2.2. Virtual Reality in Education
2.2.4. The Value of Virtual Reality for Education
Evident in the descriptions of the various projects by their researchers
is the belief that VR affords unique learning opportunities.
Setting aside the media hyperboly,
which promises VR as the solution to all real world problems,
there are reasons to believe that virtual reality can be a
useful tool for learning. Unfortunately, research in the area has been
unable to prove the need for VR. None of the mostly anecdotal findings
indicate that something can be learned in VR that cannot be learned
elsewhere. Researchers in the field assert that VR
offers promise as a learning tool but struggle to justify its value for learning.
As VR is already making inroads into the home in the
form of inexpensive game systems, and advanced systems
are becoming more accessible to the public, virtual
learning environments become inevitable. If alternatives are not provided,
the only developer of virtual learning environments will be the video
game industry.
The following points summarize the ideas of researchers regarding the educational
value of virtual reality.
- Accessing the unreachable or the unrealizable.
In virtual reality environments, students can have access to apparatus
which in real life is too expensive, too delicate, too big, or too
dangerous to keep in the classroom. This can be particularly helpful for
students with physical or perceptual disabilities.
- Multiple or alternative representations.
The ability to create and explore from multiple or different perspectives
is a major attraction in complex multi-sensory virtual environments.
VR is seen as a new lens through which
arbitrary levels of scale can be applied to facilitate observation \cite {Winn93};
alternative, even physically impossible, points of view
can be chosen; time can be easily shortened or stretched out \cite{McLellan94},
with flexibility for repetition and self-pacing; objects and processes
can be studied in isolation, in detail, in close-up or at a distance.
VR provides a high-bandwidth medium for multiple representations of data
(e.g., graphical, auditory, annotations), all within
the same environment, which can be translated to other formats,
reviewed, and analyzed as it is generated. These multiple
observational records can be further analyzed together to evaluate models
of learning and thinking.
- Abstractions become more concrete.
Cognitive scientists point out the ability of VR to make the
abstract more concrete and visible by
providing symbols not available in the non-symbolic real world.
Focus can be given on salient aspects of a situation,
so learners don't get lost in complexity.
VR advocates also tout examples of the value of VR as a medium for
interactive, collaborative, and engaged learning.
While highly responsive interactive
virtual environments can provide immediate feedback and
be extremely motivating, they may also foster automaticity, thoughtlessness,
and lack of problem solving \cite {Collins96}.
Telepresence, the integration of VR and high-speed networking, creates
new possibilities for distance learning and the exploration of social behavior
(e.g., cooperation, conflict) amongst remotely located learners who share
the same space. However, once millions of students are connected, issues
of control and the structure of learning will emerge.
Virtual environments are also valued as being extremely
motivating for learners, especially for those with non-traditional
learning styles. Much of this engagement, however, is due in part to the
novelty effect and not necessarily inherent in the design of the learning
environment.
In developing virtual learning environments, one should not forget that
access to information in innovative ways means little without
guidance as to the use of that information. Additionally, many interactive
VR systems, as is the case with interactive multimedia, can easily become
glorified multiple choice systems. Interactivity, in this case, has nothing to
do with responsiveness and certainly nothing to do with learning, at
least in the constructivist sense.