VR in Education: Examples of Virtual EdTech Around the World

VR and education go together like ketchup and mustard – it just seems like the right kind of relationship. We’ve been told for decades that not everyone is able to learn and retain information from strictly reading and writing. Students need visual options, others need kinetic demonstrations, and others need a combination of two or three learning methods to really get everything where it needs to be. That’s why EdTech is leveraging the power of the VR headset with ferocity.

 So how is VR transforming the world of global education for the better? Here are just a few examples:

1.   International Student Inclusion: International students end up dropping out of institutions when they don’t feel like they can be kept up-to-speed on information in their setting. Well, with VR, now these students can feel like they are right there with the other students, creating a bonding sense of togetherness that will make it less likely for them to drop out or give up. This will also make it easier for students that have to frequently travel to still get a degree from a higher educational institution.

2.   Educational Gamification: Right now, there are over 900 developers working in AR, VR, and mixed reality for entertaining educational information. We’ve already seen that gamification is a powerful way to get users to spend more time inside apps, etc. Now, these developers are using that same kind of gameplay idea in educational ways, helping to retain student attention and focus for better test scores and performance.

3.   Virtual Field Trips: Whether the school doesn’t have enough money to go on a field trip, certain students don’t have enough money to join their classmates, or physical limitations are preventing students from engaging in the real-time learning, VR can make a field trip still entirely a reality for students everywhere. One company, like Discovery Education, has already made field trips centered on aerospace, health, and technology. And as for information retention? One study found that students who engaged in climate change VR trips were able to form a deep cognitive association with the science thereafter.

4.   Real-Time Art Education: Every art aficionado knows there’s nothing quite like experiencing the most famous art in the world in person. For some people, that’s not an option, which is why VR is introducing art in a 3D kind of way. Now art history students and majors can stand before David and actually observe the nuances in the statue that aren’t as easy to pick up on in textbooks. It’s art brought to life.

EdTech VR Head Sets

VR is helping foster highly engaging educational experiences and serving an increasingly important role in education. These are just a few ways in which institutions, or even businesses, can help educate students and consumers more effectively. We are visual creatures at the end of the day!