NOTE: The
theme of this blog post is interaction and manipulation by the reader.
Therefore, be prepared to interact with this blog post (by clicking the many
hyperlinks below) in a way that mimics the advanced interactions that are
described in the contents of this post.
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You know,
as educators, we are often told that technology is critical for our students’
success in the twenty first century.
We are
reminded by President
Barack Obama
We are
reminded by leaders of
the educational community
We are
reminded by students who
are currently a part of the educational community
Undauntedly,
technology has a major role in America’s classrooms, and technology should be
an integral part in our students’ lives. Technology does play a significant
role in the twenty first century, and technology will be a component of
education that can no longer be ignored. As a whole, the technologies that have
been introduced in the classroom have definitely changed the way that teachers
provide instruction to the students. However, the definition of technology is
somewhat unclear, which makes it even more difficult for technology to
positively shape the realm of education.
In
America, we currently have schools that are not using SMART Boards that were
installed almost one decade ago, carts of laptop computers remain on their
charging stations without daily use, and iPads are merely used for students to
read content in ways that provide an educational experience no different from
actually reading a textbook. Our school administrators, state legislatures, and
federal lawmakers have meant well to increase the amount of technology in the
classroom. However, other than giving students the ability to type papers on
word processing programs, there has yet to be that game changing piece of
technology that completely transforms school. Hmmm, maybe there will never be
that “one game changer”, but we cannot deny that there will be some form of
technology that literally changes how classrooms operate.
I shall
now make a bold prediction...
The “game
changing” technology that will affect America’s classrooms will be the
implementation of virtual reality on a student per student basis.
Of course,
we need to quickly
discuss what virtual reality is and how it works.
As of now,
school computers are used to conduct research by browsing different websites,
type reports, craft written documents, calculate using spreadsheets and
mathematical software, and construct presentations thanks to programs such as
Microsoft PowerPoint. Sure, sure, sure, we do have websites that allow for nice
simulations of scientific principals while other programs allow students to
create beautiful graphs for mathematical analysis, but each of the discussed
uses of technology all have something in coming – the technology implemented in
the classroom has only been used as a means to an end. At the end of the day,
our students are:
·
Writing
Papers vs. Typing Papers
·
Researching
using books vs. Researching the Internet
·
Computing
calculations by hand vs. Computing calculations electronically
·
Conducting
real experiments vs. Conducting simulation experiments
·
Creating
graphs by hand vs. Creating graphs using software
·
Preparing
for an oral presentation vs. Preparing for an oral presentation with
supplemental graphics from a projection of Microsoft PowerPoint
While I do
admit that I may have trivialized how students use technology by assuming this
is what takes place in all schools, I do know, from personal anecdotes, that
this is primarily how students use technology in other educators’ schools. Our
students are still completing the same tasks that they were completing in the
1800s within the Public Education school systems across America. Technology has
not actually changed how students learn, per say; technology has only changed
the means of how students learn.
However,
virtual reality headgear has an opportunity to change education in a way that
past forms of technology have failed to do; virtual reality has the potential
to give students the chance to be immersed in new worlds that allow for
manipulation of a virtual environment that becomes personal to the student.
The
coolest aspect of virtual reality is the fact that it is a technology that already exists for those who
can afford the several hundred dollar price tag for the limited number of
experiences available early in its lifespan.
Consider
how teachers currently show videos/movies in class. All students in the
classroom watch the exact same video. The experience is meant for an entire
class rather than a personal experience. This is the same reason why one
student may be captivated by an in-class film, but another student may be so
bored that he/she attempts to fall asleep. Some students may take notes
regarding the content from the video, but other students may whisper to their
neighbors regarding information that has nothing to do with the content or
skills that are meant to be gained from the viewing experience. Imagine, now, a
classroom where each student has a virtual reality headset that she/he can
experience based on her/his own manipulation of the virtual environment. You
would have less students engaging in off task activities. You would have less
students trying to lay their head down and sleep (this would still be a problem
unless the classroom teacher had a method of viewing the eyes of students as
they wear the headsets). You would have more students engaged in the task at
hand.
For
example, check out the following video regarding virtual
reality and education.
With that
said, please view the following virtual reality videos/experiences that are
already available for already existing virtual reality headsets. You may view
these on your smart phone or tablet device to get a faux experience of how
these videos look within an actual virtual reality headset.
Now,
imagine the fact that as virtual reality becomes more mainstream, there will be
more virtual reality experiences that are developed that offer a more active
experience within the video/software/game/activity under consideration. With
more active and interactive experiences, students will be able to perform
manipulations that would never be available in a typical classroom.
Virtual
Reality has the potential for students to experience the following:
·
Viewing
three dimensional models of atomic structure within a Chemistry Class
·
See
the minutiae associated with specific chemical reactions within a Chemistry
Class
·
Viewing
an interactive video/virtual reality tour within a History Class
·
Viewing/Reading
actual historical documents within a History Class
·
Viewing
how cities have changed over time within a Geography/Social Studies Class
·
Walking
through different environments within a Biology Class
·
Walking
through an animal cell to visit the different organelles within a Biology Class
·
Viewing
graphical data from a variety of different perspectives within a Mathematics
Class
·
Viewing
historical perspectives on literary pieces within an English Class
·
Experiencing
the aftermath of a car crash and analyzing the crash using energy and momentum
considerations within a Physics class
·
Exploring
the creation and path in which photons and waves of light travel from one
location to another within a Physics class
I realize
that I could go on and on forever, but consider the fact that virtual reality
could essentially allow students to optically experience ANY possible event
that could ever take place in the Universe. With even more time, students could
be hooked up to sensors in order to feel environmental stimuli.
Regardless,
students who use laptop computers, tablets, and smart phones in the classroom
are still distant and removed from the devices themselves. While students have
become proficient at using these devices, there is still no substitute for
allowing students to experience phenomena rather than read/watch phenomena.
With virtual reality, immersion could be implemented in the classroom, and
immersion could fundamentally reshape education in ways that no other form of
technology has ever done.
So…
What role
does technology have in a future American classroom? It has the potential to
literally reshape HOW our students learn.
I shall
leave you with a nice TED
Talk concerning Virtual Reality and its possible effects on education.
And with
that, I am caching out!
