VR opens endless ways to engage students for enhanced learning
Students are constantly told to “use imagination” and “think outside the box” in classrooms. Now, pupils can go one step further — their minds and eyes can witness all sorts of ideas and places, thanks to virtual reality (VR).
The beauty of VR is that it is not limited to one place, time or class subject. Some Dubai schools have been taking their students everywhere (virtually, of course). There are no geographic or time restrictions in VR, meaning kids can go anywhere from Ancient Rome to taking a field trip to space and Mars — all depending on the design of that specific VR.
Schools are embracing VR within classrooms and are using it as a teaching method for almost all subjects — English, history, science, mathematics, art, geography and critical thinking.
“It gives students the ability to travel to and explore places without leaving the classroom and reinforces what has been explained
Integrated learning Technology can make academics interesting and learning fun and more engaging. Schools in the UAE are rightly integrating new age means with learning. It’ll make children of tomorrow more comfortable with technology, and allow them to master it with time.
in the class. Whether it is exploring the different terrains of Africa, exploring the African desert and getting up close to lions or even dinosaurs, exploring the human body to creating their own virtual environment and content for the world to explore. It helps the teacher to immerse, raise engagement and increases their knowledge retention of the students,” David Talbert, head of technology innovation at the Dubai British School Jumeirah Park, told Khaleej Times.
In order to use VR, there are special headsets that schools are required to purchase. Most schools buy a specific number of headsets so each class can use them. However, in some cases, students may have to bring their own smartphones and plug the headsets into them to access the VR programme that is available online or is downloaded.
Using VR is one of the reasons why, in some schools, students are allowed to bring their smartphones to class. “VR presents some exciting opportunities for learning. There are certain hurdles to introducing VR at the primary level as it is optimised for smartphones which most primary school children do not have,” said Martha McCleary, head of digital literacy at Foremarke School Dubai.
“We have been using VR to visit faraway places and go on virtual field trips. This heightens engagement in lessons as children get to experience new environments. Recently we have begun looking at creating our own VR experiences. The children are busy creating online galleries of their work. Beyond learning about VR, this engages the children in learning about design and user experience.”
The supervisor of digital learning at GEMS Modern Academy, Ritesh Dhanak, said they have been using VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard and Google Expeditions in classrooms for different subjects. “VR is not just about experiencing, it is also about creating. High-end headsets like HTC Vive and Oculus Rift allow you to use apps such as Google Tilt and Blocks to create content in ways students could never do it before.
“VR opens up endless possibilities for teachers to engage students for an experience that could enhance the entire learning journey. We also have VR being used for teacher professional development where they could learn about various scenarios or classroom management etc. in an immersive way,” Dhanak said.
It helps the teacher to immerse, raise engagement and increases their knowledge retention of the students.” David Talbert, head of technology innovation, Dubai British School Jumeirah Park
High-end headsets allow you to use apps such as Google Tilt and Blocks to create content in ways students could never do it before.” Ritesh Dhanak, supervisor of digital learning, GEMS Modern Academy