Introduction to Virtual Reality in Education
Immersive technology is changing the best way people interact with the world. Among the estimated 171 million virtual reality users globally are students at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, who’re exploring recent topics via the virtual world. Leading them is Steve Bauer, assistant professor of promoting, who has been teaching undergraduates at Pepperdine for over nine years. Bauer loves teaching at Pepperdine, citing the scholars’ brightness, curiosity, and openness to recent ideas as making it a terrific place to experiment with recent teaching methods.
The Power of Virtual Reality in Learning
In the classroom, Bauer has seen firsthand how effective and fascinating VR will be for college kids. They connect with the content, and so they deepen their engagement and emotional connection to a given topic. Bauer explains that engaging students is critical and that unique ways are needed to capture their interest. His curiosity led him to research the difference in effectiveness regarding traditional video learning versus immersive VR learning. A recent study centered on the Malibu Community Labor Exchange, a neighborhood nonprofit that connects day laborers with work, where students viewed each a regular video and a VR experience depicting a "day within the life" of the employees.
Comparing Traditional Video Learning to Virtual Reality
The study found that students reported higher levels of enjoyment and empathy with the VR experience. Bauer notes that virtual reality added something unique to the training experience, allowing students to experience what it was prefer to be on the bus with the employees, seeing life as the employees see it. However, experiencing the VR content alone wasn’t enough for his students to totally grasp the training objectives. Bauer emphasizes the importance of engaging students in a discussion afterwards as well.
Virtual Reality Beyond Business School
Pepperdine is not alone in embracing VR. Across higher education, colleges are experimenting with immersive tools to expand student learning. Arizona State University has developed Dreamscape Learn, a VR platform that lets students step right into a fantastical biology lab to check imaginary creatures. The University of Michigan uses VR to simulate public health crises, allowing students to practice decision-making under pressure. At Case Western Reserve, medical students can explore 3D holograms of the human body as an alternative of cadavers. Other institutions are turning to VR for language learning, cross-cultural immersion, and even theater.
Accessibility of Virtual Reality
It’s no secret that virtual reality sets will be expensive, but there are alternatives available across a big selection of budgets. Bauer uses Google Cardboard, a low-cost headset that transforms any smartphone right into a VR viewer. University libraries often offer resources like VR sets, which will be used on site. Bauer says professors can simply send their students to observe videos on these materials outside of sophistication time. Many firms are incorporating VR into their learning processes, and Bauer is glad to be ahead of the curve.
Conclusion
Virtual reality is increasingly being woven into academic life across disciplines, not only business education. As technology advances and becomes more accessible, we will expect to see much more progressive uses of VR in education. With its ability so as to add a novel emotional connection and deepen engagement, VR has the potential to revolutionize the best way we learn. As Bauer notes, the adoption of VR in the true world will likely change the landscape of VR in education, and it’s exciting to take into consideration what the longer term holds for this technology.
