If you’re anything like me prior to ECI 201, you might be somewhat familiar with the concept of virtual reality, but could be unaware of the impact this tool might have in the classroom. That’s right…VR in the classroom. Up until recently, I thought virtual reality was simply a gaming tool that was gaining popularity. Then I discovered its growing usage in schools. Now you might be asking, what is this gaming device doing in a school setting? This article might be able to clarify things a bit for you.

ECI 201 was fortunate enough to be able to use both AR and VR firsthand to learn how these tools could realistically be implemented in our future classrooms. This article goes into more detail about what AR is. On two class days, we took a trip to D.H Hill’s virtual reality labs and used Google Expeditions as our AR tool and also used VR. On our google expedition trip, we took a “trip” to Hawaii, and discovered a story which went along with what we saw through our goggles. While using VR, we played games and used design tools to create 3-D objects in space.

How it will be used in my classroom:

  • When using the google expeditions, we created our own lesson plan to go along with an expedition. We chose to do a White House tour which could correspond to classroom curriculums in subjects such as civics or social studies. This same idea could be used for so many different objectives.
  • VR could be used as a form of communication to other students from all over the world.
  • VR and AR have been found to increase empathy when learning about things that might be challenging to understand when they haven’t been affected personally (taking a VR field trip to Pearl Harbor,  Germany during World War 2, Great Depression, etc). I would love to help my students develop this important skill.
  • MORE VR IN THE CLASSROOM