VR penetrating the education system
Virtual reality has been around for longer than many of us realize, with early models including Nintendo’s GameBoy, which burst onto the scene in the early 1990s. The days back when VR consisted of a tiny dot moving across a pixelated screen are gone; today’s models boast sleek headsets, which immerse the user in a stunningly realistic, 3D environment. Gaming still dominates the VR market, but VR has also been applied in medical and military training, as well as in business meetings.
Now, developers are increasingly looking for ways to make this technology a useful tool for learning in schools, and the idea has been met with mixed feedback. In the countries using VR, concerns have been expressed regarding what age is too young for the technology, with its impact on vision and brain development among the top worries from parents.
Research is yet to confirm its effects, but some evidence suggests that VR can affect a child’s spatial reasoning. While these are legitimate concerns, there have been suggestions put forward to counter them. Simply taking breaks from screen time and even blinking more frequently are ways to combat eye strain, and limiting a child’s exposure can mitigate any adverse effects on their development.
Leading countries investing in VR
China, the USA, the U.A.E, and France are among the top countries investing in VR at the moment. Virtual reality is a huge market, which is worth an estimated USD 441.8 million in 2022. By 2028, that figure is expected to more than double to a whopping USD 1,006 million. Each country is taking a unique approach to investing in virtual reality, so we’ll take a look in greater detail below.
China's plans
With its budget for virtual reality dedicated almost exclusively to classrooms, China isn’t playing any games when it comes to VR. It rolled out its masterplan for VR development in 2019, and is determined to become a world leader in the industry. The technology has already been introduced to schools in China, where children can sit in pods and be educated by virtual tutors. Moving forward, China plans to create and introduce headsets into every classroom in the country, hoping to change the way the West sees ‘made in China’ for the better.
VR in the USA is mostly targeting more mature audiences, with almost half of USA colleges already using it. This fall will see the launch of ten ‘metaversities’, where a digital version of an actual campus will be created for students, whether on-site or remote. Each student is set to receive a Meta Quest 2 headset, which will allow them to experience courses as if they were actually on campus.
France's plans
France has recently implemented the VirtualiTeach program in its classrooms. The program allows science and technology students to observe and actually feel materials thanks to forced feedback technology. It is hoped that this will give students in more central roles to better understand theoretical concepts.
In the U.A.E., schools are still treating VR as an experiment, and are particularly interested in augmented reality, where sounds and images are superimposed onto a real environment. This negates the need for headsets and is a great tool for adding interest while still bringing classrooms together. The U.A.E. sits confidently among the countries investing in VR, but won’t commit until its value has been fully assessed.
VR in the education system in the long run
As investing in virtual reality is a relatively new addition to the education system, the long-term impacts are yet to be seen. However, there’s little doubt that the changes will be significant, and that high-tech classrooms are here to stay. As ever, its impact on social interaction and brain development has been cited as areas in need of research, but there are plenty of upsides.
Schools around the world are looking forward to planning virtual trips to other countries, attending meetings with students across the globe, and even taking virtual journeys through time. In many ways, learning has never seemed more appealing.