Learning by Total Immersion

If teachers can accept video and film as legitimate resources for learning why are they so resistant to what could be the most trans-formative technology yet? Becky Sage slays some doubts about Virtual Reality.

Virtual Reality, it seems to be everywhere, but what does it mean for education? How can educators make sure that it is a good investment to enhance learning? Or is it just an over-hyped, gimmick that becomes an expensive piece of plastic that sits in the back of the classroom getting dusty?

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      string(4773) "get started: You might want to start small. Choose a project that focuses on an issue in the school or nearby community. Ask kids to identify local issues and challenges. Identify ways that you can address the issue as a class. Discuss who in the community might help. Reach out to local government for guidance and support. Working through the process of change in a community will not be without its challenges, but that is exactly the point. Virtual RealityAnother powerful trend in education is interest in augmented and virtual reality technology. These technologies offer the ability to give students immersive learning experiences that they may have no other means to access. Sometimes these technologies can layer support over real world experiences in real time. Virtual reality can bring students to the peak of Mount Everest and to the depths of the oceans—places that few others have been able to go. Augmented reality can allow students visiting sites like the pyramids and Stonehenge in person to add layers of information over these amazing places in order to more deeply experience and understand what they are seeing and experiencing. Immersive journalism uses these technologies to share the news of current events in a more powerful way, combining the facts of a situation with the ability to connect with the context of the situation being reported. Programs like My World 360o by Digital Promise provide the technology and platform for students to create and share immersive 360 videos to tell the story of their lives.4 They can then share these stories with the world. These videos are a powerful example of AR/VR technology as an empathy machine that lets us – not just walk in the shoes of another person -but also to briefly see the world through their eyes. How to get started: If you’d like to start exploring take a look at Google Expeditions. There are currently 900 Expeditions available for all subject areas and ages.5 Take your class on a short tour. These powerful shared experiences can allow students to see places that they might never see otherwise. If you’d like to try creating these experiences of having your students do so, it’s easy with Google Tour Creator. Tour Creator allows you to create and publish your creations to Expeditions so that they can be shared with everyone. Situated CognitionIt may be unclear how these three topics: PBL, Citizenship Education and AR/VR technology, fit together. Here is the common thread: all three create immersive learning experiences that provide students with SITUATED COGNITION. This concept suggests that learning happens in context and that the most powerful learning happens when we do not separate the concept we are trying to teach, and the activity that we are using to teach it from context and culture. Using our bicycle example, there are different skills necessary to ride a bike down the street or to ride in a cycling class, or to ride in the Tour de France. Each requires a different set of skills and norms—though all are riding a bike, they are not the same thing. The social anthropologist, Jean Lave, suggests that in order for learning to take place, it must happen in an authentic environment because learning is directly impacted by the context in which it takes place. The psychologist Albert Bandura proposed that thoughtful modelling and observation of a caring community can promote positive social relationships in the future.So, take some time to reflect upon the most meaningful experiences that you provide to the students in your classes. Is the learning SITUATED? Which lessons can provide these immersive learning experiences connected to the context and cultures in which they exist? Which of your lessons may be presenting information without the context in which it has value and meaning? If we can then give our students agency to define problems, seek out meaningful solutions and understand the means to address them, we will do them a great service. Finally, remember, the last teaching choice someone makes when supporting a child who is learning to ride a bike is the choice to let go … and trust that the child can take the next step.Shawn McCusker is a teacher of history, social studies and government. He has worked with the Center for Teaching History with Technology and EdTechTeacher for the past 8 years. His podcast ‘So We’ve Been Thinking’ can be found at www.sowevebeenthinking.com and other teaching tips can be found on his website and blog at gowhereyougrow.wordpress.com. "
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Learning by Doing: The Power of Immersive Learning Experiences

7 Jan 2020

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      string(5922) "Virtual reality is a relatively recent phenomenon – and its use in classrooms more recent still. But as the accessibility to headset technology continues to open up, and the versatility of content continues to improve, virtual reality (VR) as an educative tool has become a real talking point. Earlier this year, research was released that found almost all teachers (94 per cent) in the UK thought that VR would benefit classroom teaching – and with the technology becoming increasingly affordable, it’s not difficult to imagine VR becoming commonplace in the classroom within just the next few years. But what about the benefits to teachers themselves? VR holds great potential as a training tool, not just for subject matter, but for the actual act of teaching itself. At Immersive VR, we’ve been working with Ericsson to create a training tool for teachers that opens up possibilities for the future of teachers, as well as students.  Educating the educators Ericsson partner with Earth Institute, a part of Columbia University, to form Connect to Learn – a global initiative that supports education for those all over the world who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to learn. Part of their work includes supporting teachers in areas of the world where training facilities are limited and teachers may have had little formal training. That’s where our involvement came in. We created a virtual reality training tool that would help teachers in the developing world become more confident and effective educators. The tool places teachers in front of a virtual class of students, allowing them to practise the art of teaching, while such things as their body language and lesson delivery are measured, as well as their ability to attend to an easily-distracted class. In terms of skill-giving, it offers teachers with limited access to formal training a safe space to practice – but it also opens up opportunities and questions as to how VR can be used more widely to benefit the teaching community closer to home too. Before we explore those options, let’s understand exactly what VR is and how it aids learning. The impact of VR on learning Virtual Reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to create a simulated 3D environment. Users wear a specially-designed headset that immerses the viewer within that environment – giving them the ability to move around and interact with a world as much as possible as if they’re really there. In this way, VR can enable people to experience ‘the impossible’ – opening up all sorts of opportunities in the training and education sector, from creating engaging and interactive learning experiences to supplying practical training simulations for students and teachers alike. The sense of physical presence enables the viewer to connect more completely with the story being told, or the experience they’re going through – which is proven to have a beneficial effect on learning. Indeed recent studies indicate that those learning in VR perform far better in tests than those learning in traditional environments. For example, a recent study conducted in China showed that students taught in a VR environment performed significantly better than those taught using traditional methods – on average 27.4 per cent better immediately after learning and 32.4 per cent better when tested two weeks later. What’s more, students who were underperforming in the traditional learning environment actually excelled in the VR environment – scoring 15.8 per cent better on average than the top students in the traditional environment. This can largely be attributed to the fact VR provides a form of experiential learning, which has a greater impact on knowledge retention than traditional learning. In fact, an employment study found knowledge retention for those who go through traditional learning is only 5 per cent compared to 90 per cent for experiential learning. But what VR offers that other experiential learning can’t is the ability to re-run a scenario over and over again without having to worry about the consequences. This means it becomes the perfect training tool. Boosting confidence, honing skills The very essence of VR is its ability to transport the user to a completely different environment in both a believable and an engaging way, so it’s ideal for any sort of training where being able to perform a ‘dry-run’ and experiment with different scenarios and outcomes is useful. Teacher training is no different – especially during the early stages of learning the job, or where little training is available. In our work with Ericsson and Connect to Learn, the ‘virtual classroom’ serves as a space for teachers to practice again and again before facing a real class. We ask the teacher to perform one of several set lessons from their curriculum and measure how they interact with the class. 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Leadership

Upping the Ante on Teacher Training: The Virtual Classroom That’s Just for Teachers

13 Nov 2018

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      string(5789) "LiFi is lighting the way to wireless learningWireless technology has become an essential part of educational infrastructure, but the current WiFi bandwidth is coming under increasing strain with the exponential growth of wireless-enabled devices that are connected to the internet and the expansion of digital learning tools such as HD video, e-books or interactive educational games. This is set to continue as e-learning evolves to incorporate emerging technologies, like virtual reality and augmented reality, in the classroom, which require significant bandwidth. 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Almost 80 per cent of the wireless data is being consumed by bandwidth-hungry video for entertainment, video streaming and virtual and augmented reality.However, the ability to access data, information and entertainment on the move through WiFi has devoured vast swathes of the available radio frequency spectrum on which it relies.This looming spectrum crunch means that we must find an alternative to ensure wireless communications can not only continue to meet current requirements but, more importantly, the expected rise in demand in the future.Wireless communications in educationSchools are a prime example of how wireless communication has been transformational. Two decades ago, pupils used computers in dedicated IT suites, but in the modern school, functioning without wireless is not an option. While there is still a place for the wired-in computer, wireless-enabled devices offer greater versatility through the multi-purpose use of classrooms.In addition to the substantial online educational resources—videos, e-books, podcasts and more—blended learning now offers the opportunity to use digital media alongside traditional teaching methods to provide students with a more personalised learning environment through independent online study and curriculum delivery via a digital platform. The development of virtual reality and artificial intelligence offers further enhancement for education. Virtual reality can enable a student to travel to different continents or time periods and experience different cultures or eras from their desks, while artificial intelligence can be used to help predict a student’s individual learning needs. All of this relies on an increasing number of wireless-enabled devices—from laptops or tablets for students to interactive whiteboards, VR headsets and TVs—with an internet connection offering high bandwidth and low latency.There is also the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) for devices that form part of the wider school environment, such as heating systems controlled by temperature sensors, occupancy sensing for recording attendances and video surveillance monitoring that utilises AI/machine learning to enhance security. All of these devices are connected via the internet.‘We are pleased to support a Scottish-born company whose complementary, emerging technology has the potential to transform delivery of wireless broadband communications. The pilot trial in Kyle Academy represents a potentially very valuable contribution to our knowledge and understanding of evolving 5G technologies’Paul Wheelhouse, MSP Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands.LiFi: the solution from the ceilingIt is against this background that schools need to start exploring options to provide greater bandwidth—while ensuring low latency and security—to be able to cater for, and benefit from, the growing number of devices and digital tools as well as cope with sudden spikes in usage when an entire class streams a video. The solution to this can be found in the classroom ceiling—adapting existing lighting systems for LiFi to provide the next generation of high-speed wireless internet connectivity.I coined the term ‘LiFi’ in a TedGlobal Talk in 2011, and demonstrated the transmission of a video by an ordinary LED light installed in a desk lamp. To expedite the commercialisation and widespread adoption of LiFi, in 2012, I co-founded pureLiFi as a spin out from the University of Edinburgh. But while we believe we have provided pioneering contributions to the field of optical wireless communications by introducing LiFi as wireless networking solution, we are not alone in appreciating its value: an increasing number of organisations—including blue-chip organisations—have invested in LiFi, with companies such as O2 recently announcing that they are exploring LiFi as a means of future-proofing its network as it paves the way for 5G in the UK.The principle of using light to transmit data is well established, from the TV remote to the lasers that send data down fibre optic cables. However, LiFi enables a fibre-like experience in free space, providing almost unlimited wireless data rates. My group at the University of Edinburgh has"
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Digital Learning

Riding the Light Improving Bandwidth with LiFi

8 Aug 2019

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      string(5918) "Virtual reality is a relatively recent phenomenon – and its use in classrooms more recent still. But as the accessibility to headset technology continues to open up, and the versatility of content continues to improve, virtual reality (VR) as an educative tool has become a real talking point. Earlier this year, research was released that found almost all teachers (94 per cent) in the UK thought that VR would benefit classroom teaching – and with the technology becoming increasingly affordable, it’s not difficult to imagine VR becoming commonplace in the classroom within just the next few years. But what about the benefits to teachers themselves? Not just in the subject matter they teach but the actual act of teaching itself, VR holds great potential as a training tool. At Immersive VR, we’ve been working with Ericsson to create a training tool for teachers that opens up possibilities for the future of teachers, as well as students.  Educating the educators Ericsson partner with Earth Institute, a part of Columbia University, to form Connect to Learn – a global initiative that supports education for those all over the world who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to learn. Part of their work includes supporting teachers in areas of the world where training facilities are limited and teachers may have had little formal training. That’s where our involvement came in. We created a virtual reality training tool that would help teachers in the developing world become more confident and effective educators. The tool places teachers in front of a virtual class of students, allowing them to practise the art of teaching, while such things as their body language and lesson delivery are measured, as well as their ability to attend to an easily-distracted class. In terms of skill-giving, it offers teachers with limited access to formal training a safe space to practice – but it also opens up opportunities and questions as to how VR can be used more widely to benefit the teaching community closer to home too. Before we explore those options, let’s understand exactly what VR is and how it aids learning. The impact of VR on learning Virtual Reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to create a simulated 3D environment. Users wear a specially-designed headset that immerses the viewer within that environment – giving them the ability to move around and interact with a world as much as possible as if they’re really there. In this way, VR can enable people to experience ‘the impossible’ – opening up all sorts of opportunities in the training and education sector, from creating engaging and interactive learning experiences to supplying practical training simulations for students and teachers alike. The sense of physical presence enables the viewer to connect more completely with the story being told, or the experience they’re going through – which is proven to have a beneficial effect on learning. Indeed recent studies indicate that those learning in VR perform far better in tests than those learning in traditional environments. For example, a recent study conducted in China, showed that students taught in a VR environment performed significantly better than those taught using traditional methods – on average 27.4 per cent better immediately after learning and 32.4 per cent better when tested two weeks later. What’s more, students who were underperforming in the traditional learning environment actually excelled in the VR environment – scoring 15.8 per cent better on average than the top students in the traditional environment. This can largely be attributed to the fact VR provides a form of experiential learning, which has a greater impact on knowledge retention than traditional learning. In fact, an employment study found knowledge retention for those who go through traditional learning is only 5 per cent compared to 90 per cent for experiential learning. But what VR offers that other experiential learning can’t is the ability to re-run a scenario over and over again without having to worry about the consequences. This means it becomes the perfect training tool. Boosting confidence, honing skills The very essence of VR is its ability to transport the user to a completely different environment in both a believable and an engaging way, so it’s ideal for any sort of training where being able to perform a ‘dry-run’ and experiment with different scenarios and outcomes is useful. Teacher training is no different – especially during the early stages of learning the job, or where little training is available. In our work with Ericsson and Connect to Learn, the ‘virtual classroom’ serves as a space for teachers to practice again and again before facing a real class. We ask the teacher to perform one of several set lessons from their curriculum and measure how they interact with the class. Pointers and feedback are provided both in real-time and in summary at the end of each session to help the user improve their skills. What’s more, the virtual students can be asked to perform a variety of tasks and activities and will react in different ways, meaning the simulation varies from session to session. As a whole, the experience aims to provide practice and pointers on all aspects of teaching – from subject matter, to body language, to dealing with distracted students. Users gain live feedback on the volume of their voice, their visual engagement with their students and even the variation in their tone of"
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Applications and Software

Reimagining the Teaching Experience: Improving Training Opportunities with VR Classrooms

6 Nov 2018