Term Paper on "Virtual Reality"

Term Paper 11 pages (3267 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Technology learning is one of the most widely discussed issues within the education world today. This stems largely from the demand of individual students whose worlds have been surrounded by technology and technology concepts for the most of their lives. Today's student knows more about technology than their parents and really any generation of students that have come before them. The phrase "traditional teaching" has been given a whole new meaning in the age of information technology. (Levy, 1995, p. 22) Within the education arena several advances have demonstrated marked usability. (Sykes & Reid, 1999, p. 61) in this work the implications and many dimensions of virtual reality will be explored as a learning tool for use in education. Early analysis of the efficacy of virtual technology will be explored and implications for the future will be discussed.

Technology has always been a life altering force within human dynamics, and virtual technology is breaking new ground in its application in industry, entertainment and education. Within technology, many would say modern man has found the way to overtake the rest of creation and manipulate his own environment. Within virtual reality many would say modern man has found a way to learn and engage situations and environments otherwise unstable and even dangerous, without fear. Yet, it is also clear that with the advancing of technology there has been an even broader division of the rich from the poor and the educated and successful from the marginal. With the introduction of advanced telecommunications and other technology in public schools this division is beginning to be bridged. (Harkavy & Blank, 2003) Below is a graph which shows the advancement of technology in schools, up to 1999. It can be seen from this model that the sources for growth and development are varied and comprise a true community effort. This graph also shows that many more schools have advanced technology than in the past and that technology can be used for alternative learning practices, such as distance education, interactive technology learning and also, with additional added plug in technology virtual reality applications. There is no doubt that this is the wave of the future for schools, and in this case public schools, not just elite costly private schools, as one might think.

Through changes in technology new dimensions of human ability have been realized, not always at the benefit of the individual but most would argue for the benefit of the whole, as technologies usability and practicality continues to grow.

The foundational positive impact these advanced technology resources might have on students, both now and in the future makes the efficacy and effectiveness of the technology and all its possibilities a point of special concern and hopefully tangible outcomes-based judgments. (Holt, 1991) Often times the standard, traditional forms of teaching that have been foundational in the United States and other developed nations since the beginning of compulsory education are not engaging enough for the modern student to assist them in their educational endeavors. They need and demand more, at a constant pace through words, actions and flagging results in traditional models. Michael Clark, headmaster at a UK school using Virtual Reality technology, has a very poignant view on the issue of the use of technology, especially virtual reality within learning environments.

That is where the future lies... In the presentation and manipulation of information in as yet unknown ways.... Give the tools to the young: before they are conditioned; before they are seduced and bemused. Technology is too important for technologists just as education is too important to leave to educationalists. (1992:9) (Schroeder, 1996, p. 76)

With the advent of computer technology, the introduction of the internet and also a sometimes extreme exposure to technological advances, through media and television within their own lives students are demanding curriculum and learning exposures that engage their minds more wholly. (Director, John Bailey, "Student's in Today's Schools" (http://www.nationaledtechplan.org/)Virtual reality, along with virtual classrooms and distance education are some of the ways in which the educational world will realize the demands of these technologically advanced students, and in doing so may advance technology and creativity to new highs.

Applications of Virtual Reality for Learning / Practicality

Alternative learning techniques have in the past been slow growth models yet now more than ever before with corporate and community support children are exposed to technology that will change the way they learn or in some cases offer an avenue or learning technique that might be the only way that particular student could ever realize his or her potential. "Pupils' autonomy and their immediate sense of achievement in learning quickly to design worlds, seems to account for a large part of their enthusiasm for VR, especially compared with other school work. " (Schroeder, 1996, p. 75)

Within the scope of virtual reality to be discussed within this work there are two basic types of VR technology, immersion and PC-based systems, both have advantages and disadvantages which will be discussed further, with their relation to education technology but must be mentioned here as the applications below use these terms to describe programs. Research engaging the student has driven VR application to new heights:

Up until now, VR has only been used in a limited number of settings, aside from that of entertainment games. If training were to be included under the rubric of education, that would make education the second-largest area of VR application after entertainment. The use of VR in battlefield simulation and vehicle simulation, for example, probably accounts for more everyday VR applications than any other area, apart from games. (Schroeder, 1996, p. 69)

Yet, this is changing as partnerships and virtual technologies begin to infiltrate the educational system and demand attention as model programs often do. In a 1996 book on virtual reality the issue of education is discussed through an analysis of three school-based educational systems which have proven some things and have also garnered and incredible amount of attention from technology pioneers and educators alike.

A referring to schools, where so far there have been only a handful of pilot projects. These, however, have generated an enormous amount of interest, both from the media and from educators. We will focus on three education projects, the West Denton High School in Newcastle, the Shepherd School in Nottingham, and the Human Interface Technology Laboratory's summer school in Seattle. (Schroeder, 1996, p. 69)

Within the pioneer programs associated with Virtual reality there have been promising results that are highly regarded by professionals who believe in and practice student driven learning technologies.

Student driven learning seems to be at the core of the movement, "in education (at least in the case of the Seattle and West Denton projects), pupils were able to build their own worlds. " (Schroeder, 1996, p. 70) Students engaging in their own learning create worlds in which their assistants and teachers have just as much knowledge of the process as they do. The teachers and students have been afforded the opportunity to learn together, about the technology, its limits and its abilities, with little or no interference. While these creations are being put together students gain valuable self-esteem and feel a tremendous sense of self-control and accomplishment.

The first project to use VR in a classroom took place at the Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HITLab) at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1991...The idea of teaching with VR, in this case, was intended as "a first step in evaluating the potential of VR as a learning environment" (Bricken and Byrne 1992:1). (Schroeder, 1996, p. 70)

The application of the program was novel, as up to this point very little work had been done among this age group within the scope of virtual reality. So, student's exposure would be something akin to an advanced application of early computer programming curriculums that were popular in the late 1980s. No one was quite sure how these advanced technologies would be used by the students or what kinds of creations would result.

The format of the summer school consisted of week-long sessions during which pupils would spend four days building their virtual worlds on desktop computers and on the final day they would experience their worlds on the lab's immersive VR system. The summer school and other educational VR projects have been ongoing ever since, and the HITLab has now established a VR learning center. (Schroeder, 1996, p. 70)

As with the advanced telecommunications technology, now so widely spread across the educational world, the author of this work notes that the resources used for the project came from multiple sources, a community effort some would say.

The resources for the summer school project, apart from the HITLab and pupils' fees, have come partly from public institutions (the Pacific Science Center) and partly from the private sector (the U.S. West telephone company, a HITLab consortium member). (Schroeder, 1996, p. 70)

The structure of the program is complex but mainly revolves around the student driven learning that takes place when, each year the… READ MORE

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