Virtual Reality - For Education?
The notion of "virtual reality" can be traced back
to 1938 when Antonin Artaud, a French playwright, actor and director,
used it in a book written about theater. Later, in the 1970s, Myron Krueger coined the term “artificial reality” in
reference to the interaction between humans and computers. Historically, this
concept of having a virtual experience within a computer-generated 3D simulated
environment has been nothing more than an exercise in science fiction for the
masses. Even though the virtual reality systems that would enable this would have
been in development for decades, their price tags and technological
requirements have been enormous. Then came the introduction of wearable virtual
reality headsets the past couple of years.
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| Oculus Rift Wearable Headset |
Affordable Virtual Reality Options
The media forerunner in this has been the Oculus Rift, which is a
consumer-targeted virtual reality head-mounted display that is expected to be
released in final version near the end of 2014. It made headlines recently when
it was announced that the parent company, Oculus VR, was purchased by Facebook
in March 2014. The current developer kit version of the Rift is available for
$350 US. Similar personal computer-connected systems are under development by
other companies such as the Sony Morpheus, True Player Gear Totem, Avegant Glyph, GameFace Mark IV, and Durovis Dive,
thus we can anticipate a flood of this very highly anticipated technology into
the marketplace during the next couple of years. Presently these systems are
primarily being designed for either immersive gaming or for movie
entertainment, but other uses of the system are certainly possible and are
being considered.
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| Sony Morpheus |
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| Durovis Dive |
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| True Player Gear Totem |
Education Potential
Imagine the advantages that these VR options would have for
education. The levels of engagement, interactivity, collaboration, presence and
visualization that these devices will offer can certainly be leveraged to the
advantage of learning. In a recent Wired article, Brian Shuster discussed the likelihood of
using virtual world environments for educational purposes. Even the Oculus Rift
creator, Palmer Luckey, envisions educational uses of his creation in an
article in Gamespot. In anticipation of the educational uses of VR,
East Carolina University in North Carolina had established the Virtual Reality and Education Laboratory in 1992 and the
university currently offers a concentration in VR within their Education
Master’s degree program.
Reflection Point: Virtual reality is a medium, a means by
which humans can share ideas and experiences. ~ Alan B. Craig
