Augmented and Virtual Reality: Their Role in a Classroom

As technology advances it opens up door for all no matter what profession or way of life a person lives, technology fits into almost everyone's day to day life. As educators we get to work hand in hand with technology as it helps us instruct our students and make our teaching practices more engaging and inclusive to all learners. A great tool to be utilized in the classroom today is VR and augmented reality. 

Augmented reality, provides students with interactive and meaningful learning experiences  while staying in their learning environment. While VR, creates an entire digital environment, a 360-degree, immersive user experience that feels real. Both of these tools can give students access to different content areas and help support their learning in a more hands on immersive type way. For augmented reality, students can complete different labs like dissecting frogs or starfish or even have them mix different chemicals and make different elements. Not only can it be useful for science but social studies as well! It can be used for global collaborations, such as allowing for students to experience different cultures all over the world! Students can use VR to make it feel like they are in a different parts of the world, interacting and connecting with people who reside across the world! VR can give students the opportunity to learn from and with all different types of students, not only their cultures but their own learning discoveries and topics that are discussed where they live. 

Augmented reality and Virtual Reality open up a lens to interact with all different types of things and people in a unique close-to-authentic way. It can allow for a space (especially VR) where people all over can come to a space to interact and work with one another like they were in the same room. It can bring the brightest minds together to work on projects and help further society in unity with those all over! As time progresses and this technology becomes easily available it is important to utilize it in a way to teach students and allow for student to connect and collaborate globally. 

Source: https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/benefits-of-virtual-reality-in-education/