Thursday, November 16, 2017

Accessibility: Virtual Reality in Education!

I recently read Gordon LaMont's article Virtual Reality in Education: Changing Expectations, Opportunities, Accessibility, & More - EmergingEdTech. What really stood out for me were the four ways in which this technology will change the accessibility for students. 



Here's what Gordon LaMont wrote:
Disadvantaged students: VR experiences are delivered via a headset so almost every student can participate in lessons which utilize it. Practically, this means disabled students or those who don’t do well in conventional teaching environments will be able to participate in lessons to the same extent as everyone else.

Remote education: Students with mobility issues, or students in remote and isolated locations also stand to benefit from VR, which has the potential to transcend geographical limitations and bring the classroom to them. By creating a ‘virtual’ classroom space, previously hard-to-reach student groups will have a new level of access to both teachers and resources.

Virtual travel: Field trips and travel to special events is often unfeasible for students and schools due to financial or logistical reasons. While it can’t comprehensively replicate the experience of ‘being there’, VR does offer opportunities to take ‘virtual field trips’, exploring and interacting with otherwise inaccessible locations, in settings across the world.

Interaction opportunities: In the same way that it offers travel opportunities, VR also has the potential to connect students to educators and speakers in different parts of the world, and give them access to information and knowledge unavailable in the local classroom. In theory, students will be able sit in on lectures, converse with authors and scientists, or even try their language skills out on native speakers.

Please read the entire article HERE!