Virtual reality in education: more than an expense

Practically all areas of digital activity are being colonized by virtual reality (VR), whether it be leisure, commerce, industry industry, health, sport, training, none is spared; even the social networks are massively social networks are committing to it massively (RecRoom). Being able to be virtually transported into a reconstructed or imagined context, in direct imagined context, interacting directly with other participants or simply as a spectator, makes VR attractive despite its technical and economic constraints. economic constraints.

The creators of virtual worlds and experiences are competing imagination, but is it worth the effort in education? worth the effort? Even though immersive VR is known to keep learners interested and learners' interest and focus at a high level (VR in education), wouldn't the effort and energy expended have more educational results invested elsewhere?

An expense

For immersive VR, this can be said because the evolution of the equipment is so equipment is so fast that the cost of amortizing it, for example, for a classroom for a classroom, is difficult to justify to the payers. Let's just consider the cost of a virtual leisure activity in a museum or a activity in a museum or a VR center, about 30 euros per hour per person. per hour per person. The cost to a class limits VR to an occasional occasional special activity.

In addition, the energy mobilized to produce quality VR reserves it for exceptional content. In production, too, the costs in equipment and expertise are high. Most popular educational VR experiences are of high quality but rare (Exit the frame); the rest remain at the level of "nice attempts," carried out without great means. In comparison to the video games experienced by students, education doesn't really hold a candle to them.

In In schools, VR viewing devices are usually only rarely VR headsets rarely VR headsets, more often than not they are mobile phones and low cell phones and low-cost viewers such as Google Carboard. There is not much more You can't invest much more in them. AVPA - Bring your own device.

Gains for learning?

In fact. In fact, as with simulators, VR is the best training solution in some training in certain contexts. In fact, VR is an evolution of simulators simulators by offering a high level of realism and complexity at a much complexity for a much lower cost than most physical simulators. physical simulators. We are talking here about VR, which is mainly used in professional training. Learning the Pythagorean theorem in VR does not really bring any pedagogical gain compared to a traditional traditional training. At the practical stage, VR becomes useful. But can it be useful in other areas as well?

Because Because VR recreates immersive environments, content associated with a context can context can benefit from it, for example, we learn a language in a context and the more context and the more realistic the context, the better the learning. learning. In geography, seeing mountains, volcanoes, rivers, cities rivers, cities, by being immersed in them is different from seeing them in the relative dimensions leave real impressions. In history, realistic reconstructions allow us to understand relationships that are difficult to relationships that are difficult to explain in words and can anchor many data in the and can anchor much data in the minds of students. Laboratory experiments can be laboratory experiments can be recreated with great realism.

Purely intellectual such as philosophy, grammar, mathematics, have less to gain, but mathematics, have less to gain, but some demonstrations can be can be recreated in VR and reinforce understanding.

Remotely?

One of the most One of the most exciting areas in VR is collaboration in virtual environments environments where each person controls their avatar and the others see them others see them in real time and can interact and discuss

Second Life-like environments have been used with varying degrees of success for several years, the the main obstacle is reaching a critical mass of students who are familiar with the familiar with the technology and sufficiently well equipped and connected to be able to follow a regular training course, and this in each field. The development of virtual expertise among teachers also remains a challenge.

Overall, distance VR still remains a niche practice, especially in the medical field and in the technological, industrial, and creative professional settings.

Learning to use it

The more we are exposed to virtual reality, the less time we spend in the real world; this truism nonetheless illustrates that the digitization that the digitization of reality is at work. It leads us to know the real better than ever before in order to be able to virtualize it correctly and, paradoxically, to experience it less and less concretely. Is this an improvement? When we see the continuous plundering of our environment, one cannot help but see a connection. Of course, we can be more aware of it, but the filtered reality is rarely complete, especially if it conflicts with the economy at the source of the virtualization. virtualization.

All the techniques around virtualization are very are very popular with young people; it is normal, it is almost the only the only real space of freedom they have regularly experienced since their birth. their birth. They are eager to learn how to use it. But But perhaps the role of the school is also to help them reclaim other other spaces of freedom. When almost everywhere you need permissions and permissions and authorizations to go and act in the real world, it goes without saying that the virtual offers more attractions.

VR is certainly more than an expense as we invest heavily in it. It's the path we're taking, but while the adventure sounds fascinating, no one really knows where it's taking us.

References

Welcome to Virtual Reality in Training - Denys Lamontagne - Thot Cursus
https://cursus.edu/21924/bienvenue-a-la-realite-virtuelle-en-formation

Playing with Reality: A BOM of Simulations - Denys Lamontagne - Thot Cursus
https://cursus.edu/10162/playing-with-reality-nomenclature-of-simulations

Virtual and Augmented Reality Directory  - Thot Cursus
https://cursus.edu/22388/repertoire-of-virtual-and-augmented-reality

Rec Room
https://recroom.com/

Rec Room: Social VR app's value climbs to $1.25 billion
https://www.realite-virtuelle.com/rec-room-value/

Out of the box: making an educational VR  film - Denys Lamontagne - Thot Cursus
https://cursus.edu/22577/sortir-du-cadre-la-realisation-dun-film-educatif-en-vr

Second Life - Education
http://go.secondlife.com/landing/education/fr/?lang=fr

Nextech AR
https://www.nextechar.com/higher-education

The Forest School or Education through Nature  - Sabrina Marie Budel - Thot Cursus
https://cursus.edu/13269/lecole-en-foret-ou-leducation-par-la-nature

A matrix of societal changes are leading our children to the "Nature Deficiency" - Denys Lamontagne - Thot Cursus
https://cursus.edu/4192/une-matrice-de-changements-societaux-menent-nos-enfants-a-la-carence-de-nature