New technology is changing the education system in more ways than you think. From the classroom to in-home learning opportunities, students today have access to amazing online tools that allow them to explore, create and succeed like never before.
The education system has been evolving in the past two decades. The introduction of technology is now unleashing the power of artificial intelligence and virtual reality to create new ways of teaching students.
Virtual reality and augmented reality will have a significant impact on the way we learn. This technology has enormous potential to change the classroom as we know it, from hands-on, real-life experiences to virtual ones.
The way we learn, the way we teach and the materials we use are being reinvented by technology and those who harness it.
Virtual Reality and the change of paradigm in education
Most teachers are receiving much of the same training that they had decades ago, but not all of them. With digital programs, students can learn from the highest-trained teachers, with access to new distance-learning technology and with changes made to suit the digital age of education. Unless teachers can adapt and skill up beyond the requirements that they need to get hired, it’s very difficult to see a shift in education coming anytime soon.
The truth is that education hasn’t evolved much in hundreds of years while technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. The training that teachers receive now is the same that they had decades ago, but why should we settle for that?
Now that we aren’t restrained by the limitations of the physical world, we can offer our students the highest education and trained teachers from all over the world.
Memorizing thousands of pages has proven unsuccessful and with virtual reality and augmented reality we can say goodbye to the old fashion education system.
Would you rather read about the stars or see for yourself what is like moving across galaxies?
Edgar Dale, an outstanding American educator, developed a learning cone which explains that after two weeks, people generally remember only 10% of what they read and 20% of what they listened to.
Now we have the chance to make students partake in their learning, be part of the process and learn while discovering. Shouldn’t we push through?
Digital Identity and immersion
As always, when you operate in VR, AR or immersive platforms is important to have a trustworthy digital identity representation.
Realistic avatars are key for students to experience new teaching methods and educational content. They need to relate to that process the same way they would in the real world.
With the development of web3 and the Metaverse, emerging technologies rise to offer us solutions to this problem.
Union Avatars offers a dynamic solution with its avatar maker. You can create your own realistic 3d avatar and choose among dozens of outfits to use on different occasions.
Create your avatar and start shaping your digital identity!
Immersive experiences: School virtual field trips
Taking 50 children on a field trip is not the easiest thing to do as a teacher. But what if we could take them anywhere without leaving the classroom?
VR field trips are a popular choice these days. They provide immersive experiences where students can learn and engage with educational content, be part of dynamics and have 100% accessibility to places that aren’t available for them in the real world.
Not every student has the chance to pay for field trips or can do them for disability issues, so these emerging technology makes them all equal and gives them the same opportunities.
Benefits of AR and VR in education
Let’s highlight some of the benefits of emerging technologies for educators and students:
- Teamwork and collaboration. When students use AR and VR technologies they access worlds full of wonders and unleash their imagination. They learn to work together with their peers to achieve a defined goal.
- Learning through gamification. The major downside when you’re studying is getting bored. Gamification makes learning interactive and fun, getting the students to engage in the learning process.
- Breaking physical limitations. Imagine you’re teaching art history. You try to explain how the coliseum in ancient Rome was and you bring some sketches and pictures. VR & AR allow you to bring the coliseum to your class and make your students interact with it. Classes won’t ever be boring places anymore!
- Multi-sensory learning. As we can see in Edgar Dale’s cone below, when we receive information from different channels, our brain retains what we learn for a longer time. If instead of listening to our teacher talks about ancient Greece, we dive into it with our goggles, and we can see, listen and feel how was it like, the amount of information we´ll retain will be way more significant.
- Tutoring. Online or hybrid university studies are becoming more and more popular. Virtual reality helps to better connect teachers and students who need extra guidance.
If you want to keep updated about the Metaverse, Web3, VR & AR, NFTs, digital identity and new technologies, check our blog for more posts!
