As you may have heard, the Apple Vision Pro, Apple's new immersive headphones, was recently launched. Apple says the Vision Pro will launch the “age of spatial computing” and touts features like a micro OLED display, 3D cameras, and advanced eye and motion sensing capability that lets users type and interact with screens without needing a keyboard. or mouse. .
At this point it is too early to say what impact Apple Vision Pro will have on education. Experts see many great features that could be used in teaching. However, the tool currently costs $3,499, which may be prohibitive for schools (or anyone, really). And there are other possible limitations to the classroom beyond its price.
Kathryn Hirsh-PasekStanley and Debra Lefkowitz faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Frank Bergdoll, a veteran professor who organizes the YouTube channel Learning and technology with Frankdiscusses Apple Vision Pro and its potential impact on education.
Apple Vision Pro: teaching potential
Forgetting the price, there are many ways the Apple Vision Pro could be used to support teaching.
“It will give kids the opportunity to bring an IMAX into the classroom,” Hirsh-Pasek says. This is because Apple Vision Pro comes equipped with the ability to play movies on a screen that can be adjusted to the desired size of each user, and Apple has also announced a partnership to bring IMAX documentaries to the device..
Hirsh-Pasek adds that the tool can give students a truly immersive experience, such as the opportunity to visit ancient lands and explore other worlds.
She was also impressed by the tool's EyeSight feature, which alerts Vision Pro users when someone is nearby by bringing the person closer to its field of view while also clearing the path for the user's vision. Hirsh-Pasek sees this as a big step up from previous immersive gear and a concept that could allow for greater AR/VR collaboration between students and make spending time in these experiences less dangerous.
“It means you're less likely to bump into a desk,” he says. “And I can't tell you when I made immersive reality how many people have run into walls and desks.”
Disadvantages beyond price
Bergdoll notes that schools often have expensive equipment in classrooms, including interactive whiteboards and projectors, as well as other AR/VR headsets. However, these devices can be used by multiple students at the same time or one after another in quick succession.
“My main concern with the Apple Vision Pro is that it appears to be a highly customized device that doesn't lend itself well to sharing,” says Bergdoll. “For many AR/VR experiences, we don't want students to be immersed all day, so sharing a device would be ideal.”
Apple Vision Pro needs to be calibrated based on eyesight and hands of each user, and while this is not a time-consuming process, it is far from instantaneous. Passing the device back and forth between 20 and 30 students during a class period probably wouldn't be practical.
And this is not the only limitation. As impressed as Hirsh-Pasek is with the Apple Vision Pro, he doesn't see it taking advantage of all the benefits that immersive technology could offer in education.
“It's still more of a passive system than an active one,” says Hirsh-Pasek. “We all learn better when we are actively participating in something rather than just watching something.”
Greater impact
AR/VR and other immersive metaverse-style technologies are frequently used in schools, but have never been able to enter mainstream education or beyond. Vision Pro could change that, as Apple has a long history of pushing the envelope with new technology.
“Apple has a strong reputation for developing user-centric technology,” says Bergdoll. “Vision Pro is very likely to generate a lot of innovation around competing hardware, and especially in the software and media ecosystem that develops around it.”
Apple Vision Pro apps are available in the App Store and Bergdoll predicts they will attract developers, which will attract consumers in a virtuous cycle.
Hirsh-Pasek agrees, noting that Apple has a cool factor that will likely attract more attention. “Every time Apple releases something, everyone tries to create the next version,” he says. “In that sense, it can have a real impact on the industry.”
