Intelligent virtual reality to support learning in authentic environments
Tags: Technology, Software, Education, AI, Virtual Reality

Do you know how to improve learning through VR?

Next year, the number of VR users will grow to 171 million. VR market expected to increase to a $15.9 billion industry by 2019. This technology may be helpful for different areas including learning. A 3D generator of environments can be used to make education more efficient. VR technology is already used in hundreds of classrooms in the U.S. and Europe.

Support learning

Many learners in Primary school are struggling to reach appropriate levels of understanding and skills in basic subjects. Google has started to create VR-education that teaches using students’ preferences to play. Also, they made the Cardboard — VR viewer for mobile devices that allows exploring different countries in various centuries.

The company Discovr works on VR software, and they found that VR helped to retain knowledge 80% more than by using traditional ways to teach. Also, there is education app named AI that develops avatars and communicating as in social media to assess learners with questions that require searching the answers. Users get valuable feedback to help to cope with difficult issues.

Virtual reality also used to teach not only basic subjects but helps to explore different cultures, opinions and so on. For example, the company Diageo wants to teach through virtual reality about negative results of driving when you drunk. They suggest experience becoming a passenger seat of a car with a drunk driver by wearing a VR headset.

Educators have used VR tools to create recreations of historic sites and engage learners in subjects such as economics, literature, and history as well. Learners may receive transformative experiences through different interactive resources.

Use simulations to implement new skills

Virtual reality brings immersive experiences that create situations to which the learners would not have access. It helps to provide ‘what if’ scenarios to discover and manipulate aspects of virtual reality. Students learn to implement new skills and notice their weaknesses.

For example, a virtual submarine helps to discover natural processes that appear under the surface of a rock pool. Learners may explore things at a microscopic level, investigate ancient countries.

AI can supplement virtual reality, providing a possibility to interact with and give feedback to the learner’s actions as in real life. Intelligent Tutoring Systems lead the process as well, give advices for the students, ensure that they reach appropriate learning goals without becoming frustrated.

Apply virtual pedagogical agents

A social context will maintain cooperative activities and it will create better personal interactions. Virtual agents are aimed to build long-term cooperation with the learners. New technology allows creating such personal tutors to improve learning outcomes.

Virtual coaches are important elements in digital environments such as edutainment applications. They help to lead the learning process and motivate students. The virtual characters provide cognitive support, decrease learners’ frustration and act as educational companions. Virtual assistants may be present verbally, through video, as virtual reality avatars or artificial characters.

These coaches require human-like behavior with appropriate movements and gestures. Virtual agents need to support conversations and use speech to explain something. The researches proved that human voice helps to remember and understand better the material.

You need to use virtual characters for delivering guidance, not only for engagement. The pedagogical agents may educate how to cope with difficult situations as well such as bullying incidents. For example, FearNot is a virtual environment where students who have this negative experience play the role of an invisible advisor to a character in the play who is bullied. It helps to discover bullying issues and be prepared.

Many learners in Primary school are struggling to reach appropriate levels of understanding and skills in basic subjects. Google has started to create VR-education that teaches using students’ preferences to play. Also, they made the Cardboard — VR viewer for mobile devices that allows exploring different countries in various centuries.

Virtual reality also used to teach not only basic subjects but helps to explore different cultures, opinions and so on. For example, the company Diageo wants to teach through virtual reality about negative results of driving when you drunk. They suggest experience becoming a passenger seat of a car with a drunk driver by wearing a VR headset.

Virtual coaches are important elements in digital environments such as edutainment applications. They help to lead the learning process and motivate students. The virtual characters provide cognitive support, decrease learners’ frustration and act as educational companions. Virtual assistants may be present verbally, through video, as virtual reality avatars or artificial characters.

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