VR and AR in Education Industry: The Missing Piece
VR and AR in Education Industry: The Missing Piece
Summary: This blog focuses on the extensive role of VR and AR in education to enhance learning perspective & ensure seamless communication. Get to know the insights of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in the learning sector and why adopt these technologies.
The education sector has rapidly evolved over the past few years. All that is started from the traditional classroom teaching setting to virtual learning experiences for students. Another pathbreaking revolution that has been witnessed is the extensive adaptation of VR and AR in the education industry.
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are the harbingers of modern-day technologies that have extended the virtues of experiential learning. These technologies enable intuitive, engaging, and interactive learning experiences for students of all age groups to learn concepts easily and quickly.
The role of VR and AR in education allows students to absorb knowledge and skills in a fast-paced manner. And, most importantly, enjoy the overall learning process to enhance their development ahead.
VR and AR in Education Statistics: Do Numbers Favor?
As you know, VR and AR in education have created a lot of buzz. And, it has been best witnessed as per the stats mentioned below.
- As per the eLearning industry study, it has been observed that 97% of students prefer to study difficult concepts via VR devices.
- In 2023, the AR and VR market in the education sector is valued at a humongous $3.8 billion.
- In technically sound educational institutes, more than 68% of teachers have started utilizing AR and VR learning approaches.
- As per the National Survey of Student Engagement, 53% of students prefer their classrooms to be technically driven and interactive.
Now that you know the welcoming inclusion of VR and AR in education, let's get to know the separate uses of both Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in the learning sector. The role of VR and AR in education allows students to absorb knowledge and skills in a fast-paced manner. And, most importantly, enjoy the overall learning process to enhance their development ahead.
What is VR in Education: Learning by Doing
As the name suggests, Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated ecosystem that actually simulates a real-world environment. Learners with the help of VR technology can enter the virtual world and create their sense of presence across several objects, ecosystems, and simulated scenes.
Just like you play video games and think of the animated character as you in the game to perform specific actions, similarly, VR in education helps you become a leading part of a simulated environment.
The most important aspect of VR in education is the extensive use of technically superior devices like VR headphones, glasses, headsets, or things like that. By wearing such devices, students can interact with virtually created ecosystems and objects to learn complex subjects seamlessly.
To be precise, VR in education is preferably used to conduct scientific experiments, language immersion programs, study a different culture, and things like that.
Benefits of VR in Education
There are manifold benefits of implementing VR technology in the education domain. And, some of the key advantages are as follows:
- Enhance student engagement level: Students feel engaged in the VR classroom setting learning sessions. It happens in terms of experiencing a simulated learning environment that allows students to travel in a virtual space that appears real to their eyes. For instance, VR in education allows students to reach the moon, run its surface, explore wildlife, and do much more to learn and feel engaged. In light of this, all the learners will be tempted towards such an immersive learning ecosystem and participate seamlessly.
- Boost the knowledge retention factor: A virtual learning setting plays a vital role not just in grabbing the attention of students but further improving their learning retention rate. In engaging settings, students focus on the learning activities, have clear ideas, and stay mentally active and physically present.
- Improve the overall learning process: Experiential learning outcomes with Virtual Reality benefit a wide range of students. With the help of several engaging activities, students can roam around the virtual ecosystem, learn about complex objects, and further improve their skills quickly to an optimum extent.
What is AR in Education: An Added Advantage
Augmented Reality (AR) in education is another virtue of advanced technology that makes the learning process interactive, engaging, and fast-paced. Specifically, AR in education enables students to access real-world applications compared to multimedia concepts, simulations, animations, and real-world settings to better understand complex concepts. Unlike wearing a VR device and virtually traveling in a simulated setting, students can access AR apps to learn concepts with ease and comfort.
Benefits of AR in Education
AR plays a vital role in the field of education to improve students' learning processes and sheer engagement levels. It brings new and interactive learning methods along with the following set of advantages.
- Combined learning approach: Augmented Reality has boosted the level of learning concepts with the combined approach of traditional classroom settings combined with application-based learning. Students can leverage AR in education to learn from textbooks as well as from apps filled with interactive sounds, assignments, and other objects.
- Interesting learning concepts: Undoubtedly, students learn study concepts better when they watch related videos, listen to sounds, and become part of interactive representation. AR in education does the same by offering interesting learning approaches through interactive apps. With this learning approach, most students feel attracted to the concepts and gain skills in a hassle-free manner.
- Enable interactive learning sessions: AR-based classroom sessions, better known as an app-based learning system, certainly catch the attention of more and more students. Just beyond the horizon of traditional classroom sessions, AR-based learning allows students to understand complex concepts better and faster.
AR and VR in Education: Comparison
Till now, we have separately explored the virtues of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in the realm of the education sector. Next, we explore the real-time differences between these two emerging technologies.
| Virtual Reality in Education | Augmented Reality in Education |
|---|---|
| VR in education helps create a virtual ecosystem in which students can travel, feel, and sense through different devices. | AR is an app-based or technically proficient way of learning study concepts. |
| Approximately 50 Mbps speed of internet is required to see the virtual world through VR devices. | Approximately 100 Mbps speed of internet is required to access AR apps. |
| Students feel completely immersed in a new environment altogether. | Students have to access software or an app. |
| Get completely into the virtual world while having VR devices on. | You can become part of the learning as well as the real world at the same time. |
| Completely virtual ecosystem to bring interest, fun, and excitement. | Provide you with a major difference between the virtual and the real world. |
| Entirely navigates to a whole new world. | Interact best with the virtual world while remaining in the current setting. |
| Specially created VR headsets are required. | It does not need a specialized device to put on. |
Real-World Applications of AR in Education
At present, there are many real-world examples of AR and VR in the learning sector, working progressively to enhance the facet of education. For a better understanding, here's a list of a few applications of emerging technologies.
- SkyView App: Helps explore the universe by using AR.
- Froggipedia App: An AR-driven app to see frogs' internal organs.
- Microsoft HoloLens: VR-driven lens to see human organs from inside.
- 1943 Berlin Blitz in 360 Degree: VR education for real-life footage of the raid of Nazi Germany.
- Google Expeditions: VR-oriented product to travel far and wide.
And, the list goes on.
Conclusion
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality have provided a breakthrough in the education sector to prosper and enable interactive learning. These two technologies are in the best interest of students to learn concepts faster, retain knowledge for a long time, and remain interested.
If you have not implemented the result-oriented virtues of VR and AR in education, then you might be left behind. Therefore, start embracing Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for your education realm.
FAQs
What is the conclusion of AR and VR in education?
AR and VR are one of the best ways of learning as they let students learn by doing, also known as experiential learning. This type of learning is not only faster and better but also stays with the students for longer periods.
How can teachers use AR in the classroom?
It's fairly easy for teachers to use AR in the classroom as it does not require any special equipment other than just our smartphones. Teachers can place a scannable picture or a QR code, or the images in the book itself can be scanned, and the students can access the experience right away.
Is VR the future of education?
Yes, of course! Gone are the days of monotonous learning methodologies. A student learns better when they engage all their senses or more senses while learning. VR methodologies engage the maximum possible senses than any other teaching methodologies.