Besides the challenge of evoking interest and engagement in subjects, one of the biggest hurdles for academic institutions has been the vast gap between informational learning and the practical application of complex theoretical concepts. But not anymore, thanks to VR. By bringing Virtual Reality to academics or learning as a whole, students can now be dipped within the immersive 3D simulations and made to ‘experience knowledge’. And as we know, there is no better teacher than experience.
VR in education facilitates blending practical learning and theory, shortening the learning period, and making education more interactive, effective, and engaging. And that is not it. The benefits of using VR for education are plenty. Let’s take a look at some.
Benefits of Virtual Reality in Education
Makes learning fun and engaging: According to studies, students exposed to VR tend to show more willingness to participate and engage with the subject. Moreover, with a gamified curriculum, students feel excited and like to discuss the experience with other students.
Makes complex subjects easy to understand: Immersive 3D learning environments offer experiential learning for complex subjects, such as medical science, mathematics, or even history and geography. For example, history students can travel back in time and visit a particular event in a VR simulation. And for science students, VR allows experiencing outer space, bringing the farthest corners of the universe to their classrooms with a simple head-mounted VR device.
Learn by doing: As per data collected by research and surveys, students tend to grasp theoretical concepts faster and in much greater depth by interacting with a VR-based classroom. Since VR offers interaction with the VR environment, students can learn by doing, which is one of the most significant steps to learning.
Access to professional equipment and tools: VR takes away the logistical challenges for students and the institutions. Using VR modeled professional tools and equipment, students can get more hands-on training. And the best part, they do not have to worry about physical risks or end up damaging the equipment while tinkering with VR simulated equipment.
Motivation factor: VR also fuels the ambition of an aspirant, as they get a better grasp of the
subject, which in turn makes them feel more confident and motivated.
Fuels imagination: When interacting with a 3D simulation, not only do students feel more excited, engaged, and get a better understanding of the subjects, but as a sum of all these, they tend to go above and beyond in grasping a subject, thereby pushing the boundaries of the concepts they’re studying.
VR for virtual education: With the ongoing pandemic causing schools going to homes, virtual education has never had such a learning curve. Some issues that emerged during virtual classes were the lack of student attention, lack of co-learning, and difficulty ensuring all students were active participants. Now, with VR at the teacher’s disposal, schooling from home can be fun, engaging, and much more lucrative.
VR is changing how we learn. It is only a matter of time till we see VR as the primary way of imparting education. VR also comes as a tool to counter the global crisis of increasing dropout rates from schools and universities.
