Several weeks ago, I attended CAUCE-CNIE 2016, and there was a session put on by a gentleman with Google. He was talking about Google Cardboard, and it got my imagination whirring with ideas for an online chemistry lab one of the university’s faculty members is developing. She likely won’t use Google Cardboard for this lab, but it’s nice to know that it’s an affordable option, if the need arises.
Virtual Reality? Google Cardboard? WHAT?!
VR provides an immersive experience that mimics an environment, and simulates the user’s interactions within the environment. Working within the military sector, VR and Augmented Reality (AR) were often discussed as they have very big applications when it comes to defence training.
Most VR technologies involves headset type setups, like Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard – examples at two completely different price-points, and the VR environments are deep-seated in programming.
How VR Facilitates Education
The great thing about VR is that it can provide an extremely economical solution to otherwise costly training endeavours, while not wavering on the reality of the experience. For example, if an aircraft maintenance technician were learning to repair a rotor blade, it would be extremely costly to book an aircraft in the hangar for a day or week or more of training, and the available aircraft likely wouldn’t have a damaged rotor blade. This is just one situation wherein VR and simulation can play a critical role.
VR is going to be a really huge thing in the eLearning world, I’m quite sure of that. Learning about greek gods by visiting the Olympus in VR? Count me right in!