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Concluding Post

I lied earlier when I said that the previous post would be the last. This is the final conclusion of my semester’s worth of examining news in relation to the field of VR and education. 

I look back towards the first post I made under this Tumblr account and a part of me cringes internally--first, because admittedly while I did keep more informed with up-to-date VR news concerning education, I did not make my updates on my current research and information as regular as I could have. More importantly though, a part of me cringes at my first installment purely because the tone of ambition, of knowing exactly what I was doing and why, feels very contrary to where I stand with my posts today. 

The VR scene is currently very different from what I conceived of it originally, especially in regards to education--my sense of knowledge and understanding underwent several iterations throughout the journey of this semester, and while I find that I am just as lost in regards to the future of VR education as I was when I first started out, there are a few parting shots that COM 600 “Trendspotting Digital Media” left with me, which I will impart as follows:

1. What is happening in the present does not constitute a certain trend for the future.

2. Innovation may appear from the questions and challenges no one else is addressing.

3. Always question the certain.

4. Keeping up to date is key.

5. People think they know what they are talking about when it comes to technological trends. In reality everyone is as lost and clueless as I am.

6. Change is key to development--stagnation is the enemy of technological innovation. 

7. Just when you think something is only just appearing in the fringes of society, it’s already taken off in the present reality. Speed is constantly doubling.

Overall I found that despite VR education being a different experience than I expected,  its growing popularity in the field of academia may still have a longer way to travel as it does with commercial, media and entertainment audiences. Without innovation--without fully addressing the asymmetry between content and curriculum nor the problem of accessibility--VR may not go as far as it could in the classroom experience. This, however, may be my biggest entry point, as a future digital disruptor, as someone with enough knowledge to develop future ideas and possibly unite the converging fields of virtual reality and immersive education. 

I leave you, dear reader, with these final words as quoted from Albert Einsten:

Don’t forget to also check out the Newhouse School official website for more news on trends and innovative communication: http://newhouse.syr.edu/

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This will be my final posted artifact in regards to VR, education and the classroom experiences--I can’t believe me it took me so long to actually find this article, as it summarizes everything I’ve been discussing in regards to my VR research. While initially I had considered VR to be a marginal technology in regards to classroom innovation, I have found that the past few years have led to a booming trend of VR apps for educational purposes, with a plethora of varied subjects, interactive design and target functioning.

That said, Steve Bambury effectively reiterates my initial impression of many VR organizations and startups attempting to jump the “virtual school” bandwagon--that in which many VR educational apps focus simply on the immersive experience without necessarily teaching anything to the skill requirements or current curriculum. Bambury’s analysis is primarily a suggestion for developers interested in creating educational VR content, with general things to keep in mind as they design for classroom purposes--however, I consider this artifact to be a springboard for developers, curriculum experts and instructors to work together in blending pedagogy and media literacy in order to deliver a truly effective learning experience. 

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This particular VR Focus article from a few months ago describes a virtual reality experience for learning about recycling and the recycling process at the opening of the Recycling Discover Hub in Australia. The content is accessible to all ages, from younger children learning how to sort out recycling waste to older generations learning the function and operation of the recycling machines in order to create something new out of previous waste.

I believe that this VR experience presented for a short period of time encapsulated all the good that VR can go in education as well as the opportunities presented in the technology for improvement--the experience applies UDL so that everyone can take part and learn from the experience, and combines exploratory visuals, interactive skill-building mechanics and engaging content in order to emphasize the importance of recycling and its effects on the planet in a way that promotes better care of planetary resources. At the same time, I have to wonder how implementing an experience like this within the realm of environmental sciences in schools and presenting a larger-scope project might further benefit the impact of the experience.

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One of my favorite aspects about using virtual reality within the education experience is that the student isn’t necessarily a passively absorbing sponge--in the best situation, the interactivity and engagement level of VR can inspire students to design and use their design skills to innovate and resolve real-world problems.

 Parker Stroebeck is the McQuivey’s quintessential digital disruptor--a kid with a bright idea inspired by his own real-world concerns who ups and creates his our VR physical therapy program. It might not be anything special, but the fact that his school provides him with not just the idea but also the means to do so (even if it’s by using Minecraft), demonstrates the inventive pedagogy that is necessary for the success of VR education experiences.

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This Tumblr blog has primarily focused on a particular type of VR content interaction in the classroom--that which may be referred to as the “virtual field trip”, wherein engagement and memorization occurs by feeling present in a particular place and visualizing the context of the lesson. That said, one area that seems to be mostly unexplored is the additional layer of student engagement, which extends out of simply being present as a witness but is involved as a performer in a particular action or skill, and thus gains that additional skill.

This MIT study analysis combines visual memorization of a second language with the actual practice of performing the language in a particular situation--to me, combining the means of this study with what we have previously seen of job training could provide an additional dimension to classroom curriculum, something that I plan to potentially discuss in my final project. 

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Personally, this is the most interesting trend that is making its way within the VR technology and media industry--extending beyond the reaches of simple classroom experience, world exploration and coursework learning, VR is being studied in research largely as a learning aid for people (children specifically) with autism.

This is the kicker for me--for a technology that hasn’t made it fully into the mainstream because of accessibility issues (cost, special needs, overall novelty, etc.), not only are there small rivets of advancement for creating technology to make VR accessible for students with special needs, but it may be further considered an aid for students with developmental disabilities as well. 

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Curiscope is a digital disrupter if there ever was one--a very young startup company with high aims of creating VR and Ar centering around the classroom experience, their virtual tee AR app has been a successful inclusion to many anatomy classes for different grade levels already. So far this might be their only project, but there is much potential for this small company in a growing VR industry.

I personally take a lot of heart from this company’s story--I come from an education background, but I have a passion for VR, and my goal would be to eventual create experiences as the ones showcased on this blog. But with no knowledge on programming and business, the success of a small organization such as Curiscope gives me hope for starting my own line of VR experiences someday. 

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I had previously only focused on the current uses, trends and possible innovations for VR use within the school and classroom-specific experience. However, I think it is important to acknowledge that VR learning is occurring more frequently outside of the academic nexus, with a large portion of companies investing in VR recruiting and training experiences for their employees.

Business investment in VR experiences is a large influencer on VR being adapted in other environments such as education-the fact that learning can happen at any age, and that adults can learn from VR experiences also showcases its ability to be effective in teaching younger audiences as well. 

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In an earlier post, I mentioned the interesting notion that VR may be useful for learning outside of simply coursework in relation to school curricula. This particular artifact serves as an interesting follow-up, as it presents a Stanford University study in how a fictional VR simulation (that of having a superpower) could inspire empathy and increased altruism in those who participate in it.

My particular interest in regards to this follow-up artifact is that it demonstrates literacy learning in action--most people account only reading and writing in English Language Arts classes as literacy, but the understanding of literacy as cultivated by language scholars is that of learning to decode, interpret and express understanding of the world and the way it functions. The autism and altruism study are the first clear-cut example of literacy learning through empathy and immersion through VR experiences, and to me the fact that literacy learning is not just feasible but memorable to the students in the study is very telling on the longevity of VR learning as a trend. 

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Unimersiv is a technological and digital media organization that specifically caters to VR educational experiences--this launch video showcases their design work and initial experiences available for VR headsets such as Oculus Go, HTC Vive, etc. Currently, Unimersiv launches a new VR experience for the classroom weekly on their VR app, and they cover a variety of topics depending on the course level and subject (including History, Science, Math, Social Studies, etc.)

What struck me in particular about Unimersiv was not only its current success rate (ranked among the top ten VR companies for education), but also how it plays according to some of the success advice I interpreted in the Long Tail article--while VR in general cannot cater to the desires and expectations of viewers within the field of education as it can for entertainment (like Amazon recommending books online through its algorithm), Unimersiv has all of its content available for the user for a very small monthly subscription, and the user is able to peruse recommendations based on the subject they are interested in learning about, similar to an old-school librarian making research recommendations. 

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With this artifact, I would like to address some specific points developed in chapter 4 of “Futuring,” regarding forecasting the future and identifying trends--specifically, I want to focus my attention on the claim that the longer a trend has already lasted in the past and present, the longer we can predict the success of the trend in the future as well. I consider this to not always be the case, to put it politely--but it is interesting to consider the longevity of a trend, specifically with VR. Although virtual reality has been a thing since the 90′s it’s only within the past few years (that is to say, since 2013-2014) that VR has really kicked off from a commercial standpoint, and only recently has a trend developed for educational VR.

 This particular article EmergingEdTech blog recounts the founder Kelly Walsh’s attendance of UB Tech 2017, with emphasis on a conference he attended on the ways VR is currently being implemented in classroom use. What struck me most about this article are the many apps and classification for VR experiences that are already recognized by a larger mainstream audience, something which initially surpassed my expectations for the technology. That said, most of what was discussed is in the present mindset, with glaring factors that limit the success of VR in the classroom. Here, I think, is where Futuring might have some application: that realm of uncertainty when it comes to VR leaves room for possibility and innovation, for those who look well enough. With people interested in the success of VR, it is possible to see more innovation come to the table to make it a more viable option for education use, thus cementing VR’s future in education (hopefully).

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Here is yet another interesting article that doesn’t really have much context in regards to discussion in class or the readings from “Futuring” specifically, but it did throw out the window a previous misconception I had about the reaches of current trends in educational VR. Jam Studio (currently being showcased by one of the trustier news websites centering on VR technologies and content innovation) is primarily a music composition app for VR users, but the recent release of an education and healthcare edition poses interesting potential within music education, such as music theory in connection with actual musical practice, therapeutic musical exercises and wellness, etc.

Prior to doing my research for this course, I had made note of the skepticism widespread audiences had in regards to VR education--after all, it’s taken this long for VR to make it the mainstream, and it still hadn’t kicked off as a massive universal form of entertainment, so what sort of future would it have on education anyway? I had made the assumption that most VR experiences in the classroom would be relegated to STEM courses (the science and maths), and while I have seen some interesting VR apps and experiences in regards to social learning and history, this is the first actual VR app I’ve seen for Music Education. I would be especially interested to see the healthcare applications spoken of in this article , how they would play out in the app and how they would be used by counselors and health experts outside of the classroom experience as well. 

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One of the main ways in which VR is primarily being implemented into the classroom is through what is being coined as “virtual field trips”. Immersion holds a lot of appeal for teachers who want to create a fun and engaging class, and what better way to make what’s in the textbooks come to life than by actually being able to travel and visit the places being spoken about?

ImmerseMe might not necessarily be doing anything particularly disruptive in its approach to using VR for language and cultural learning, but it does showcase what’s so appealing about digital mobility, and also poses an interesting question in regards to international education, culture shock and global learning opportunities for students. The general makeup of ImmerseMe’s experiences are no different from those of other educational empathy projects--they pose the student in a specific social situation in the virtual space to practice a second language. This, too, is not necessarily a new innovation--plenty of second language learning aid computer programs already exist and sell at sky-high market prices, as evidence by the success of Rosetta Stone. That said, the combination of language learning and virtual experience is relatively new and not fully explored territory, and I am interested to see if it may go beyond simply practicing your Spanish or French and actually imbibing students with a more profound understanding of global citizenship. 

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This is yet another interesting study with may foretell a lot of potential in regards to using VR for educational purposes in the classroom. The study was conducted in a select poof of high school students in Beijing with VR headsets distributed evenly (taking into account gender and academic performance) and a specific VR-enhanced curriculum. The resulting test scores of high school students not only demonstrated significant academic improvement, but students who had primarily been on the lower end of the testing results previously demonstrated academic scores comparable to that of the higher-ranking students in the class. 

It should immediately be noted that this particular study was not conducted by university researchers nor trained educators, but primarily by Bluefocus E-Commerce, which have a particular interest for creating a market for VR classroom experiences specifically for HTC Vive--they would, in the end, profit the most from providing schools with headset technology and the corresponding educational apps. Nevertheless, with so much concern and emphasis placed on student test scores and quantifiable academic success, this particular study may prove fruitful in convincing schools to invest more in VR curricula simply because of the promise of increased engagement and increasing national academic ranking. 

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I wish I had a particular connection to make to some of the topics discussed particularly in class or in our textbooks in regards to this artifact pick, but the truth of the matter is that I wanted to post this artifact simply out of the sheer uniqueness and potential this study conducted Michigan State University and its partners in Ireland. The researchers involved in the study presented in this short video are examining the connections between VR immersion and empathy in order to see how VR can assist people with autism to cope with certain social situations.

I am very intrigued to see what the final results of this study will present for the world, not just for what it means for autistic students in the classroom, but also in general for inspiring a greater sense of empathy, understanding and wisdom within social and cultural spaces. I have never personally known anyone with autism, so I can’t speak with expertise in regards to how helpful this would be in that field, but the idea behind the study really highlights the potential that VR has outside of simply engagement and entertainment, to what the value of experience really is at the end of the day.

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The main selling point (as well as the main goal for most educators when it comes to classroom VR) is to create an engaging experience for as many people as possible. Yet while many curriculum builders and school finance managers have focused primarily on the accessibility cost of VR in the classroom as one of the reasons it hasn’t caught on, a recent class speaker alerted me to another critical challenge for implementing a VR curriculum: that is, whether the VR experience can be feasibly accessible for students with special needs. 

Here, to me, if the point of entry for many technological disruptors as we have spoken about in class: one thought, one idea that could break the game when it comes to Universal Design Learning, simply by changing UI and user interaction to make it easier for everyone to enjoy a VR class experience. This article presents the innovation of Walkin VR, a system which allows students with limited mobility (and thus with more difficulty of fully immersing themselves in a movement-motivated experience such as VR) to access VR from a comfortable position while still being able to move around and explore a VR space. I only wish I could find more examples of such innovation being implemented on VR, as the potential market for both general VR experiences and classroom aids combined will, in my opinion, expand the market and the possibilities of VR immensely.

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Recently, I was working on a presentation for a different course altogether, in which I was focusing on new VR educational experiences and practical ways they were influencing the classroom--through working on this assignment, I came across ZSpace, a technology firm that has been working on AR/VR experiences through the classroom since 2001, but has only recently been recognized for their IPad-style AR hardware and unique educational software apps. 

My first thought upon looking up the way ZSpace was incorporated into Science lessons at a local high school in Texas was how much it reminded me of Leap Frog (for those who don’t remember this late 90′s educational gem, it’s an educational toy where you utilize a “magic pen” to help you read aloud a story or learn about a particular concept). Some people might not immediately draw the connection between a glorified read-aloud picture book and a VR app, but to me it seemed to showcase the evolution of interactive learning within a short span of time, while also solving one of the many concerns school have with VR: that of a singular experience which requires a headset. ZSpace allows students to crows in groups and be involved in the space experiences as their peers, saving time which teachers would have to a lot for “passing around the headset”,while also providing students with more time to immerse in the experience, to have fun while learning, and to talk with each other and learn from different perspectives as well.