Virtual Reality in Education: A Review

Educational VR Review

As a history teacher, I am incredibly interested in the VR experience for learners.  Every history teacher strives to provide the first person perspective when trying to teach events in true historical context.  Now with the VR, students can have a more authentic first-person experience.  I personally see the tremendous learning value of being able to put a learner into the actual culture, location, space, and time of a people.  To me, this takes the experience and engages all of the senses in ways that words in a book, or film clips cannot possibly do.  While doing research for this project, I came across some great sites and a multitude of apps available for education.  Since I am an avid Discovery user, both as an educator and as a private consumer, I came across Discoveryvr.com.  Discovery’s VR experience offers several ways to watch, including Mobile Device options, VR headsets, and 360 Video (http://www.discoveryvr.com/).  I also need to mention that this site offers information on the Google Cardboard, the much more economical solution for those interested.  It would seem this tool is still very new, and there are limited videos and experiences targeted specifically for education.  Since I do not have a VR headset, I watched the Civil War 360 videos in a browser.  I must admit the entire time I was watching them, I wondered what it would be like to experience with a VR headset.  It really is difficult to provide an actual critique or review on these products without the full experience.  However, I will say that I will be keeping an eye on DiscoveryVR and am intrigued where they will go with this.  One can access more education-specific information on this tool at the following link:  http://discoveryeducation.com/DiscoveryNow/vr.cfm.

VR Review Non-Educational Industry

While perusing other Virtual Reality experiences that were not necessarily developed specifically for the education industry, I came across a TIME virtual experience that has been created about Pearl Harbor.  This VR experience is only available on Viveport, which one must have an active subscription to use (Rothman, 2016).  However, I can see value in adapting this experience for education and using it as an additional tool to bring history alive for students.  Reading through the reviews of this experience, it seems to garner mixed emotions.  Some enjoyed the experience, while others were disappointed in the experience.  Because I do not have access to the required VR headset for this experience, I can only go by the screen shots, article, and existing reviews about this VR experience on Pearl Harbor.  I still believe there is value in exploring this further and that if schools or classrooms already have access to this technology, it may be worth investigating this and other VR experiences from TIME.

Conclusion 

When it comes to this type of immersive technology, the user expects an ‘out-of-this-world’ experience.  Because of this, I think developers may have a difficult time finding that happy medium between consumer expectations and meaningful experiences.  We also have to ensure that the VR and AR experiences offer quality learning.  I think that this may be where the challenge lies within the industry.  Relying on both programmers and educators to come together to create an authentic VR/AR experience that truly enhances learning.  When we look at taking VR experiences not necessarily created for K-12 students and the K-12 classroom, we have to be cautious as to the actual intended learning goal and outcome, and that the tool is actually in alignment with that goal.  If the user is going to engage with objects and material in a VR experience, what is it that we want the student walking away with?  When we start utilizing these powerful tools in the classroom, they must be embedded in pedagogy and curriculum.  Giving a hand-selected group of teachers the ability to explore and use the various AR/VR tools available and share their lessons, ideas, and recommendations would be a great way for districts to begin this process. 

References

DiscoveryVR:  http://www.discoveryvr.com/

Rothman, L. (2016). The History Behind the Remembering Pearl Harbor Virtual Reality Experience. Retrieved from http://time.com/4577616/remembering-pearl-harbor-history/

BLOGGER FOR THE K-12 CLASSROOM!

Considering using a Blog in your K-12 classroom?  Take a look at this informational video for ways in which you can use this powerful tool to promote social communication and learning!

Considering an LMS for your K-12 School or Classroom?

As part of a research project for my M.Ed course of study in Instructional Design and Technology, I looked into 3 LMS platforms that can be utilized in K-12.

View the video below for more information!

Using Standards to Guide Instructional Design

Having standards by which we create lessons helps us to ensure that we are creating and curating quality learning experiences—offline and online.  The ISTE standards were created to help our students thrive in a technology infused, globally connected world.  The standards give educators a framework to re-think the teaching and learning as they set out to create life-long learners.  Standards set the bar for everything we do, whether in education, or in our business.  We have standards (or guidelines) for our jobs, and we have expectations when we engage others in business.  ISTE standards help us embrace technology and its role in education.  Although they were created for K-12, I personally think we should be applying them at all levels of education and in the workforce.  Why stop when they graduate high school?  ISTE standards can help us define the learning in higher education institutions around a global set of standards and when we think about applying them in the workforce, imagine the possibilities!  How many jobs are remote or home-based?  How many people are working on remote teams from all around the world?  To me, it just makes sense to take these standards beyond K-12 and apply them to create a world in which we all can learn how to be responsible digital citizens as we connect with people from around the world.

SCORM basically tells e-learning software programmers how they can write their programming code so that it can interact easily with other e-learning software.  In other words, if I create a course (or course content) using SCORM compliant software, that content can be shared in any LMS.  As an Instructional Designer, I do not have to apply SCORM, but I do have to know that it is how learning content is “packaged” to be used across LMS systems. 

When it comes to best practices for technology enhanced learning, we could list several effective strategies tied to learning theory and standards.  I choose to focus on instruction, or the experience.  My thought is if we focus on what instruction should look like when we utilize technology, then we can create experiences that are not necessarily technology-centric, but educational goal oriented.  The key is to look at these intended outcomes from a technology standpoint:

·         Students explore

·         Instruction is interactive

·         Students perform authentic multidisciplinary work

·         Students work collaboratively

·         Teacher is the facilitator (Williamson & Redish, 2009)

When we look at the above list, and we think of ways in which we can engage our students using technology, students can be given an opportunity to explore online, via a google search, for example.  Interactive instruction can be readily available through simulations, games, and multimedia content.  We always encourage collaboration with our students, and discussion boards, blogs, and social media are great tools to help our students learn how to collaborate outside of the classroom, as well as in.  And of course, our teacher as a facilitator is one we’ve heard for a while.  When we utilize technology to help our students learn new concepts, explore, and collaborate, we are inherently put in a more guide or facilitator role.  These practices are taken from “ISTE’s Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards” and provide a solid foundation for us to start thinking about ways in which we can utilize a variety of technologies to create engaging learning experiences.

References

Williamson, J. & Redish, T.  (2009).  “ISTE’s Technology facilitation and leadership standards.”  ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education).  Retrieved from: http://www.iste.org/images/excerpts/TLPREP-excerpt.pdf

Technology Integration and Adoption

When educators hear "technology integration," sometimes it can cause a slight sense of panic or frustration.  Where do we begin to integrate technology into our every day routine?  Most teachers are using technology every day in their classrooms--email, presentations, digital documentation, resources, searching the internet, etc.  

Remember:  The technology is not the magic in the classroom, YOU ARE.  The technology becomes a tool, or vehicle by which we can reach our students, engage them, and help them become responsible information literate digital citizens.  

My best advice to you, as an educator and a technology specialist, is the following:

1. Identify the tools and resources you have available to you.
2. Consider and write down your educational goal.  
3. Identify the particular technology or digital tool you are going to use (i.e. iPads, Chromebooks, Web 2.0 tools)
4. Consider a lesson, activity, or project you already conduct with your students and then brainstorm how that can be transferred or applied to the digital landscape.  Or, you can use Google to search for "engaging lessons with iPads," for example.  
5. Invite the advice and expertise of your colleagues!  We learn from each other and the sharing community among educators is tremendous! 
6. Learn everything you can about the technology and tool.   Use YouTube or TeacherTube, search the internet for webinars, Lynda.com is also a great resource.  
7. Design the lesson or activity.
8. Consider classroom procedures and be prepared to teach them to your students!  i.e. shared iPads or Chromebooks--identify students in each class to hand out/collect them.
9. Be prepared for a back up plan.  If the internet goes down, for example, you can still use Chromebook apps and iPad apps offline--consider the best ones for these back up plans.  
10. Start small!  You may want to consider a very brief warm-up or closure activity the first time you use a new technology with your students.  

Figure out a way to mesh the technology tool it into what you're already doing.  DO NOT REINVENT the wheel!!  Keep doing what you're doing!  Just figure out a way to pull the technology in.  :)  THIS is the hardest part! Use your colleagues and building resources!

Incorporating Web 2.0 Tools and Social Media into the Classroom

Web 2.0 and social media tools from Sarah Lowey

Using Virtual Communication and Collaboration to Enhance Curriculum

Using Virtual Communication and Collaboration to Enhance Curriculum from Sarah Lowey

 

Use of Externally Created Course Materials

When creating an online course, using externally created materials is always the fastest and easiest way to get started.  I think it’s important to use outside sources for several reasons.  The main reason is time!  When creating an online course on my particular topic, I am noticing that it is a much more difficult task than I originally thought.  The amount of research, searching the internet, and finding sources specific to creating blended learning environments in the K-12 classroom is an on-going process for me.  In my search, I came across some great articles, sources, and YouTube videos (marked Creative Commons) that I will be using in my course.  Why reinvent the wheel? 

Ensuring ethical, legal, and responsible Use

However, when using outside materials, it is imperative to follow specific ethical and legal guidelines.  It is important to distinguish whether the material is being used to create something new or merely copied verbatim (Stanford University Libraries, n.d).  To that end, since I am using the outside sources to walk teachers through the process of deciding on a particular blended learning model and how to begin deployment of blended learning, I make the argument that the materials are being made to create something new, and provide new insight. 

For the YouTube videos, I used the creativecommons.org website to search YouTube for videos on Blended Learning.  Through this search, I was able to find a few videos that I will be incorporating into my course.  I have also used the link to search for various articles and resources and have found it to be very helpful.  The Creative Commons website is a great resource for finding information quickly that is already filtered for reuse.  I have also found some great videos and resources at oercommons.org that I will be incorporating into my course as well.  I think the important thing to remember when using outside sources is to start with sites like the ones mentioned above, and then work out from there.  When I initially began this process, I started backwards.  In a simple google search, I actually stumbled upon creativecommons.org when I googled “how to find YouTube Videos marked Creative Commons.”  Once you know where to begin, the process is not so intimidating. 

Policies and Procedures

Currently, I work for the K-12 sector of a large corporation.  Interestingly enough, today I watched an online training video that used an outside video and I did not notice any attribution.  My division is small, and the corporation is very large, and I really would not know where to go to find out how the company is addressing such use.  I will have to do some research to that end.  I would like to mention here that I am currently on the cusp of a career transition and will be starting my own business in the very near future so it is imperative that I am mindful of using outside materials responsibly.

Looking back at my teaching years, there were so many times in the early days of the internet when we really assumed that we could use pretty much anything on the internet as long as it was for educational purposes.  Following the evolution of copyright, fair use, and the internet, I think it has become so much more involved that it can potentially confuse teachers even more so it is important that we build a database of resources, such as OERs and sites like Creative Commons. 

Roadblocks and Challenges

The biggest roadblocks and challenges I face are directly tied to the topic of my online course—Blending learning in your K-12 Classroom.  I have noticed that some of the information I have found is conflicting, and the best information will require me to go through all of the steps of contacting for permission to use.  While this is definitely something I can and will be doing, it is time consuming.  Because of some of the conflicting information, my task will be to sift through it all and then design and create my own informational videos on the different blended learning models and help teachers tie them to specific classroom design, practices, and available technology. 

References

Stanford University Libraries. (n.d.). http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/