Step into the future: How we transformed student learning using Virtual Reality

Outline

1. Introduction of presenters and objectives for the session [5mins]
2. Orientation using VR headsets [20mins]
a. Participants are allocated a demo VR Meta Quest headset.
b. How to put on and adjust a headset
c. How to use controllers
d. Navigation and movement in VR
3. Immersion: Demo Science Lab [25mins]
a. Preview video demonstration on the main projector of the lab that participants will be entering into to provide visual orientation beforehand.
b. Participants are given a room code, where they will enter one of the free versions of VXRLabs and join a live teaching session. The teacher will join and guide participants through a model science lesson in virtual reality.
4. Debrief and Consolidation [15mins]
a. Open forum for attendees to share ‘noticings and wonderings’ about their experience in the virtual reality lab.
b. Sharing testimonials and student work from the classroom
c. Describing systems to support VR integration in school
d. Q&A

Outcomes

By the end of this session participants will:
1. Gain practical experience and confidence in the use of VR headsets.
2. Understand effective instructional design strategies for using VR in the classroom.
3. Identify areas of their syllabus that can be enhanced through immersive technology.
4. Consider how to integrate VR into their own teaching and how to establish a sustainable system for ongoing implementation.

Supporting research

Shaukat, S. M. (2023). Exploring the potential of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in education. International Journal of Advanced Research in Science, Communication and Technology, 3(2), 51-56.

Summerfield, G. (2011). Crossing classroom settings and academic disciplines while crossing geographical boundaries. In Academic podcasting and mobile assisted language learning: Applications and outcomes (pp. 147-158). IGI Global.

Ting, G. (2023). Research on Curriculum Development of Collaborative Development of Red Cultural Resources and VR/AR Technology—Take Hulishan Fort in Xiamen as an Example. Frontiers in Educational Research.