Virtual Reality In Schools?

[Jamie_Evans]

I work in very low socio economic school where more than half of the students are disengaged from traditional methods of learning.

 

School has asked me to look into VR as a way of re-engaging students in this category and has given me a pretty big budget to play with + a big sized room.

 

I was thinking of ordering some top notch equipment such as 4 65" Screens coupled with 4 PCs and 4 Valve Index headsets or HTC Vives

 

However upon reflection I'm starting to think this is overkill; it's a lot of money for just 4 units.

 

Is there even any games tailored to education for headsets that require such high spec PCs & high cost headsets? Has anyone used something like this to the benefit of learning or student outcomes?

[FN-GM]

Is there even any games tailored to education for headsets that require such high spec PCs & high cost headsets?

 

This is where I would start. Find the application you want to use and then spec the hardware.

 

Has anyone used something like this to the benefit of learning or student outcomes?

 

VR was a passing fad. It is been and gone really.

[SuperChris1980]

Hi Jamie

 

Take a look at Class VR https://www.classvr.com/ this is a really cost effective way to get VR into the Classroom. We can help you with this and arrange demos if you would like

 

Kind Regards

 

Chris

[coz44]

What age are the kids you work with? On a much smaller/cheaper scale we have a flight case with 32 plastic Google Cardboard headsets, 32 phones and a tablet to run Google Expeditions on in a high school. We do not use it nearly as much as I would like however when it is used it really engages kids. Google have a huge range of expeditions available across the curriculum and I know you can also run games and other apps with this set up, we have just never gone beyond using the Expeditions app.

 

Here is a list of expeditions which are available which is possibly not entirely complete but this is where we direct teachers when they are looking for something specific.

[pooley]

As Chris says above, we wen't with CLASS VR, these aren't devices that are in use every day but at least 2-4 times a week (spread across the primary), very cost effective and very easy to use (even for the most reluctant teachers)

[TwistedHelixis]

VR was a passing fad. It is been and gone really.

 

Just checked the sales figures and they have gone up year on year, mainly thanks to the Oculus range, other brands have crept up a little over the years.

 

I would probably go with one of the headsets that does camera tracking from the headset itself, as its much simpler to setup in a new area.

[Dos_Box]

Just checked the sales figures and they have gone up year on year, mainly thanks to the Oculus range, other brands have crept up a little over the years.

 

I would probably go with one of the headsets that does camera tracking from the headset itself, as its much simpler to setup in a new area.

 

Agreeed. I would say that VR is yet to be as big as it's going to get. They are still stymied by high costs and high hardware specs for even entry level VR gaming.

I should also mention that this does not cover educational use, but for gamers, they demand quite a bit more!

Once these barriers are overcome I suspect it will be a gold rush.

[localzuk]

I still don't get "Class VR". The product appears to be a class 360 degree panorama viewer, looking at their VR content? What value does this add to a lesson?

[mikeprice]

I used to be in a school that had a room with a room with 3 walls and the floor which operated as - basically - an single touch screen

 

the company that supplied and supported it was looking at VR and they gave me a demo of where they were

 

AMAZING

 

but that was on a very high spec computer

 

the following discussion about how to merge this possibility into a lesson was more difficult

 

 

Basically the idea of having a class of potentially 'difficult' pupils and having the teacher only seeing what they are supposed to be seeing - but who knows whether xxxx has removed it and is now doing something else to yyy was a problem

 

the way forward seemed to me to be augmented reality - seeing the real room but with enhancments

so - maybe convert the classroom onto the interior of an Egyptian tomb - sand on floor - dig and you might find treasures etc etc etc

 

sort of like an a VR version of that pokemon thingy from a few years ago

 

 

 

dunno what the company ended up with but their web site is quiet on the subject

 

 

VR ain't there yet - but it will be

 

it needs someone to merge the hardware and software and for the hardware to get cheaper

[TwistedHelixis]

Basically the idea of having a class of potentially 'difficult' pupils and having the teacher only seeing what they are supposed to be seeing - but who knows whether xxxx has removed it and is now doing something else to yyy was a problem

 

Not used the Google VR system but I know it is built for the teachers to lead the experience. I watched a video where the class where all in the same virtual world and the teacher was in the world with them but had control over what happened.

[mikeprice]

Not used the Google VR system but I know it is built for the teachers to lead the experience. I watched a video where the class where all in the same virtual world and the teacher was in the world with them but had control over what happened.

 

That's fine - but what if one of them takes the headset off and comes back to the real world??

 

Not a massive problem as long as there is another adult in the room

[flyinghaggis]

As much as I love VR, and fully expect that Augmented/Virtual Reality Headsets or Glasses of some variety could be the technology that supercedes the smarphone in future, right now there simply isn't a use for it in an educational context. The technology is too expensive and limited at the moment.

 

Perhaps VR/AR as a 6th Year Computing/Technology project it would be good but it won't be ready for whole class or school use any time soon. However, there are some fantastic experiences out there which highlight how the technology could be used. If you have access to a VR headset I recommend checking out the International Space Station VR Tour :-

 

oculus.com/experiences/rift/1178419975552187/?locale=en_GB

Edited December 21, 2019 by flyinghaggis

[mikeprice]

 

 

This is an interesting concept - not sure how it works