How Virtual Reality in Education Is Changing the Ways We Learn & Teach

With its advent, virtual reality made its place in the entertainment area, but as time passed, it has made its way to other practical fields as well such as education. Virtual reality became the most entertaining and exciting part of gaming, but because of its vast application, it is deemed more effective in the education department. The main aim of virtual reality in education is to make the process of studying exciting and more effective. With its application in real life, it brings a better understanding of the learner. 

How is Virtual Reality Used in Education?

Through practical and researches, it has been observed that virtual reality is very good at enhancing student engagement and learning. The human brain works in marvelous ways such as it only remembers 10% of what it reads, 20% of what it hears, but 90% of what it stimulates. That’s where virtual reality plays a significant role because it lets the students live their experiences.

It changes the ways the content is delivered to the students; a virtual world is created where the users can interact with it. When students are completely indulged in their learning experience, they learn faster and better. They won’t require much effort to understand the concepts as they will be living it.

What is Virtual Reality Used in the Classroom?

Virtual reality can be used in two ways in a classroom. The first one is a bit traditional way where the desktop is set and students use a computer, keyboard, and mouse to interact with it. There may be some other input devices involved with it.

The other one is the fully immersed method. The students are made to wear a head-mounted display and data glove to interact with virtual reality. When they wear the head display, it will create a full screen for them before their eyes as if they are on that screen themselves. This also involves a tracking system where the student’s interaction with the virtual space is recorded and monetized. This adds to their experience of learning and they tend to understand the concepts much faster through this.

Benefits of Using Virtual Reality in Education

The methods that we are using to teach our students are outdated. They tend to forget things as they step out of the institute. It is not their fault; it is the chemistry of the human brain. You will most likely remember what you experience but not what you heard or read. That is the reason why virtual reality in education is a better and more effective approach. When students live the experiences, they tend to understand it better and their mind tends to keep that with a better grip.

Here are a few properties that make a virtual reality in education a better option:

·         Scale Learning Experience

In virtual reality, you will see technologies like science labs. This technology is amazing and it allows the students to have practical experiences about how things work. Although it is a bit expensive investment, through such science labs, the experience of knowing things becomes a hundred times better than the traditional ones. A single VR device can play the role of a whole science lab which makes it more effective.

·         Emotional Reaction

Visceral reactions to what we are experiencing are always valuable. The human mind remembers things better when the experience is associated with some sort of emotions. This works for the learning experience as well. Students when fully immersed in the virtual reality, feel the things around them and it brings out the emotional reaction, it takes their learning experience to a whole new level.

·         Special Needs Education

People with special needs find it harder to explore and understand the world around them as compared to other people. This makes them a bit behind in the education field as well. If the same traditional ways of learning are applied to them, they take it slow as compared to the completely healthy kids. That is why virtual reality is a very effective approach in special education as well.

For children who have vision problems can be helped with nearsighted VR augmented Aid by making changes in text sizes, reading audio comments, or controlling contrast. Same way, SignAloud Gloves makes communication in sign language easy and understandable.

·         Distance Learning

When it is about distance learning, virtual reality in education plays a very important role. When there is a difference in cities, times, or continents, virtual reality can help students and teachers interact with each other and understand the study matter better. Through virtual reality, students can attend their lectures and any interesting events at any time with a few actions only. This makes distance learning easy and possible.

·         Learning by Doing

It is a well-known fact that we learn better when we are doing things. However, if we take a look at our education system, we can see that this approach is not being followed at all. In most of our classes, we want our kids to learn by reading the instructions and books rather than practicing anything.

Through VR, this trend is changed. A new wave of learning is introduced where the kids will do things and learn them. Through practical experiences, they can discover the things on their own, and rather than passive reading, they have a chance to live their experience.

Is Virtual Reality in Education the Future?

Virtual reality comes with endless opportunities to explore the ways of learning for the new generation. It only changes the education system for learning only, it affects our job markets and professional experiences as well. Kids who have already learned things by experiencing practical application will require less training and be better at their jobs than those who have learned through passive ways.

Many institutes are already applying virtual reality in their teaching process, and the results have been very effective. The students feel less burdened and enjoy more in the learning process. They no longer run away from their academics because of the stress of books and learning. Virtual reality makes education interesting and enjoyable. Soon, it is going to be common in every institute.