It has already become clear that immersive technology such as virtual reality (VR) has a lot to offer the world of education. Several higher education facilities have begun to experiment with the technology, and at Google I/O, it was announced that Google will be rolling out a VR laboratory that can be used by remote learning students.
For many modern students, education needs to be balanced with work, either part time or full time. Those students can find a great deal of benefit by taking online classes, but still face obstacles for practical activities, which is where VR comes in.
For courses such as biology, there are few alternatives to practical experience. A practical lab led by an experiences teacher is a vital part of the course for many qualifications, including biology, but this leaves out those remote students who might be unable to attend these practicals.
In order to enable students to participate in these practical classes, Google have teamed up with a company called Labster to create a VR laboratory which means that colleges and universities will be able to offer fully online, remote courses such as biology.
The Google and Labster technology uses advances simulations to reflect real-world outcomes and mathematically accurate equations which have been built using the Google Daydream platform. This has advantages for the academic institutions in that the VR simulations are cheaper than the equivalent equipment costs.
Remote students will be able to engage with more courses, meaning that institutions can offer more places to students. The students will also be able to take advantage of lab time when and where they want, for as long as they want – not a privilege available with a real-world physical lab.
32% of students took an online course during 2017, so the provision for VR online learning has many implications for the future of learning. VRFocus will continue to bring you news on VR in training and education.
