Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality (VR)

Introduction

Virtual Reality (VR) is the manipulation of peoples’ perception of reality using interactive scenes in a virtual 3-dimension environment which is then presented in a 2-dimension form on a computer monitor (Kim). According to researchers in the communication field, VR can be either a real or simulated environment where the participant experiences a virtualized participation or telepresence in distant events. In the world of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), VR is one of the major components that significantly enhance interactions and supports collaborative activities (Kim). This paper presents a brief literature review on VR because this technology has the power to transform the learning landscape by changing the way learners interact with one another, learning materials and the way they engage with their teachers. VR enables users to perceive not only action but also movement and speech in certain circumstances. Theoretically, VR is a combination of audio, visual, olfactory, gustatory and haptic senses working in excellent coordination to simulate an environment (Kim). The question this review attempts to answer is whether VR-based education is better than traditional education. With the overwhelming information about VR technology and its importance in various areas, this study reviewed five articles to narrow down to the scope of the study and maintain relevance. Based on the results from the five different studies, the articles were grouped into five different themes that reflect the research topic from different perspectives. The themes include VR and Road Safety Education, VR and Sports, VR and Social Skills Training, VR and Religious Education, and VR and Public Education.

VR and Road Safety Education

The first article is written by Imam et al. and it focuses on the use of VR in road safety teaching. Road safety education heavily relies on the development of skills, time judgments along with perception (Imam et al.). The course material in road safety education comprises multimedia or hypermedia content and applications and it concentrates on the acquisition of knowledge. Imam The authors argue that exposing learners to environments that are as close to real-life traffic as possible is the most effective technique of teaching available. Imam et al. evaluated VR technology to see if it had clear advantages relative to another alternative that is ICT-based. The study found out that VR has the potential of becoming an excellent tool in road safety.

Imam et al. highlight five main benefits that VR presents if used as a road safety education tool. First, VR will enable the learners to be able to learn in an environment that is very close to what real-life traffic environment feels and looks like. Second, it will be possible for educators to simulate extremely dangerous traffic conditions that cannot be done in real life. Third, the learners will be able to test alternative techniques when in a traffic situation by use of VR’s highly interactive virtual world and this will help them learn from mistakes. Furthermore, VR has a close resemblance to modern computer games, and this serves as an excellent incentive to motivate learners to interact with the course even more. Additionally, Imam et al. state that VR presents the teachers and learners the opportunity to switch between different teaching techniques and take advantage of high-level collaboration between students and their tutors. Like Didehbani and Durbin, Imam et al. also think that VR is a perfect tool for interdisciplinary learning as it can help bring together people from different fields of specialty into one learning environment. Imam et al., however, express fears of learners missing a one-to-one interaction with the instructors.

VR and Sports

Basketball training has been conducted for many years whereby the teachers interpret and demonstrate various techniques and skills to their learners. However, studies show that for quick and dynamic change of group items, it can be too sophisticated to be achieved by the traditional method of teaching. To overcome these limits, VR was introduced, and its impact studied by Yao et al. to offer scientific insight on the reformation of basketball training. The Results from the study indicated three main benefits of using VR as a tool for teaching basketball. First, VR minimizes chances of injury in basketball teaching. Second, it can make up for the shortage of basketball training and lastly it overcomes the limitations of space and time.

Yao et al. proposed a VR approach that demonstrated an intensive and immersed 3-dimension virtual world presenting the learners and trainers more benefits. The benefits include enhanced understanding of the sport, enhanced visualization of the cognitive processes, flexibility (one can use VR as an assistant while attending a real-life training thus enhancing the skill acquisition process), high potential for fostering situated learning, and the interdisciplinary learning. This means that along with the high-end graphical user interface, the learners stand a good chance of being motivated and empowered by learning from a wide range of resources and experts. This study compares well with that of Imam et al. in the aspect of student safety during the learning activity. Durbin also highlights similar issues when considering VR for simulating highly abstract and dangerous to experiment concept in a traditional public-school setting. Durbin, just like Yao et al., believes that VR is going to make it possible to work in such environments with minimal risks for injury using the VR’s virtualized world.

VR and Social Skills Training

It is gruelling for autistic individuals to transition from childhood to adulthood. In this article, Didehbani et al. studied young adults with high-functioning autism work on ten sessions of social cognition VR-based training in five weeks. The results showed a significant increase in the social cognitive capabilities of both the mind and emotion. Additionally, the individuals demonstrated a better society as well as occupational functionality in real-life scenarios following the training.

The authors report that previous training on social and cognitive skills done outside the context of VR resulted in mixed success. Therefore, the findings of this study confirm that VR is an excellent candidate tool for enhancing not only social skills but also cognition and the functioning of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. In this study, Didehbani shows a good comparison of ideas with Durbin and Yao et al. in terms of the efficiency and effectiveness of using VR-based learning as compared to traditional learning. Didehbani demonstrates a strong belief that VR-based education can finally solve the dilemma of transitioning to adulthood in autistic individuals, a task that has been accomplished with poor results in the past using traditional methods of education.

VR and Religious Education

In a study by Yasin et al. (p.75), the authors proposed a VR system that utilizes an immersed 3-dimension virtual environment that implements avatar for religious educators. The study several benefits of using this VR-based training over the traditional methods and they included an excellent understanding of religious rituals and a perfect visualization of the various religious activities relative to the traditional training at a religious training center. The study further showed that with VR-learning adequate flexibility was achieved because the trainer simultaneously trains the learners while demonstrating how the learners should participate and interact socially during religious activities.

As the study by Yao et al., Yasin et al. also features the concept of situated training which means that the 3-dimension VR-learning makes the use of avatar to engage learners in an active and immersive manner in a situated role-based model. Additionally, just like Imam et al. and Yao et al., Yasin et al. also believe that VR-based learning creates an excellent opportunity for interdisciplinary learning in this area.

VR and Public Education

In this article, Durbin presents a study that was done in China to determine ways in which VR improves the efficiency and effectiveness of public education. Unlike traditional learning methods, VR-oriented learning has the potential to enhance the ability to make concrete the problems that seem abstract to learners. The VR was found to excellently support theoretical thinking and helped sharpen the learner’s operational skills. Adenoidally, VR-based learning in public education makes learning more interesting, active and secure as it offers the learners and teachers an immersive learning experience. Due to its attractiveness, students are highly motivated, and this enhances their class participation significantly.

There are some learning fields that deal with enormous abstract concepts like astrophysics which cannot be experimented in real life whereas others cannot be performed in a normal environment. In such situations and in a traditional class setting, learners are encouraged to rely on their imagination and the explanation of the teachers. With VR-based learning, the students can simulate such concepts and teachers are able to present the students with 3-dimension projections of abstract concepts like aerospace. 

Conclusion

The application of VR technology in learning and teaching theories can be enhanced to a significant degree by the ability to manipulate objects directly in a virtual world made possible by VR. The study has investigated the possibilities VR learning can offer to enhance and provide a promising future in education. In the article by Imam et al., the authors show that VR can be a component in road safety education which is very important to human life. The authors claim that VR-based learning offers the learners enough room to make and learn from their mistakes without risking losing their lives in the event. In sports, a major social activity, Yao et al. shows how VR-sports training can be pivotal in the acquisition of sports skills. Yao et al. say that VR-based training is a safe, cost- and time-efficient way of learning skills. Didehbani, in his study, gives details on how VR technology can enhance social skills and cognitive training to autistic individuals with results way far better than what can be achieved in traditional training. The transition VR-learning can bring is undoubtedly enormous as Durbin explains in his article. The ability to simulate complex environments to explain abstract subjects will be a great turn-around for both learners and teachers in the public education sector. VR is stretching its reach beyond education and shows great potential to boost interdisciplinary research and this opens a door to a plethora of opportunities in the world of academics in China. From this brief analysis, it is clear that VR-based learning is better than traditional learning.

Works Cited

Didehbani, N., et al., “Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training for children with high functioning autism.” Computers in Human Behavior, 2016. 6: p. 703-711.

Durbin, J., “Research Study Suggests VR Can Have A Huge Impact in The Classroom.” Polytechnica Hungarica, 2016.

Imam, B. and Jarus, T. “Virtual reality rehabilitation from social cognitive and motor learning theoretical perspectives in stroke population.” Rehabilitation research and practice, 2014.

Kim, Hyundo, et al. “VR-MOOCs: A Learning Management System for VR Education.” 2019 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR), 2019, DOI:10.1109/vr.2019.8798106.

Yao, H.-p., Liu, Y.-z. and Han, C.-s. “Application Expectation of Virtual Reality in Basketball Teaching.” Procedia Engineering, 2012. 29: p. 4287-4291.

Yasin, A.M., Z. Darleena, and Isa, M.A.M. “Avatar Implementation in Virtual Reality Environment using Situated Learning for “Tawaf”.” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012. 67: p. 73-80.