activation featuring Michael Jordan that linked to a purchase page for a shoe release. That shoe sold-out in 23 minutes. AR and sports make quite the team.
Chad Goebert
Ph.D Student/AR Researcher/Founder of ARVRinSportCenter for Sport Leadership - Virginia Commonwealth University
An observation: There are many adults who secretly, maybe not-quite consciously, wish for all the same hurts they suffered as children to be inflicted on the next generation. School should be boring, they think. “Hard knocks” aren’t harmful, but character building. Finding out you’re bad at most things is just part of growing up. Convincing these people of a curriculum that is painless and fun, or even a wondrous adventure—a curriculum designed so that tomorrow’s children keep their natural love of learning intact their whole lives—will be one of the biggest challenges in the adoption of VR into education.
Donald Dunbar
VR Educational Designer - Ducogen
We are on the verge of a revolution in education. VR and AR have the power to transform the standard classroom and training space into the virtual interactive simulation that was never possible until now. Imagine virtual field trips and training on expensive equipment without the transportation or extra costs, and standard meetings with remote users feeling as real as meeting face-to-face. If cost has been holding you back from trying VR, take a look into what’s available now. Great standalone VR devices with full motion tracking can be picked up for much less than the price of a phone with no strings (or cables) attached! Mike Armstrong
Lead Platform Architect/Developer - Immersive VR Education
Education using VR & AR is so important to the outcome of our graduating talent to be ready to work in our economies. Using VR & AR to teach with immersive lessons is a start, but teaching the fundamentals of the technology is also just as important to ensure that our students will understand the technology they are using, know how to build with it and use it within their lives personally and within most industries. It is imperative to build this new curriculum for everyone to understand, use and apply this technology into everything we do. Julie Smithson COO - MetaVRse & Co-President of the VRARA Toronto Chapter & Education Committee @metavrse
A tip that covers why? How? and where? is to help teachers and students recognise that room scale VR is a tool that can be used on a daily basis. As experts, it is our job to teach our colleagues how to leverage both the tech and pedagogy to transform learning in our classrooms. The real power of VR comes from its potential to help promote student choice, new types of design, collaboration and student led discussion. VR also presents us with an opportunity to transform students from consumers of high end tech into producers – a very exciting notion!
Bryne Stothard
IB Geography/TOK and Head of Year - Frankfurt International School + founder of vrintheclassroom.com
Deeper learning is possible with virtual and augmented reality and can offer a range of curriculum experiences, which are experiential, immersive, multi-sensory and emotional. You by Sharecare is an excellent example of an app that immerses students in the human body, providing opportunities to make learning more practical and engaging. Home – a VR Spacewalk is another great app that can be used by science teachers. Using Google Expeditions, geography and history teachers can let students explore a variety of locations using augmented and virtual reality. Google Earth VR is worth considering as well. Virtual reality can also be used to promote creativity and expression. Tiltbrush, Shape Lab and Gravity Sketch VR all demonstrate the potential of VR in the design process and could be integrated into art and design technology lessons. Ronan Mc Nicholl
Head of Digital Learning - Sevenoaks Preparatory School
We are new to the VR world at Birkenhead School but have already fallen in love with our experimental Vive. Our Prep School students have really enjoyed exploring the International Space Station and spending hours in The Lab defending castles and mending robots. As a Product Design teacher I have loved supporting my Sixth Form students designing in VR with MasterpieceVR and then being able to export files that we can then 3D print on our Stratasys Mojo. Being able to add screen shots and real life work to their A Level coursework is amazing. HTC Focus is next!
Stephen Parry
Assistant Head (Academic) - Birkenhead School
We believe in putting new technologies in the hands of teachers, who have the power to improve education and prepare our kids for the future. We love being part of how VR and AR are transforming classrooms around the world. These mediums offer a new learning dimension that changes the student experience. Kids connect to the material on a new level and often gain in their understanding, retention and participation. We think there’s real value in letting students physically interact with the study material and - going a step further - in letting them demonstrate their learning by creating virtual content themselves.
Eugene Belyaev
CEO and Founder - Delightex (creators of CoSpaces Edu)
@eugenebelyaev & @cospaces_edu
My teaching career has coincided with the Digital Revolution & many of the fads that have come along with it. However, the immersive possibilities of Virtual Reality offer a whole new future direction to Education. The impossible has become possible; children can now interact with the outer reaches of the galaxy or the inside of an atom within the boundaries of their classrooms. Similarly, Augmented Reality has added a whole new ‘wow’ factor to learning as digital and physical worlds collide.The ever-growing array of spectacular educational AR & VR apps gives an insight into a very exciting digital future for teaching and learning that I could have only dreamt of as a child, not all that long ago. Moreover, it’s a future that in many ways is already here and one I believe is very much worth being part of.
John Jones
Head of Digital Learning - King’s Rochester
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin Teachers recommend HistoryView.org VR Field Trip Program to be used in the classroom with their curriculum for students that are visual learners. The tours are so immersive the whole school will be talking about it! We encourage teachers to ask students where they would like to go next and write to us to create another VR Field Trip. Preserve. Educate. Explore.
Brian Lyra
CEO / CoFounder - HistoryView.org
Kids raised in a world full of gadgets expect interactcive engaging experiences instead of the traditional formulae of read, memorise and repeat. Also as tech is the language that children are growing up with, trying to communicate with them on other grounds is becoming futile. I have had success in using Pack Rage, Build & Fly VR in class. Currently I'm waiting for the release of Trash Rage - the educational game about recycling. At present I use XR experiences as a reward for the effort at traditional classes. This works well and helps kids get excited about the lesson.
Jakub Korczyński
CEO - Giant Lazer
We have started to explore the uses of AR/VR with students with autism, neurological impairments, and complex learning disabilities. Using 360 footage, YouTube, ThingLink overlays, HP Reveal, and other app combos, we are able to target skills like pedestrian safety, transitions within school, presetting before community outings, touring potential job sites, first-person views of activities of daily living, and more. The immersive multi-sensory experiences, along with overlays for prompting are the perfect combination for our student's varying needs. The ultimate goal is to provide impactful learning in a safe, controlled environment that can then be generalized with increasing independence. Mark Giufre
Educational Technology Specialist - Wildwood School
My mission is to bring complex concepts to a form of digital toys. The best part of playing with toys is doing it together. And isn't the classroom the best place for that? We always learn along with our peers. In AR I love how we can share a physical space and bring virtual objects there. When I've made my first demo of Shapes in AR and placed a cube on the floor, with a shadow, it looked like it was there. Now it's a core part of what we make. Augmented Reality is a tech of the future that millions of students can already use in the classroom TODAY!
Michał Wróblewski
Head of Technology - Learn Teach Explore
Since starting to use AR/VR in the classroom (to support learning) we here in Hong Kong and have noticed a considerable change in student engagement. We are able to involve each individual student in an activity and monitor their participation. AR/VR engages students both physically and mentally and research shows that this deepens learning. Our next step is Creation. We have started to get students to create their own VR environments and AR tools. When a student can create AR/VR on a specific topic, it takes learning to another level. We have also noticed how much fun students are having! This is an important factor to consider as students need to enjoy coming to class - this too has a knock on effect to the depth of their learning.
Tim Evans
Head of Educational Technology - Stamford American School Hong Kong
Immersive VR can encourage an individual to transform. VR operates across the learning domains of; cognitive, social, affective and behavioural, through guided, experiential and authentic experiences. It can also provide transformative experiences, by fostering empathy, motivation and encourage critical self-reflection, leading to changes in the way people see themselves. For instance, in violence prevention programs, participants can practice pro-social behaviours through first-person perspective taking, negotiate safely aggressive situations and ‘toxic’ masculinities. Guided they can critically reflect on self and what it means to be a pro-social man. This transformation could lead to less violence and benefits for the community.
Stephen J Hall
Doctoral Researcher - Flinders University
In 2018 we conducted a pilot test research project on integration of their AR-based resources covering Geometry and Geography subjects into the learning process at K-6. Based on the feedback received from over 750 educators worldwide, augmented-based learning proved to increase children’s information retention rate by up to 100%, their engagement in the lessons and shown significant improvement on the test scores. The interaction with plug-and-play quality AR content combined with traditional learning activities helps primary age students develop creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. The set of skills that according to The World Economic Forum 2018 will be required for the jobs of the future in the next 10 years.
Inna Armstrong
Co-Founder - CleverBooks
Virtual and augmented reality will transform the way we perform teaching and learning, but enabling us to recreate current pedagogies at a distance is only the beginning. Certainly there is value in enabling traditional classroom experiences for students who are geographically distributed, but what really excites me is what kinds of new pedagogies will be enabled when the constraints of our physical reality are removed. Teachers are just beginning to explore what’s possible, from taking students to distant planets, ancient civilizations, and inside the human body – to visualizing complex concepts in completely new ways.
Ben Fineman
Program Manager, Cloud Collaboration Services - Internet2
Experiential learning is arguably the most effective way to share and communicate technical concepts, contextualize human stories, and engage an emotional connection to content. With Virtual Reality headsets, these experiences are not only limitless to the creators/educators imagination for the type of impact, learning goals, or desired behavioural understanding--they're growingly becoming more accessible then ever. If smartphones put us into the 'Age of Information', with VR we enter the 'Age of Experiences'.
Clorama Dorvilias
Founder & CEO/Interaction Designer - Debias VR
The impact of VR and AR on education cannot be understated. Humans learn best spatially, and we’re seeing this play out in tremendously exciting ways; MEL Chemistry VR physicalizes complex science, Tribe XR teaches new crafts (ie. DJing) through embodiment, Vantage Point provides a safe space to learn inclusive behaviors. For educators looking to incorporate XR, I’d encourage thinking about small introductions. Even making space for students to engage with these new tools through smartphone AR/VR plants the seed of a larger culture of spatial education. I defer to Buckminster Fuller here: “If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.”
Jesse Damiani
Editor-at-Large - VRScout
AVR transforms education as VR speaks to the human heart more than the brain. The heart feels and responds to AVR in fresh ways that change career pathways. 1968 Olympian Madeline Manning put VR headsets on 2-years ago which changed her life perspective. This 15-minute experience has her going to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In October, 2018 I was key-note speaker for the Government of China at their World VR conference. They are investing billions in VR, creating a societal shift due to the VR-Heart-Mind-earth correlation. Educating in AVR transform the human heart, mind, and world’s civility towards one another.
Michael L. Mathews
VP of Innovation and Technology - Oral Roberts University @innovate4edu
Today’s media landscape is mobile, personal, and interactive. Why should education be any different? The system right now is archaic and built on the industrial age. Education should inspire students to think, question, and bring forth new ideas. Mixed Reality empowers digital classrooms to come to life. Think of it as remote experiential learning. We have access to big knowledge hubs, but they’re no substitute for mentorship. Instructors can break through the fourth wall with immersive computing (VR/AR/XR). I see great potential for continuing education in social VR platforms, such as AltspaceVR and Doghead Simulations. #GetSocial
Andy Fidel
Immersive Education Program Coordinator - VRScout & Media Lead -WXR Venture Fund
Today, available apps and tools to empower any educator/s looking to explore the use of ARVR for education are all online. In addition, so are multiple case cases - testimonials as well as tutorials. There is no better time than the now - to start introducing and using these immersive technologies within the classrooms and training environment, be it for the young - or the seniors. The time has come to harness these emerging tech for experiential learning!
Lionel Chok
Creative Technologist - iMMERSiVELY
I started my immersive technology career at Microsoft Studios and was part of the first group of people to pioneer experiential design and hardware development for Mixed Reality. When I started working on the HoloLens, I remember the excitement that I felt as I was personally inspired to reconsider the human imagination, more specifically, the child’s imagination. Something so powerful for a child is to be able to fully build their ideas. With the help of immerging technology, they can create a life size world that we can walk into and experience. Bringing this world into fruition truly creates student empowerment. This empowerment can reach kids on a global level. It is universal. This is one of my “Why’s” I value VR/AR/XR in education.
Paola Paulino
Chief Innovation Director - XR Pioneer Ltd.
As an educator who has dedicated time to understanding the potential of VR & AR, my single piece of practical advice would be to try, everything. From finding opportunities to explore new hardware to reading reviews online, and even looking at early access experiences. With the industry being so young and having so many new applications being developed by indie companies, I’ve discovered so much through highly engaged communities on social media platforms. Look at reddit.com/r/virtualreality, reddit.com/r/steamvr, and reddit.com/r/oculus - see what people are talking about, and connect with developers via Twitter.
Alexander Ray Johnson
Educational Technology Coordinator - The American School of Bombay
Getting started with AR/VR in the classroom can seem overwhelming if you are not someone who jumps on new things. It does however, lead to increased excitement and empowering others. Don't be intimidated by the complexity, focus on creating an option for storytelling and demonstrating understanding and let your students learn as they go. They will learn, you will learn, and together you will create amazing things.
Brian Costello
Digital Innovations Specialist - Egg Harbor Township
As an executive producer, speaker and R&D’er of immersive VR/AR content within music and broadcasting, I often look to my peers in Education for inspiration in storytelling, UX & engagement. There are some fantastic apps that have made great headway, but some of my favourites include Octagon Studios with their 4D+ AR flashcards, Macunx VR where users build ‘memory palaces’ to learn in a spatial and experiential environment, and VR experiences that are special needs or autism friendly, like the confidence-building puzzle game Water Bears and the mighty Beat Saber, one of the best for agility and rhythm skills.
Muki Kulhan
Executive Digital Producer / CEO - Muki-International Ltd
I became an Evangelist in AR because I saw how engaging and experiencing AR in the classroom is. When I discovered it back in 2012, I saw an engagement in my students that was deeper than anything I had seen before. Upon seeing how powerful AR is, I started to rewrite my lessons around experiences and l found that I could leverage that engagement to focus on any learning outcome I desired. That singularity moment and that point in my classroom changed my life trajectory forever. AR & VR is ushering in a new age of learning and will change the way we view education moving forward.
Brad Waid
Emerging Technology Evangelist - Bradwaid.com
VR has enormous potential to enrich learning, to deepen understanding and, perhaps above all, to develop empathy. In order to harness the power of any new technology, schools need to go through a series of stages. Firstly, we might simply play, to get a sense of what the technology is capable of. Next, we start to experiment in educational contexts to find out how the new technology might enhance learning. It’s only once we’ve been through these initial phases of investigation, experimentation and research that we can move to the innovation stage, where we start to design learning experiences that can truly harness the power of the technology. Looking further to the future, I believe that VR/AR has the potential to be a disruptor of education, and to become the vehicle for new model for schooling.
Mark Steed
Director - JESS Dubai
I have seen Virtual Reality give students opportunities to share experiences they would otherwise never have had. We have wandered through the Great Pyramid at Giza, reconstructed a 4000 year old stone circle, explored a prehistoric World Heritage site as it might have looked when it was young and worked, laughed, danced and celebrated together. Virtual worlds, on screen and on 3D headsets, are places that facilitate shared experiences and unlock imagination in powerful ways amongst students around the world. I’m hooked!
Professor Liz Falconer
Academic Learning Designer - Bournemouth University
I have two young children, and I couldn't be more thrilled by the educational possibilities that await them in the metaverse. Remote classes with world class educators, seeing ancient ruins at scale in their current state or in their former glory, clear and visual explanations of complex STEM concepts for a variety of learning styles, exploring hands-on how to fix your car with guided AR, social dynamics, artistic creations, the list goes on and on. It sounds like the future, but there's already so much here now! Mozilla Hubs, Sketchfab, High Fidelity, YouTube VR, Google Expeditions, among many others already exist as free platforms on the way to enabling anyone to pursue their passions as far as their drive will take them. Check out my own explorations into this for children alongside Logan Smith at www.xr-dad.com and www.youtube.com/ibrews
Alex Coulombe
Creative Director - Agile Lens: Immersive Design
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”. To me, this is what VR is about. VR not only enables us to tell stories in different ways but also to tell different kind of stories. We are already seeing how VR can support education by making the learning experience more engaging and memorable, but the real power of this technology is the capacity to empower learners to make new kinds of discoveries; bending perspectives in time and space to increase comprehension, empathy and inclusion. Transformational VR-experiences are still rare, but the technology and the ideas are here to change us.
Ylva Hansdotter
Social Entrepreneur, Fellow of the Global Future Council on VR/AR at World Economic Forum
www.linkedin.com/in/ylvahansdotter
If you are a K-12 teacher, you can find many already-created VR images and videos that work well both on Cardboard-certified headsets, tablets and phone screens and support the content areas. I am most excited, however about having students create their own 360° images using the Google Street View app or shooting videos with a 360° camera, such as the Ricoh Theta SC. By creating their own images and showcasing them in a public portfolio, students begin to think about how and why these images/videos are so powerful and can tell a story that a ”flat” image or video cannot.
Kathy Schrock
College professor and educational technologist - Wilkes University
My first experience with Augmented Reality was a magical one. I am not easily surprised or taken back by new advances in technology but Augmented Reality captured my attention immediately. However, it is what it did with my students that was something to behold. Not only did it fully engage them in the process of learning, it delivered content in a way that made the entire experience a truly authentic and personalized one. Since that day I have endeavored to harness the power of Augmented Reality in ways that connect the digital with the physical world, specifically in the area of education. There is untapped potential for AR to play a major role in digital storytelling and class presentations. My efforts will continue to be directed at ‘student as creator’, a philosophy that has been a driving force in everything I do with my teachers and students.
Paul Hamilton
Head of Learning Technologies - Matthew Flinders Anglican College
VR/AR are powerful learning tools that bring subjects in school to life in a new way. Simultaneously catering to students with different learning styles is one of the greatest challenges in a classroom. The immersion and interaction of VR/AR experiences can create deeply meaningful and memorable learning experiences for students of all learning types. I am particularly excited to be using VR/AR to revolutionise the way we teach the humanities; especially history and philosophy. Mass adoption in the classroom will ultimately depend on hardware becoming more accessible and content quality continuing to improve.
Asha Easton
CEO - Haptic Media
VR is quickly spreading into the world of education because of the many possibilities it can lend to learning. Technology is constantly evolving and VR immersively breaks down the walls and levels the playing field by allowing users to travel to different worlds -- near, far, past, present, or future -- exploring careers, science, history... within the walls of their classrooms. These experiences lend to students developing empathy and strengthening social-emotional learning. Ultimately, VR engages student’s learning and fosters curiosity and wonder in ways they’ve never been able to do before. And with the addition of VR creation, not just consumption, learning with VR reaches a whole new level.
Maria Galanis
Innovation Curriculum Specialist - Deerfield District 109
With affordable standalone headsets, such as the Oculus Go emerging in 2018 (and Quest 2019), there is no better time to adopt virtual reality in education. Oculus is not short of educational experiences and new apps are being released daily, providing opportunities for students to become immersed in their learning, experience the rare, the impossible, foster empathy, and even build and walk through their own virtual worlds. I urge you not to watch the early adopters outfit their classrooms and schools with headsets, but to jump in and commit to incorporating this superior, cost effective option, for VR is here to stay.
Amanda Fox
STEAM Consultant - STEAMPunksEdu & Co-Host - The VR Podcast
I had a few teachers during my school years that were passionate about bringing new technology into the classroom. They took their own personal time to learn and understand the tech first, and I admire their dedication and desire to introduce their students to the latest tools. Because of these teachers, I gained skills and familiarity with technology that better prepared me for the constantly evolving work place. The future will be full of immersive tech, and I want the next generation to be ready for it.
Kyle Riesenbeck
Editor-in-Chief - UploadVR
VR and AR allows us to invite children to have more immersive, experiential and thus more memorable experiences than traditional media. Experiences that are multi-sensory and emotionally strong are remembered far longer and in more detail. We believe that immersive stories are particularly valuable as a way of broadening children's horizons and inviting them to explore and get to know places and cultures that would otherwise be unfeasible for them to experience during school.
Serdar Ferit
Co-CEO and Creative Director - Lyfta
We need to prepare our students to enter an ever-evolving technology infused jobs market and part of this task is to expose them to emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality. These technologies are helping to create immersive, meaningful and memorable learning experiences. I am fortunate to be involved in many projects involving Minecraft VR and it is truly amazing the learning that can be accomplished in this medium. On the horizon is a project to bring Microsoft Hololens into our classrooms and I cannot wait to see our students collaborating in real time manipulating holographic images!
Andy Turner
Head of Education Technology & Innovation - Aldar Academies
I’m fascinated by AR and VR, of being able to be someplace else beyond the physical space we occupy. For example, using a mobile device configured to augment reality to enable someone to browse a museum in a distant city. The exciting part is marrying AR with virtual reality such that someone can manipulate objects they’re viewing. Consider an archaeological site where someone moves through a space to identify an excavation site. Once found VR can enable movement through [vertical] time by digging. Exciting times for butts out of seats learning.
Urbie Delgado
Learning Experience Designer - Connect the Dots
VR and AR are the inclusive platforms of the future! These tools enable experiential “1 Size Fits 1” personalised learning and communication for everyone. We use VR and AR to support people with Autism and intellectual disabilities, independent living for elder citizens globally, retraining and therapy. Virtual worlds provide new ways to explore and socialise in safe environments without fear of judgement or the need to travel. For people with physical disabilities, VR and AR facilitates "learning by doing" and enables accessible engagement using eye-gaze, multimodal interfaces with Outlier AI algorithms. VR/AR is for ALL and the future is now!
Lizbeth Goodman
Founder/Director & Chair of Creative Technology Innovation/Full Professor of Inclusive Design for Education and Engineering
- SMARTlab, University College Dublin
In my opinion, the heart of holistic education should be preparing the students for the future with experiential learning that could deepen their understanding of content that they are learning. AR and VR provide fantastic opportunities to converge the world of Virtual Reality and Reality. These opportunities are growing at an exponential rate and it is most important that we make this available for our students to immerse themselves and learn! A teacher could look at creative writing with VR to be used in English class or understand concepts of a geographical nature. Start small with a few topics and just go with YouTube 360 videos. You will be surprised how much difference this can make to students learning!
Ritesh Dhanak
Supervisor of Digital Learning - GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai
My focus in VR/AR education is less about using the tools to improve education, but rather using the tools to help students create content in this new medium. Understanding this new medium and helping students harness its potential and become not just passive consumers of content, but also contributors is important. I would suggest educators that want to help students in this area take advantage of the amazing and free resources from Unity and Epic. I would also start with teaching students using Google Cardboard, as the principles are similar for high immersion VR, but the cost is minimal.
Mike McCready
Instructor - Lethbridge College & Coordinator - Merging Realities
Why VR is a great question, and should always be the first question to ask. When--in what cases--is educational virtual reality worth the trouble? For me, virtual reality is a delightful, creative environment, ideal for learning. But VR doesn’t feel like that for everyone—for others, it’s uncomfortable, confusing or too visual. How can we scaffold learning in VR, by both accommodating to the user, and making it easy for the user to adapt to the equipment? In an educational context, it has to be accessible to everyone.
Andrea Stevenson Won
Assistant Professor - Virtual Embodiment Lab, Cornell University
VR enables anyone to learn creative skills. With Tribe XR, within 30 seconds, a student is learning on virtualized pro-grade DJ equipment (worth $6k in the real world) from professional teachers. VR removes the need to travel to a studio, enables teacher and student to connect for live lessons, and makes it easier for the student to practice and perform. Within 30 minutes a student can perform live to a global audience on platforms such as Twitch and Facebook live. It's a better, faster and more effective way to learn. VR will make the world more creative.
Tom Impallomeni
Co-founder & CEO - Tribe XR
At Immersive Minds we are passionate about the design and delivery of quality learning and teaching resources with the very best of technology. We value technologies that offer students immersive and active engagement. Using AR and VR, we bring entire worlds to our children that could otherwise never be visited or even imagined. From Ancient Egypt to the human blood stream. From an African township to a trip through a real Dali painting. Try to consider both the narrative and the active participation of AR and VR. Students should be the creators as well as the consumers of this technology. Stephen Reid
Founder and Director - Immersive Minds