Use of Immersive Technology in College Classrooms
Technological innovations like Virtual Reality (VR) have been introduced to almost all industries that are part of the tertiary sector. One of the most important industries amongst these, is the higher education offered by colleges and universities.
VR in the college classrooms can and will continue to enhance the quality of learning. Many colleges and universities are becoming more and more proactive about the inclusion of such immersive learning into college classrooms, in spite of parents’ conflicted feelings about VR.
In order for immersive experiences in education to become a norm, the people involved in the process (i.e. college students and their parents) need to be comfortable with the idea of VR technology.
What is even more important, however, is that these college students and parents must understand the uses of this immersive technology in their higher education and how much students would truly benefit from the technology.
Benefits of Immersive Technology in College Classrooms
Through engaging learning activities, immersive technology improves student comprehension and participation in college courses. It promotes the development of practical skills and broadens topic understanding. Followed are only some of the benefits that immersive technology like VR promises.
1. Evolved College Classrooms
Picture a college classroom. What do you see? Is it a large room with a high ceiling facing the professor’s desk and whiteboards? Can you picture yourself or your college-aged kids (if you are a parent) settling down on one of the many rows that has an increasing hierarchy of height from the front of the class to the back?
All of this is conventional. However, virtual reality labs for colleges can offer you a transcendent experience. Your student can enter a conventional classroom and be at a biology laboratory learning to dissect a frog virtually!
2. Quality of Learning
With immersive experiences in education, college student will be able to distinguish between the quality of education they received in school versus the education they receive in a college classroom. In simpler words, the use of immersive technology is befitting to the level of education at college.
We cover basic concepts in school that, for the most part, can be comprehended by videos and practical learning. However, students in colleges have a clearer picture about their career path and have an idea as to what discipline or disciplines appeal them the most.
College is that very platform that allows them to explore far beyond the basics and delve into a multitude of novel facets in their respective disciplines.
This is where immersive technology is most required in college classrooms. Since students are specialising in a specific discipline and there is a lot of new information to grasp, immersive learning can help as a practical method of learning.
Immersive learning allows students to comprehend faster and better and remember more efficiently. Tools such as VITaL are employed in universities already and have benefitted researches and collaborations too!
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3. Interest and Motivation
Lectures have not really changed much in college classrooms. A professor explaining complicated concepts by lecturing and showing a couple of videos once in a while, is the ideal college classroom scenario. In a classroom with 200 students, it is not uncommon for students to zone out and lose interest.
The solution? Immersive learning into college classroom! VR is not simply informative and detailed, but in its immersive characteristic lies, the ability to captivate all 200 students without even making them feel mentally strained.
VR is so captivating that students would be automatically interested to learn and be motivated to better themselves in their respective disciplines. Hence, with traditional teaching methods coordinated with VR for Higher Education simulations, students can learn a lot because they WANT to learn a lot!
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4. VR Laboratories and Experiential Learning
VR laboratories are one of the chief benefits of immersive technology in college classrooms. Students who are ready to go to college understand that this shift signifies a huge transitional period. Students aiming for higher education are looking for independence and self-sufficiency in themselves.
When it comes to education, they find themselves heavily dependent on professors teaching assistants still. However, with VR technology in college classrooms, a lot of students can find applications that are suitable for their own discipline and can learn through experiences that they have through immersive technology.
History students can venture into the past and join Gandhi on his Dandi March while Geography students plan a trip to the biggest mountain ranges.
Students focussing science like engineering and medical students have a vast array of virtual labs that they can conduct their research in. These labs are a cost-efficient solution for colleges for the long term.
VR labs focussing on engineering and medical students have specialised supplies as well and are extremely safe. Students can gain a lot of practical experience without having to depend on any kind of supervision!
Overall, immersive technologies like Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and is a win-win situation. There are innumerable other ways in which immersive technologies like these can be used in college classrooms.
While most of these are yet to be discovered, a lot of them are already being applied to college classrooms and have shown great growth potential in students!
