Using VR & AR and Goggles to Re-Create Our Classroom Experience
So, earlier this morning I was talking to my friend, Matt, who is a Web Generalist with experience in programming, design, and everything in between. In this article I wanted to share with all of you the idea/s that I shared with him since it is very applicable to what is happening today with our school and our education. In fact, on the news just 5 minutes ago, they announced how schools could be closed for years to come and how the near-normal experience is still a long way off. So, without further ado, here is what I told Matt this morning on our Slack channel chat.
You know I was just thinking something, since you’re very much in the VR and AR world and creating virtual rooms etc
And I keep hearing on the radio about how schools have no idea how to reopen and how to teach safely
I feel like the best thing they could do right now is to invest in the VR sets/goggles and give those to every kid and really jump on this VR thing so that students have an experience of being with their teacher and their classmates and in a room, though in reality they’re sitting at home
Or like there are websites where you can be in a virtual world, so to speak, like Second Life, etc.
But, I feel like the best investment that ALL of the schools could do right now is to invest in buying laptops for students who can’t afford them, and those goggles, and provide that kind of immersive, safe experience, you know?
I think that would be the best solution right now
Instead of risking children’s lives
Plus, when it comes to funding, if kids aren’t going to actual classrooms and staying home, those schools are actually saving A LOT of money
Like they don’t have to pay police to watch over schools
They don’t have to pay for lunch especially for those who’d get free lunch
They don’t have to pay for electricity and all those utility expenses
And a whole lot other things, like cleaning staff, teacher supplies, etc etc
I am POSITIVE they could find money to invest in the technology
You know? And then the evolvement of VR and AR and those goggles would REALLY get a jump start with that happening
Either way, even if that doesn’t happen now, I am VERY POSITIVE that this is where education is headed anyways
actually as I was writing this I was thinking that I would like to try to contact the mayor of Chicago or whoever else in charge and explain it to them. I’m sure there has to be a way to get in touch with those people and to let them know about it, and maybe then you could get involved in that project haha :)
I think that doing education through VR goggles is the best way
And like I said I think that in the future that’s how it’s going to be anyways
I feel like Corona virus is forcing us to change the education model, which honestly I think is a VERY VERY VERY good thing
People have been complaining about how the way we teach our kids is over a hundred years old and how nothing has changed and how that education model of kids sitting in desks all day and listening to this one person talk at them, that initially was created for training factory workers, not children, and definitely not young kids
Children need to move and to explore and to interact and to see things and VR goggles could definitely do it
If A LOT of people, designers and programmers, etc., really focus on creating the VR goggle experience better in like a year it could be amazing
And it’s like if all those school implemented that kind of way of learning, imagine how much of a really amazing feedback the designers of the VR goggles and those types of rooms and experiences and worlds would be getting, and it would be fast feedback and a huge amount of
And changes to make those immersive experiences could be made in days and maybe even hours
I’m talking about it here, but I think that people are already talking about this and thinking about it
This is basically lean UX what I’m describing, how it’s like a continuous process, continuous changes and updates and improvements on code and on design
You don’t need months to release an update or a new version making it better. Since you’re getting continuous feedback from your users from all kinds of platforms and social media, you can be implementing continuous improvements, and the feedback and data you’re receiving is not just qualitative but also quantitative, so you can be making changes depending on the number of users who really feel that these changes need to be made, so you can very easily support your argument of why this has to be THAT way
