Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality (VR) can be described as “a mosaic of technologies that support the creation of synthetic, highly interactive three dimensional (3D) spatial environments that represent real or non-real situations” (Mikropoulos and Natsis, 2010: 769-770). In other words, VR is the use of computer technology to create a virtual, simulated environment. Unlike traditional user interfaces, VR places the user right inside an experience. In fact, instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users wear a VR headset – Head-Mounted Display (HMD) – which allows them to get 100% immersed in a 3D virtual world, and interact with the 3D objects and spaces within it. By simulating as many senses as possible, such as vision, hearing, touch, even smell, the computer and HMD is transformed into a gatekeeper to this artificial world.

• University of Brighton’s Case Studies: CEM and School of Media.

1. INTERACTION:

Pros:

• Although commonly perceived as an individual activity, VR can also be a collective experience. Students and lecturers, for instance, can simultaneously enter a Multi-Users Virtual Environment (MUVE), such as Engage VR, and collaborate for the solving of tasks, design their own and shared learning experiences and do/learn things otherwise too costly, dangerous or simply impossible to do in the real world.

Cons:

• VR hardware is still expensive, therefore, not enough students or lecturers are yet in possession of a headset and/or of enough powerful computers to consider this an effective option.
• The time and cost for the development of immersive Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) is also very high. Educators can rely on already existing ones but they will often find out that those may not be appropriate or in line with their intended teaching and learning outcomes.
• There is, therefore, a risk of disrupting the learning rather than enhancing it and/or of reproducing traditional methods of teaching within a virtual environment rather than inventing new collaborative ones.

2. INCLUSIVITY:

Pros:

• Through the usage of sound, visuals and additional haptics technologies (e.g. the reproduction of smells and simulation of touch), VR can allow highly immersive and realistic experiences, adaptable to the needs of individual’s students.
• When entering a virtual environment and engaging in collaborative game-like activities in VR, some students feel more prone to engage with their classmates and peers, and more confident to share their own opinions during debates and collaborative work, ultimately supporting the development of stronger ties within the classroom. Studies, in fact, reported that VR can help enhance not only student’s learning outcomes, but also self-confidence, engagement, creativity, and empathy.
• The possibility to learn from distance, by jumping directly into the virtual world, can also accommodate many of the students’ needs and difficulties.

Cons:

• While the possibility of adding haptics technologies and programming the experience anyways as desired can accommodate some of the students’ individual needs, other difficulties may, however, require the acquisition/development of specific VR hardware and software for some students. While potentially costly and timely, this approach could create a sense of exclusion in the affected students.
• Educators can run the risk of using/creating VLEs that are not necessarily suited for all student’s needs. The learning can be disrupted and the students can become disengaged, demotivated, less confident and excluded from the group or the activity being thought.

3. INNOVATION:

Pros:

• VR, like any other immersive medium, offers the opportunity to revolutionize traditional modes of teaching and learning, apply and enhance powerful pedagogies such as ‘situated learning’ and ‘transfer’, and create more exciting and interactive learning activities that meet the requirements of 21st-century students (prospect and current).
• As the cost of access to VR technology will keep on dropping in the coming years and the quality of both hardware and software improve, there will soon be even more opportunities for experimentation and discovery.

Cons:

• As the boundaries of what can be done with these technologies are yet to be written, while raising incredible opportunities to experiment with innovative pedagogies, it also raises significant challenges as case studies and clear guidance on how and when to effectively apply these media within teaching are still lacking. 
• As this is an emerging sector and technology keeps on evolving fast, any decision taken today is subject to uncertainty. It is therefore important not to rely only on VR, as it is yet to be seen where it all will go and what our students will ultimately expect in the years to come.

4. INFORMED: 

Pros:

• Knowing the technological and pedagogical affordances and limits of VR compared to other immersive and non-immersive media can support educators to make informed choices regarding which tool/s to use, how, and when. All of which can help educators and the institution reduce the risk of failure, the risk of wasting time and money and, instead, maximize the success of each experiment with benefits to the students learning.
• Over time, there will be an increasing number of case studies available to us, explaining how and when to effectively apply these media in education and which one/s to use in which context/s.

Cons:

• Staff needs to invest additional time in planning a series of learning activities based around these immersive experiences in order for students to benefit from the full learning opportunities presented.
• If VR content is externally sourced, educators could face copyright constraints that could limit the number of options available to them, as well as risks to disrupt the students’ learning if the sourced and chosen VLE is not in line with the intended learning and teaching objectives.
• As this technology evolves, more and new ways of collecting personal user data consequently emerge, raising new questions and concerns regarding how to protect these new forms of data.

5. INVESTMENT:

Pros: 

• By 2025, it is expected that immersive technologies will become ubiquitous meaning that more students will likely to possess their own devices, reducing the institution’s need to acquire them for all its students.
• Any immersive VLE developed and/or experimented with can be kept for the next year’s cohort to use. It can also allow distant students to join the classes in a more meaningful, interactive and immersive way.

Cons:

• Alongside the costs involved with the acquisition, set-up, and maintenance of immersive hardware and software, there are also the time and money investment needed to train and support the staff and the students.
• As VR content ‘in-house’ production capabilities are still lacking, there will be a reliance on external immersive agencies/platforms providers of the immersive VLE needed (potentially costly and timely).