Distance learning is something that many people have been forced into because of the lock-in from the pandemic issue. But online learning from home shouldn't be something very familiar to all people who have access to a computer. Virtual reality (VR) viewers can immerse a person in a whole new digitally created world, and augmented reality (AR) technology can maximize digitally created elements in the real world through a smartphone camera.
VR/AR have the ability to elevate distance learning far beyond the ecosystems of a pre-recorded, slow-connected video tutorial. If you teach anatomy classes to students, or have a manufacturing company that requires teaching the use of certain machinery remotely, VR/AR can help address these issues.
- Games from a classroom
Although a virtual classroom full of gamified students sounds like the beginning of any online teacher's nightmare, game-based learning can be very useful. The educational gamification market is overtaking a multi-billion dollar industry by the end of this year.
Practically, game-based learning is where students complete a series of tasks focused on a given topic, and the better they do, the more rewards they receive. The more rewards they get, the more they progress around different levels. There are certain adjacent effects, such as addiction and over-competitiveness, and they are used for learning purposes. Virtual reality allows students to get into an engaging but also educational game, and encourages team building and healthy competition.
One of the most useful benefits of VR game-based learning is the analytics. These games have the ability to quickly and accurately assess students' strengths and weaknesses and suggest areas in which they can improve.
- Virtual exploration
Whether you are the owner of a cloud-based manufacturing business providing distance learning for your employees or an instructor in physical, exploring VR/AR is a great way to capture the attention of any learner. Research exploring user attitudes toward virtual events or tours showed that most users rated the experience very highly. A virtual reality headset gives students access to anything from space travel to fascinating Caribbean beaches.
Users don't even need a VR headset. With AR explorations, they can use their phones to place AR elements, such as a walk in the Amazon jungle, in the middle of their living rooms and explore them from various angles.
- Use cases
Surely one of the biggest challenges of distance learning is the lack of a practical element. VR and AR have the advantage of bridging the gap between distance learning and real life; they can blend theory and practice. Virtual practice can mostly increase the learning effect and retention of a learner almost in its entirety. Distance learning can also bring constant distractions, especially if conducted at home without a setup optimized for working from home. VR/AR distance learning not only serves as a substitute for real-life learning, but can actually enhance it. Virtual reality can enhance any learning that involves design such as architecture. Students can wear a VR headset and view the models and drawings they have created in a virtual world. If the student has designed a corporate office, they can walk in, walk around and make adjustments to the building that will enhance the potential customer experience.
- Overcoming language barriers
At some point in time, every person has been in a situation where they have had to communicate with someone who does not speak their language at all or very well. This can often happen in call centers that do not implement skill-based routing and the agent you speak to cannot understand the given message. Learning a second language is a challenge for anyone's brain. Not only do you have to constantly switch back and forth between your native language and the new language, but you also have to retain information you never knew before. So new technology will not only support international students around an online course, but can also help them outside of that. COVID-19 has hindered many social interactions that would normally help international students further develop their second language. International students can often hesitate to speak for fear of mispronouncing or making grammatical errors. Virtual reality interactions can help mitigate this and encourage more students of all backgrounds to socialize.
- Special education
Virtual reality has the virtue of improving the education and lives of students with learning disabilities. A key feature of the virtual world is the ability to control any external stimuli, such as audio or visual. This means that students with any sensory impairment can slowly familiarize themselves with these triggers, which means they can have a full and safe experience. Virtual reality has incredible alignment, as mentioned above, so each virtual distance learning experience can be tailored to the specific condition of the end user. For example, blind users can have a more acoustic learning experience and can even navigate the virtual world using audio cues.
Virtual reality can also help users with learning disabilities in a learning environment by translating their gestures into speech. This allows multiple learners to communicate with each other and can greatly improve their social skills. Understanding this technology, making it relevant to educational materials and leveraging its benefits is vital to improving distance education. Virtual reality has the ability to bring a positive form of gamification to the virtual classroom that can help with team building and progression tracking.
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