Virtual Education

Exploring Resources to Further Enhance Education with Virtual Reality

Exploring Virtual Reality in Education

by · Published · Updated

Due to my excitement around the topic of virtual reality in education I realized that I started to dive into different ideas without creating any sort of learning plan. Because of this, I have decided to step on the brakes to develop how I will approach this topic. There are a multitude of resources I could explore, so this is a vital step in my learning.

First of all, I think it necessary to explain my interest in virtual reality. Just a little over a year ago I was gifted a Valve Index VR headset, and since then I have found a great deal of enjoyment exploring various different games, simulations, and social platforms in virtual space. Virtual reality has become a very large part of my life, especially considering that many of my friends live abroad. Because of the ability to connect and interact in virtual space from anywhere in the world, I have been able to spend time with friends and loved ones that I would otherwise be unable to interact with on a regular basis. Because of this potential for social connection, and also because I am currently in school to become a teacher, I have become very curious about how virtual reality could be used to benefit education.

Mind Map and Inquiry Questions

Image created via Canva to provide a clearer visual of the inquiry questions and branching/related topic areas.

For my inquiry I’ve decided to base my learning on my four questions, which are as follows:

  1. What are the possible subject areas and topics that can be explored with VR?
  2. In what ways does VR influence student engagement and motivation with learning?
  3. How can educators incorporate VR in the classroom, and what solutions are already used?
  4. What are the possible issues/concerns for incorporating VR as a technology in education?

In my previous two inquiry posts I have started exploring these questions to some degree. For example, in my first post I talked about the potential for VR in education and shared videos showing how it is already being used, and in my second post I dived into the possibilities of VR in relation to exploring educational topics in astronomy. From this point forward I fully intend to utilize these questions as a framework to further explore the possibilities of VR.

Tags:

You may also like...