As an early adopter and enthusiast of immersive technology in schools, I had the opportunity to share ways to use augmented and virtual reality to transform learning with educators from around the world. I provide staff development and training, and many of the teachers I work with are excited to try new tools. For some, it’s the wow factor of wearing something new or exciting; for others, it is the attraction of seeing their students highly engaged with new technologies.
But I’ve seen too many teachers dive in too quickly, selecting and using a tool without having time to think about how to implement it with fidelity. Before you start using a particular tool, I would recommend taking a step back to develop a purposeful plan that aligns with what your students need. Without intention, it’s hard to get the most out of immersive technology for your students.
Here are some steps you can take to develop a plan for using virtual reality in the classroom:
1. Identify your goals
Starting with your goals is the best way to start. There are many ways we can get sidetracked and lose focus on a very important question: Why use AR or VR? Are you using technology to spark a new interest in learning, teach a new concept, or reinforce a difficult one? Understanding what you hope to accomplish will guide you in your search for the right resources. Unfortunately, this critical step is often an afterthought.
When I ask teachers why they are using AR or VR, they often tell me that they saw an exciting new tool at a conference and found a way to make it work with their lesson plan, or that a colleague tried a tool and mentioned that his students loved it. It’s less common to hear teachers say they selected a tool because they’re teaching content that’s impossible to bring to the classroom without augmented or virtual reality, but that’s when immersive technology has the biggest impact.
Sometimes our students need to learn about a concept that is difficult to understand or too dangerous to explore. For example, it would be difficult to observe a coral reef ecosystem in person, and it would be challenging to explore the moon’s three major landforms without technological assistance. In these cases, immersive technology can help teachers bypass the restrictions and limitations of learning. These lesson illustrations have a clear purpose and goal for using augmented or virtual reality in the classroom.
2. Consider how your students’ needs and interests align with particular tools
Once you’ve identified a meaningful goal or set of goals, it’s important to select a tool, but when it comes to using immersive technology, one of the biggest barriers is figuring out where to start. With new tools being released every day, it’s hard to know where to start and which resources will help your students the most. There is rarely one tool that meets the needs of all students in the classroom. Often a variety of options or the use of multiple resources is needed throughout the lesson. The key to finding the resource that meets your student’s needs is understanding how they learn best, what interests them, and what factors affect their AR/VR experience.
If a student is having trouble with VR because they’re nauseated, for example, it’s prudent to select a resource with minimal movement. If a student tends to get off track quickly, she can select tools that can be used inside the classroom, rather than tools that require students to get out of the room and explore. If a student is a heavy gamer, she might consider using immersive challenges or competitive games to add excitement to her learning experience. As with any curriculum tool or resource, the selection process should include aligning students’ learning styles, needs, and interests to ensure what you choose has the greatest impact.
3. Understand the benefits and limitations of your classroom devices
Most classrooms in the US now have access to student devices. Most immersive experiences require a tablet or mobile device, however web-based experiences are starting to increase. The best place to start is to understand what resources work with the classroom devices you already have.
Factors including device type and age affect the types of immersive experiences you can experiment with in the classroom, so it’s important to know what devices you have access to and how old they are. Some devices may limit access or functionality to particular AR or VR experiences. Chromebooks, for example, are dominant in the classroom, but they are also the most restrictive when embracing immersive technology. A rear camera, which most Chromebooks lack, is essential for augmented reality to place digital elements in the real world. Also, only a few immersive apps have access to Google Play.
A common misconception is that you have to buy expensive devices before using immersive technology in the classroom, but that’s rarely true. While the devices you currently have access to can be somewhat limiting, using them requires little to no additional budget, so it could be a great starting point.
As you develop your immersive technological knowledge, you will notice other devices that can help your students thrive. After demonstrating effort to use your current devices, you may be well positioned to request new technology.
4. Consider the learning curve
One of the best ways to prepare for a great immersion lesson is to implement a resource with little to no learning curve. Some immersive resources require a lot of preparation to help students understand how to interact within the app. Alternatively, using a tool that doesn’t require much prior knowledge or technical understanding allows you to jump right into learning. Since the hope is to take advantage of immersive tools to deepen learning and create new connections for our students, you don’t want to spend an entire class learning how to use technology, rather than using technology to help students learn the content.
In fact, most of the popular tools have gained ground because they are easy to use in classrooms. Beginners can immediately start exploring, creating and sharing their knowledge using immersive technology.
For many teachers, it’s not just about the learning curve of using new technology, but also about the lesson planning process. Questions arise such as whether to modify existing lesson plans or create new ones. When it comes to lesson planning, it can be helpful to adapt something that already exists.
Here are some examples of existing lessons. i created these two lesson plans around Merge Cubes, which allow you to hold digital 3D objects, or holograms. The first was designed to explore the terraforming of the Earth and the second was developed to learn about the history of Egypt by exploring a virtual museum. Y here is a math lesson plan I developed to support students in using CoSpaces, another popular classroom tool, which allows students to build 3D creations, animate them with code, and explore them in AR or VR setups, to build virtual shapes.
5. Prepare for trial and error
Using these technologies is still relatively new to education, so it’s important to remember that we are beta testers on the process. This increases the possibility that not all tools will work as planned, so flexibility is key. Taking on the challenge of incorporating immersive technology into your lesson requires you to be comfortable with trial and error.
One of the benefits of being a beta tester is that we have the opportunity to share our knowledge and recommendations with the companies that develop the tools we are using, so I encourage you to share your feedback.
It can be very exciting to experiment with new tools, but it’s also valuable to take a step back to plan for the future. Immersive technology can be a powerful tool for engaging students, and when we plan carefully, we can deliver deeper and more memorable learning experiences for all students, even the most reluctant.
