How Virtual Reality Can Change School Education Forever
We are living in the era filled with talk of putting humans on the Mars, self-driving cars, and curing diseases with Artificial intelligence.
But aren’t we overlooking the revolutionary growth in the fundamentals of the formal education system?
I don’t think we’ve seen any significant/revolutionary progress in the way students are taught. Education is the building blocks of human progress and plays a vital role in the development of intellectual growth. Yet it has remained the same for the last 150 years.
This is what an average classroom looked like 150 years ago:
This is what an average classroom looks like today:
Do you see any significant difference other than an updated room and a slightly more sophisticated environment (which does not matter if we are talking about the primary purpose of schools in the first place)?
If I compare the evolution of education to any other industry such as technology, manufacturing, pharma, transportation, or communication, it seems as though we have made little to NO progress in the last century and a half.
For instance, the web is only 25 years old and we can already see how rapidly it has grown in just the last decade. Mobile technology has taken the industry by storm as both Windows and Mac OS are being overtaken by iOS and Android.
With this much advancement in such a short period of time, it’s hard to believe there isn’t any similar innovation happening in our schooling system. That is the primary reason why Elon Musk has started his own school:
This video explains in detail what’s wrong with the current school system:
Why Virtual Reality?
Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion back in March 2014. Since then, they have been doing a lot of research in VR technology.
On October 7, Mark Zuckerberg did a live virtual reality demo on stage at an Oculus Connect event and discussed the full power of virtual reality. He sees VR as the next mainstream computing technology with unlimited potential.
Print -> Digital -> Computer -> Laptop -> Mobile -> VR headset
Whether it’s photos, videos, facetime, communication, or anything else, VR will completely change the way users see and experience content.
Why Education?
Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he will be investing $10M in education-based VR apps. I strongly believe that this will be the next big thing to lead people into the future.
Since Zuckerberg revealed his 10-year roadmap, people are buzzing about the development of chatbots. I was watching the Keynote by Dharmesh Shah and saw how they are transforming HubSpot by integrating humanized chatbots into marketing automation by picking up on the habits of consumers. The same concept can be applied to education and students with VR.
It looks like revolutionizing education with VR could truly be one of the biggest breakthroughs of the 21st century. It remains to be seen what changes are in store.
How do I relate this with almost no progress in education and why does it make sense to invest?
To get a formal school education, one has to go to school and study in the same sequence as everyone else. I believe this will change. In the future, students will be able to learn and study from anywhere at their own pace, as opposed to a single classroom.
Sounds crazy doesn’t it?
Let me explain.
I believe it is possible for VR to emulate virtually every experience to the point where you don’t even need the feeling of human touch.
Specifically in school, where students usually sit in rows and strictly focus on what the instructor is teaching to everyone.
VR makes things possible so that everyone involved can collaborate from anywhere. With this concept, it is possible to create a VIRTUAL school where people can learn in their own ideal environment.
The biggest benefit of VR in education is that we can learn by preference, rather than force. Here are some more advantages:
· Not to worry about classroom capacity.
· Only attend subjects which you excel at.
· You can record it to refer back anytime you want.
· If you are living in rural area and can’t make it to the best school to get the best education from the best teacher, VR can make that possible while you stay at home.
· Knowledge won’t be limited to the size of the classroom.
· One teacher can address as many students as they can, depending upon the technological limitations.
Interactive and engaging education
Imagine an education system where textbooks are traded in for interactive learning experiences. Here are a few subjects that really do not need textbooks at all with implemented VR:
· History
· Science
· Environment
· Geography
· Humans and Animals
All of these subjects could potentially be transformed from a textbook-based experience to virtual reality through VR headsets.
It’s time to change
It will be very interesting to see how VR will make a difference and unlock the full potential of the education system. A remastering of the current status quo could enable us to see the world like never before.
I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts in the comments(responses)
