virtual reality in education

Virtual Reality in Education: Benefits, Uses and Examples

Virtual reality in education may sound like science fiction, but these two industries go hand in hand better than you’d think. The growing field of VR has potential to enhance learning by providing students with access to virtual environments where they can engage with immersive content from a range of subjects, such as art, geography, biology and chemistry.

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What Is Virtual Reality in Education?

Virtual reality in education can be used in K-12 classrooms, for vocational training and in higher education settings. Since virtual reality allows users to interact with computer-simulated environments, it can enable virtual field trips, immerse students in historically significant events, simulate laboratory environments and build meaningful connections among instructors and peers despite the distance between them.

The virtual reality market size is expected to grow from less than $12 billion in 2022 to more than $22 billion by 2025, according to data from Statista . One of the factors motivating growth in the VR industry has been the demand for solutions to combat feelings of isolation during virtual, distanced learning.

VR classrooms have been able to give students opportunities to raise their hands, ask questions in an organic way and generally feel more directly invested. That’s in comparison to what CEO Mat Chacon of VR company Doghead Simulations described as the "pretty flat experience" of traditional online courses.

Doghead co-founder Chance Glasco said he had “no doubt” that online classes will one day be replaced by virtual reality.

“No one builds memories of online classes,” he told Built In in 2019. “It’s just data being fed to your brain in the most boring way possible.”

A 2022 National Research Group report on VR technologies revealed just over 60 percent of consumers who participated in the study “think that VR and AR will be a useful learning tool for children.” Another poll indicated 67 percent of U.S. high school educators surveyed said they want to see extended reality technologies like VR used regularly in schools. The majority of those teachers said the technologies have the potential to help students develop career skills, build social and empathy skills and stay more engaged and motivated in the classroom.

How Does Virtual reality in Education Work?

Virtual reality in education often involves viewing or interacting with learning content using a VR headset along with any associated hardware, such as controllers that can let the user navigate and manipulate a simulated reality. VR headsets use screens, lenses and other advanced technology like sensors that are designed to wrap the viewer in a 360-degree view of a virtual setting.

Some companies produce VR learning content that can be accessed on a desktop, laptop or tablet. In those cases, the content is not fully immersive, but students are still able to participate in simulated environments without the extra costs that can come with VR headsets, which can be a barrier to adoption.

While the science is still out on whether VR is more effective than other immersive-media learning tools, it appears to hold real pedagogical promise. A study by Stanford researchers looked at VR field trips about climate change and found that “participants who explored more of the virtual space formed deeper cognitive associations with the science content and could learn, recall and retain the causes and effects of ocean acidification better than those who did not explore the underwater world as much.”

Benefits of Virtual Reality in Education

Virtual reality has capabilities that could turn it into a valuable asset for education. For example, research out of Penn State University showed that students who used immersive virtual reality to accomplish a task did so more than twice as fast as students who used traditional computer programs.

Social VR applications like rumii from Doghead can also help tackle the challenge of sky-high dropout rates for online courses by helping remote students feel more connected and less isolated. Doghead partnered with Full Sail University to deploy rumii in online coursework to “make students and professors feel like they are in the classroom together.”

Rumii has also been used to facilitate collaboration among students on different continents. A group of anthropology students — half studying at Harvard University and half at Zhejiang University in China — were able to work together as avatars in a VR-equipped classroom to study ancient characters scrawled along a tomb atop the Giza Plateau in preparation for a trip to Egypt. The students were strapped into VR headsets as their professors launched the lab and loaded up 3D models of the Sphinx and one of the tombs, which the teams could then grab and move around in the virtual learning space. Other features of the experience included live HD video streaming and screen sharing.

“It was just this natural conversational immersive interaction that made their trip to Egypt a lot more valuable because, when they were there, they could hit the ground running,” Chacon explained.

Another VR advantage is the comforting semi-anonymity that avatars afford. There’s reams of research about the so-called Proteus Effect, or how a virtual reality user's behavior might be subtly affected by their avatar's characteristics. But Doghead believes those alterations have been positive in rumii.

“You get the comfort of being in person with someone because you feel present with them,” Glasco said. “But you feel safe behind a VR headset, behind this avatar, which represents your body language and your audio.”

How Virtual Reality Is Used in Education and Schools

Virtual field trips.

Discovery Education has reached millions of students with its virtual field trips , focusing on aerospace (a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of the Johnson Space Center), health (a VR-powered look at the science behind opioid addiction), technology (a multi-part series on agtech) and more. Along with Google Arts & Culture Expeditions — a VR app with more than a thousand educational tours — it's one of the leading distributors of educational VR field trips.

Art Education

“Blue-Fall,” a 1966 painting by Abstract Expressionism pioneer Helen Frankenthaler, is housed in the Milwaukee Art Museum’s permanent collection, but you don’t have to trek to Wisconsin to experience it. Any VR user can virtually zoom in on Frankenthaler’s bold, cobalt monolith — and even listen to author Neil Gaiman play docent as he lends art-historical context and detail.

Gaiman is an advisory board member of Boulevard , a New York-based art-education VR company that brings the museum and gallery experience to virtual reality. Experiences range from a survey of pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti to a sample of Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry’s 2015 solo exhibition. Another notable example of the growing virtualization of the art experience is The Kremer Museum , which arranges 74 paintings of Dutch and Flemish Old Masters in a virtual gallery.

A Virtual Lab Environment

Between 2021 and 2031, the number of STEM occupations in the United States will grow by nearly 11 percent in comparison to less than 6 percent for all other jobs, according to forecasts from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics .

But state-of-the-art labs where so much hands-on STEM learning takes place can be difficult and costly to access. Labster democratizes the process with virtual lab environments for more than two dozen course packages , including high school physics, biosciences for nursing, animal physiology, advanced biology and engineering. The labs — which can be accessed via a web browser without downloading or installing additional software — allow students to culture bacteria, track cellular respiration during an exercise routine, even conduct an ultrasound exam on an expectant mother — virtually speaking, of course. Labster also owns UbiSim , a VR training platform for nurses that lets learners participate in risk-free clinical scenarios using VR headsets and controllers.

Workforce Training

Lifeliqe develops immersive simulations for workforce training, preparing professionals for in-demand careers in fields like healthcare and advanced manufacturing. The company’s programs involve exploration of the work environment and responsibilities, VR models of necessary tools, training simulations and assessment’s to aid in tracking student progress. The current product offerings from Lifeliqe include courses for dialysis technicians and certified nursing technicians, but the company also has training programs in the works for manufacturing and HVAC technicians.

Further Reading Everything You Need to Know About Extended Reality

The Future of Virtual Reality in Education

Despite virtual reality’s ever-widening footprint in the education sector, some challenges persist. Pre-undergraduate education isn’t exactly flush with dollars, so it can be difficult for forward-thinking startups to get a proverbial foot in the door.

“When you’re dealing with education, especially K-12, funds are limited,” Glasco said. “You have to get to buyers at the right time, or you might be talking to them for a year before they sign on to a license. There is money in education; you just have to stick around long enough to be able to tap into it.”

And even though the technology is advanced enough to be a powerful educational tool, some experts say improved curriculum development is key to making VR an appreciably more effective tool than interactive 2D content.

The XR Association and International Society for Technology in Education’s survey of more than 1,400 U.S. high school teachers on their attitudes toward extended-reality technologies like VR showed that the majority believe virtual learning experiences provide quality information. Yet more than half also see the costs associated with these technologies as having the potential to widen equity gaps. And 94 percent agreed curriculum associated with technology such as VR needs to be aligned with academic standards.

"I think the developer community and the education community need to walk down this road very hand-in-hand," Chacon said. "Then we can start bridging social classes and removing all of these barriers to education."

He noted that leaps in digital lightfield technology are steering virtual reality toward a distinctly Holodeck -like future — no wearables required.

“It seems like it's really far in the future,” Chacon said, “but it's already happening.”

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Learning in Digital Worlds

Posted May 19, 2021
By Andrew Bauld
Learning Design and Instruction
Online Education
Teachers and Teaching
Technology and Media

Eileen McGivney has spent her career studying education systems around the world. Now, her research isn’t taking her to a new country or continent, but into an entirely new reality.

As a Ph.D. candidate in Human Development, Teaching, and Learning, McGivney is working to better understand how students and adults learn in immersive technology-enabled environments, like virtual reality (VR).

McGivney first encountered VR at HGSE as a researcher on the EcoXPT project at Project Zero, an ecosystem science curriculum set in an immersive virtual world, under Principal Research Scientist Tina Grotzer .

“I remember visiting a classroom of English-language learners and they were using their native language to solve problems in the EcoXPT simulation, and they were so excited and engaged,” McGivney says. “Seeing it used as a way to give students agency, which is so hard in a regular classroom, that’s when I got interested in it as a learning tool.”

The first time she entered the virtual space herself, McGivney called the experience “awe-inspiring.” Since then, she’s witnessed that same excitement in students of all ages experiencing the thrill of conducting missions in space and feeling the effects of zero gravity or kayaking in the Arctic to observe wildlife. But while these can be powerful, emotional experiences for students, they also have real educational benefits, instilling an increased sense of competence and motivation.

For her latest project, McGivney has partnered with a Greater Boston-area public charter high school to study how immersive experiences can impact how students see themselves as scientists. In one project, students in a civil engineering course observed different structures around the world, visiting the pyramids in Egypt and soaring over skyscrapers in New York City.

McGivney says that not only have the students reported better ability to focus while using the headsets, but also a greater connection to the material. Many of the students she’s working with are English-language learners and first-generation Americans, who have appreciated the ability to visit and share locations that held personal meaning.

Representation and questions of identity and diversity in immersive technology is an important aspect of McGivney’s research. Her adviser, Professor Chris Dede , who has long been at the forefront of studying learning environments based in virtual worlds, says her work is helping to advance the field’s understanding of these important aspects of the emerging technology.

“Eileen has knowledge and experience in implementing learning technologies in a wide range of educational settings, and her research has the important capacity to infuse culture and context into educational innovations, which the National Academy of Sciences has highlighted as a crucial next step,” Dede says.

This past semester, McGivney shared this knowledge with HGSE students through her module, The Virtual Self, in which students explored VR technology firsthand, and learned about the realities of the technology, its limitations, and how it can be most used most effectively.

“People got a sense of what it is all about, and when the novelty wears off, what are the valuable learning experiences,” McGivney says. For several students, the experience was one of the most impactful of this virtual school year at the Ed School. Not only did the VR experience help create community at a time when that was needed more than ever, but several students discovered a new passion, and a few mentioned even making a career out of the work.

As Jessica O’Donnell, Ed.M. (TIE), said in Harvard Ed. Magazine, the virtual class had a real impact on her. “Although I was unable to physically meet my classmates on the Harvard campus this year, these interactions in virtual reality and the advancements in avatar design provided me with the opportunity to connect with my peers in an innovative and remarkable way.”

McGivney will continue to explore VR applications with a new project led by Grotzer with doctoral student Tessa Forshaw, and involving Dede, called Next Level Lab, looking at how immersive technology can help new members of the workforce, like veterans and recent college graduates, use simulations to prepare for job interviews and roleplay on-the-job scenarios they might encounter.

“A lot of Next Level Lab is about learning sciences and my piece is using immersive technology as a tool as one part of the training program to help folks practice these skills and gain competence,” McGivney says.

Despite its promises and the fact that we’re living in a time when students around the world are learning remotely, McGivney says that VR should not be looked at as a replacement for the classroom, but instead continue to learn how the technology can best fit within the current educational system.

“VR is a powerful tool and I hope through the work that a lot of people are doing on its role in education it will become clearer what it’s good for.”

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Virtual Reality (VR) in Education: A Complete Guide

Here’s everything you need to know about virtual reality and augmented reality in education, including use cases and benefits.

By Laura Martisiute
Dec 3, 2020

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Would you rather read about the moon landing or see for yourself what it was like to walk on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin? Believe it or not, experiencing the latter is just as possible as the former, thanks to the rise in virtual reality (VR).

The days of learning being restricted solely to reading textbooks and listening to boring lectures are numbered, and when they’re gone, students won’t miss them. Research shows that textbooks don’t generally improve student achievement and traditional stand-and-deliver lectures in universities lead to higher student failure rates than active learning methods.

And while there are plenty of active learning techniques to choose from, including simply asking students questions or arranging students for group work, more and more educators are seeing VR’s true potential. According to a recent survey of teachers and students, 90% of educators believe VR may help increase student learning. Perhaps more importantly, the survey also found that 97% of students would attend a class or course with VR, which could significantly decrease dropout rates.

It comes as no surprise, then, that education is one of the largest sectors for VR investment. Indeed, industry forecasts predict that VR in education will be a $700 million industry by 2025. But is VR in education all that it’s cracked up to be? Let’s find out.

What is virtual reality (VR) in education?

Virtual reality is a computer-generated environment that creates the immersive illusion that the user is somewhere else.

Instead of looking at a screen in front of them, VR allows people to interact with an artificial three-dimensional environment through electronic devices that send and receive information like motion sensors and movement trackers.

The most essential VR device is the headset, which generally looks like a pair of thick goggles. Fitted out with a unique screen and motion sensors, a VR headset tracks the user’s movement and changes the angle of the screen accordingly. Optional accessories can enhance user experience and include things like:

Hand gloves. Wireless controllers that capture full hand and finger action in virtual reality and provide the user the sensation of touch.
Treadmills. A mechanical device that looks nothing like the gym equipment you’re used to, a VR treadmill translates your real-life body movements into virtual motion.
Vive Trackers. Small hockey puck-esque devices that bring physical objects you own into the virtual world.

Examples and applications of virtual reality in education

Below are just a few examples of how students and educators use VR at all education levels, including K12 education, higher education, vocational training, and special education.

K-12 education

At the K12 level (kindergarten to 12th grade in the US), virtual field trips are among the most common ways educators use VR. For example, in 2019, the Schaumburg School District 54 in Illinois utilized virtual reality kits in each of its 28 schools to bring students on virtual field trips to the moon, World War I battlefields, and the Great Hall at Ellis Island.

The enthusiasm from kids has been overwhelming, said Associate Superintendent Nick Myers in an interview with EdTech magazine . “We’ve seen truly emotional reactions to it because the students can see it, they can navigate through and be part of the experience they’re learning about.”

VR field trips are becoming so popular in education because, in addition to providing immersive and engaging experiences, they’re also accessible. Not every student may be able to join their classmates for a real-world trip to a museum or another country, whether because of a disability or expense. With VR, every student can go on the same trip at no cost. Because they don’t require expensive transport and logistics, virtual field trips are more cost-effective for schools.

Other uses of VR in K-12 education include language immersion and virtual lab simulation. Language immersion allows students to connect with people all over the world. On the other hand, virtual lab simulation gives STEM students the option of experimenting in million-dollar labs or mixing different chemicals in a virtual chemistry class without fear of blowing anything up in real life.

Special education

For students with special needs, VR creates new opportunities to safely explore the world and practice real-world skills, like obeying traffic signals or interacting with police officers, in a no-risk environment.

For example, Danvers Public Schools district in Massachusetts used VR to introduce new students to the district’s middle school building in advance, something that was particularly helpful for students with disabilities.

Higher education

Choosing the right university can be a daunting and exhausting experience. With VR, applicants can go on virtual reality campus tours to see what it would be like to attend a college or university in another city or even another country.

For example, the University of Michigan athletic department uses VR technology to give potential recruits the chance to see and feel the campus and the athletic facilities from wherever in the world they may be.

But with VR, you may not even have to attend a physical university. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Steven Hill, professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ditched Zoom lectures for a virtual 3D version of his classroom . Students can walk around the classroom, talk to each other at different gathering spaces, and even break into groups.

Of course, VR is useful for learners who attend physical institutions, as well. At the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, students use VR to learn acupuncture . In the UK, the University of Westminster has implemented a virtual training center that allows criminal law students to investigate potential murder scenes .

Vocational training

Unfortunately, vocational training is often seen as a second choice — something that students do when they can’t get into a university. Some trade schools are trying to change this by using VR technology to give prospective students a glimpse into a vocational graduate’s daily life.

In addition to attracting new students to trade schools, VR can also give trainees more opportunities to practice essential skills in a safe environment. For example, electricians can rewire a house with fewer safety hazards. Moreover, because trainees work with virtual materials, trade schools can save tons of money on physical materials.

Benefits of using virtual reality in classrooms

According to one study that looked at 1,000 students in three universities, the implementation of VR in classrooms led to students improving by a full letter grade . One of the main advantages of using VR in education is that it raises students’ grades.

In another instance, a hospital found that using VR to train medical students increased their retention rate by 80% a year after the lecture compared to 20% a week after when they didn’t use VR. This boost in retention isn’t so surprising when you consider that VR promotes student curiosity and keeps them engaged even when learning challenging topics.

For example, Barbara Mikolajczak, who runs VR camps and classes in Boston, was surprised to see how motivated her students were when working with other students from Australia when building a virtual version of a Boston church. “The students were so excited about converting meters to feet,” she said. “They realized that the doors wouldn’t be in the center, so that evolved into a lively discussion about what’s more important: the pure numbers or the symmetry of design. You wouldn’t have seen that in a normal lesson about the Old North Church.”

Other benefits of virtual reality include increased collaboration, cultural competence, and fewer distractions. VR can also help students build better habits. Indeed, according to recent research , after using VR, people have been found to exercise more as well as show more empathy, among other things.

What about augmented reality?

Augmented reality (AR) differs from virtual reality. With AR, students can see digital assets in the real world rather than being hosted in an entirely virtual space as they are within VR.

In practice, this usually involves using a phone or tablet equipped with a camera and AR capability that can display a digital creation in a real context — imagine looking at your phone and seeing a 3D shark swimming around your living room. For educators, this technology has tremendous benefits.

By allowing students to view things like life-size dinosaurs or a model of the solar system in the classroom or in their own homes, AR technology can bring academic subjects to life for younger learners. AR technology such as Google’s enterprise-grade AR glasses also allows workers to see instructions for complex tasks appear right in front of their eyes.

By creating a seamless connection between interactive digital content and the real world, augmented reality can increase information retention for students and make digital instruction a more tangible experience.

What is the future of virtual reality in education?

By adding a new dimension to the learning experience, virtual reality can revolutionize education across every level. We are currently only seeing the early stages of an educational paradigm shift being created by virtual technology.

As VR technology develops even further with better eye tracking and motion sensitivity, it will create new layers of immersive experience. In the future, this means that learners will fully live out and understand learning experiences and educational moments.

Another part of the future of virtual reality in education is greater accessibility. As headsets and software become cheaper, virtual reality will ultimately become a ubiquitous part of education.

As hinted at by the popularity of Google Cardboard (the official VR cardboard case costs just $14.95 ), VR’s rise will change aspects of how teachers and educators work, too. However, the core tenants of education will remain the same. A powerful tool, VR will make great educators even better by giving them the means to engage new generations of learners like never before.

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Virtual Reality in Education: Benefits, Tools, and Resources

A young male student uses a VR headset at school, enjoying the benefits of virtual reality in education.

In the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage , a submarine and its crew shrink to the size of a human cell to ride through the bloodstream of a scientist and remove a blood clot in his brain. An imaginative tale of science fiction, the movie speaks to humanity’s desire to explore realms considered impossible to reach due to our physical limitations. But thanks to technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), students in elementary schools are now doing just that. Today, students go on virtual field trips to places ranging from the Roman Colosseum in ancient times to outer space to cellular-level passageways inside the human body.

The benefits of virtual reality in education are embraced by many educators, but some are still reluctant to use it in their classrooms. Reasons range from high costs to pushback from school administrators. Others see the value of both VR and AR as entertainment, but not as effective teaching tools in the classroom. Additional educator concerns, as reported in a recent EdTech report, include the bulkiness of the equipment, glitches, and the quality and availability of content. Despite these challenges, demand for AR and VR in education is expected to grow in the coming years. This means that current and aspiring teachers should take steps to learn about the benefits of virtual reality in the classroom.

Innovative teacher education programs like American University’s Master of Arts in Teaching help graduates become forward-thinking educators who can inspire students through technology. The program’s focus on preparing graduates with the skills to deliver education using a multidisciplinary approach is especially helpful.

The program prepares graduates with real-world technical skills using advanced virtual platform technologies. “The use of Mursion [VR] technology has provided American University’s teacher candidates the opportunity to practice science instruction before they work with ‘real’ students, enhancing our teacher candidates’ confidence and skill,” says Carolyn Parker, director of the Master of Arts in Teaching program in American University’s School of Education.

What Are the Benefits of AR and VR in Education?

Before looking into some of the benefits of virtual reality in education, let’s define what virtual reality is and how it differs from augmented reality. AR is used on a smart device to project a layer of educational text and lesson-appropriate content on top of a user’s actual surroundings, providing students with interactive and meaningful learning experiences. VR creates an entire digital environment, a 360-degree, immersive user experience that feels real. In a VR setting, students can interact with what they see as if they were really there.

In addition to providing students with immersive learning experiences, other benefits of virtual reality in education include the ability to inspire students’ creativity and spark their imaginations. And this can motivate them to explore new academic interests. AR and VR in education also helps students struggling to understand difficult academic concepts. For example, through AR, geometry students can check out 3D geometric forms from multiple perspectives; they can rotate a shape to see it from different angles and even view it from the inside. The benefits of virtual reality in education go beyond academics as well to include cultural competence, the ability to understand another person’s culture and values—an important skill in today’s interconnected, global society. For example, a virtual reality field trip to other parts of the world, whether it be Peru or China, exposes students to cultures other than their own.

Growing evidence suggests that AR and VR in education, as well as the combination of both technologies known as mixed reality, can improve student outcomes, too. For example, in a March 2019 report, EdTech cites a study showing that students in a mixed reality biology classroom received higher scores than other students. And AR and VR can help with memory retention and recall, as well—EdTech reports on a recent study that shows an increase in retention of almost 9 percent for students who learned in an immersive environment such as VR.

AR and VR in Education: Resources and Tips

Bringing AR and VR tools into the classroom doesn’t have to be expensive. Available resources, ranging from low-priced viewers like Google Cardboard to cost-effective equipment that can connect to smartphones, can be acquired without breaking the bank. Resources for teachers include affordable or even free apps, such as 360Cities, which allows students to visit places like Rome and Tokyo. Another app, TimeLooper, allows students to visit locations through a historical lens, such as London in medieval times or World War II. Platforms like Immersive VR Education and Nearpod allow teachers to develop lesson plans with VR and AR technology.

These, and other resources, are key to incorporating immersive education into classrooms. But how can teachers set up their classrooms to maximize the benefits of VR in education? Here are a few tips.

Ensure Ample Physical Space

To reap the benefits of virtual reality in education, it is important for students to use VR equipment safely. VR users often spin around or stride blindly, ignoring their physical surroundings. A misstep could lead to injury. Educators should ensure their classrooms’ physical environments are spacious and safe for VR explorers. Students should be at least an arm’s length away from each other and from objects in the classroom. When possible, use VR content that can be accessed by students sitting at their desks.

Supervise and Moderate VR Use in Classrooms

Research into the psychological impact of VR on students suggests that VR should be used moderately and under close supervision in school settings. The findings of the research as reported in a recent CNN.com article recounts that children who overused VR had false memories of having physically visited a place they actually never visited. Limiting VR education sessions to a couple of minutes as part of a longer lesson plan can address this issue.

Know When to Use VR in the Classroom

VR can bring academic subjects to life, offering students new insights and refreshing perspectives. But VR can’t replace human interaction. Learning is fundamentally a social experience, so VR is best used as a supplemental learning tool.

How can teachers use VR in the classroom? It depends on the subject. Using VR to teach grammar in classrooms may not make much sense because grammar is a relatively abstract topic. On the other hand, VR may work well for topics that are visual and tactile, for example, allowing students to learn “firsthand” about a historical event or famous monument.

As a case in point, because the Parthenon in Greece is a physical structure, students can virtually walk inside it to see its architectural details, thanks to VR equipment and software. Many STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) topics also lend themselves well to VR. When it comes down to it, what child wouldn’t enjoy “visiting” the planets of the solar system?

Develop a Plan for VR Learning

Among the most noteworthy benefits of virtual reality in the classroom is its ability to spark curiosity and interest in students. But left to their own devices, students may veer off topic. This is why educators should develop a structured plan to maximize the use of VR within lesson plans and then guide their students along the path. As part of the plan, it is important for teachers to determine goals and expectations for students and set guidelines for students to follow to ensure optimal learning experiences.

Teach Empathy and Cultural Competence

The magic of VR is that it brings different places throughout the world right into the classroom. These new perspectives can result in fostering empathy and cultural competence because they take students outside of their normal daily experience. The use of VR and AR helps students understand people’s unique situations across the world. For example, teachers can use VR applications to enhance language teaching by exposing students to the cultures of the people who speak the language. Using technology to build culturally responsive environments helps students respect cultures different from their own.

Virtual Reality Curriculum Guide: Experience, Immersion and Excursion in the Classroom

A framework for teaching with New York Times 360 V.R. videos, plus eight lesson plans for STEM and the humanities.

By Travis Feldler and Natalie Proulx

This guide is available as a downloadable PDF.

In 2015, The New York Times pioneered a new form of storytelling: virtual reality journalism. In an introduction to its first V.R. video, “ The Displaced ,” a documentary about three children who had been forced from their homes by war and persecution, Jake Silverstein, The New York Times Magazine’s editor, wrote:

We decided to launch The Times’s virtual-reality efforts with these portraits because we recognize that this new filmmaking technology enables an uncanny feeling of connection with people whose lives are far from our own. By creating a 360-degree environment that encircles the viewer, virtual reality creates the experience of being present within distant worlds, making it uniquely suited to projects, like this one, that speak to our senses of empathy and community.

Since then, The Times has created a series of 360-degree videos that transport users from their living rooms to far-flung places — from Antarctica to Ethiopia, the depths of the ocean to Pluto, back to the beginning of the universe and through Olympic history.

Five years later, V.R. might not have taken off in the way many hoped it would , but it still has the potential to be a powerful tool for the classroom.

A Guide for Using NYT VR With Students

Getting started with v.r. in the classroom, lesson 1: a mission to pluto, lesson 2: meet three children displaced by war and persecution, lesson 3: four antarctic expeditions, lesson 4: time travel through olympic history, lesson 5: decode the secret language of dolphins and whales, lesson 6: memorials and justice, lesson 7: the world’s biggest physics experiment, lesson 8: journey to the hottest place on earth, why virtual reality.

Virtual reality is engaging, yes — its novelty can be an excellent hook for learning — but it can also be so much more than that. With The Times’s 360 videos, students are no longer mere spectators, reading about an event or watching it unfold, but participants in it. Virtual reality can create a visceral experience, evoke memories, and foster empathy and emotional connection in a way that is rare in other mediums.

It can also make abstract concepts concrete — taking students inside a giant microscope that smashes together subatomic particles, transporting them to iconic moments in history, or introducing them to people affected by the global refugee crisis.

And V.R. can take students to places they might otherwise never get the chance to go, whether that’s the Mississippi Delta, Antarctica or Pluto.

From a practical standpoint, what’s also useful about NYT VR is that the films are typically no longer than 10 minutes, so they are easy to fit into a normal class period without overwhelming students.

In this guide, we offer you an array of examples to leverage immersive technology in your classroom using New York Times content and give you the tools to create V.R. lessons of your own.

How to Use This Guide

This guide comes in two parts: (1) a framework for teaching with virtual reality and (2) a set of eight lesson plans, each based on an NYT VR video. It’s meant to be flexible based on your curricular goals and the needs of your students. Here are a few suggestions for using it in your classroom.

Teach Our Lesson Plans. We’ve included eight lesson plans suitable for STEM and humanities classes that can be taught in one to two class periods. Each one is based on an NYT VR video, or series of videos, and includes activities for before, during and after the V.R. experience.

Practice Skills. Virtual reality is ripe for practicing a number of academic skills related to STEM and the humanities. You can use the lessons in this guide or the videos on their own to teach students skills like:

Making predictions and observations and drawing conclusions.

Asking media literacy questions .

Having discussions and making claims grounded in text evidence.

Practicing descriptive writing and communicating complex concepts.

Using multiple literacies like reading, viewing and listening.

Building empathy and taking the perspectives of others.

Build Your Own Curriculum. Are you teaching about animal intelligence in biology? Reading a novel about refugees in language arts? Learning about the civil rights movement in social studies? You can use any of the lesson plans in this guide to supplement a unit you’re already teaching. Here are a few ideas:

Use a video as an engaging hook at the beginning of a unit.

Take a “virtual field trip” to build background knowledge on a culture, place, people, historical event or scientific concept you are studying.

Make what you’re learning relevant to the real world by inviting students to connect what they’re studying in class to a VR video.

You can also draw on the themes and learning strategies in this guide to create your own lesson plans or units around an NYT VR film of your choice. Find many more 360 videos to use in your classroom in the 360 Video stream or the New York Times YouTube channel .

Learning Strategies for V.R.

We suggest a few teaching ideas to get the most out of virtual reality with your students.

Roles and Goals. Virtual reality is experiential; it asks viewers not just to watch the film, but also to participate in it. By giving students roles to play (astronauts, anthropologists, museum curators, deep-sea divers) and having focused objectives (collecting data, sharing insights, making recommendations), teachers provide students with a mission to decode their experiences.

Partners. Pairing students creates a community of trust, develops empathy and deepens experience sharing. It’s also useful if you have a limited number of viewing devices. Ensure that each partner has a role in the activity. For example, one student might view the video and share their observations verbally while another student records them.

Exploration and Inquiry. This medium is all about exploration, inquiry and play, so while students will have a learning objective, they should also have plenty of time to follow their curiosities and investigate the new worlds they find themselves in. We suggest students watch the video at least twice: once to explore and again to make specific observations related to their roles and goals.

Journaling. After students view the V.R. video, they should have an opportunity to record their observations, synthesize their ideas and reflect on their overall experience. Each of our lessons includes a journaling opportunity, such as the “If I Were There” and “Notice and Wonder” protocols. Then, students can discuss what they wrote.

Tips for Getting Started With V.R. in the Classroom

From safety precautions to technology requirements, here’s what you’ll need to teach with NYT VR.

A Tool, Not a Curriculum. Virtual reality is not a technology that should replace other teaching resources; instead, it should serve as a complementary tool that can enhance learning across disciplines. As with any new technology being introduced into the classroom, success depends on expectations, an effective strategy and the practical details of how it is being used.

Safety! Safety! Safety! We always recommend sitting when participating in V.R. experiences. Partners create an additional safety measure because the partner who is observing can ensure that his or her partner is safely experiencing the VR content.

Before starting, go over a list of dos and don’ts. Some of our personal favorites include:

No standing up.

If you are starting to feel dizzy or getting a headache, take the headset off.

Do not flail hands or legs around to avoid causing potential accidents.

Virtual reality can sometimes be an intensely emotional experience. Remind students that if they are feeling overwhelmed, it’s OK to stop.

Technology. To get started, you’ll also need some basic technology. Here are some general requirements:

Internet : V.R. experiences can be downloaded or streamed. We recommend downloading the experience to the device so that streaming issues are avoided.

Mobile Device : Smartphones are essential to powering these experiences.

Headset : Choose a headset that makes the most sense for the mobile devices that you are using. There are mobile device-agnostic headsets that could work with a variety of phones. Prices start under $10 for a simple cardboard viewer and go up from there. Most headsets also come with compatibility specs, so that you can be better informed on how to pair accurately.

Without Headset : 360 videos can also be viewed without a headset, but the experience isn’t as immersive. When viewing 360 videos in this format, you can drag the screen while the video is playing to view the surrounding environment in 360 degrees.

Headphones : Headphones allow the user to be more immersed and reduce the disruption to the experience that could arise from using speakers.

Finding Experiences : The NYT VR app no longer exists, but you can view NYT VR experiences via your mobile device on The New York Times, or via the YouTube VR or Within apps on the Oculus. You can also find several Times 360 videos on TechRow , a subscription-based V.R. and video delivery system for the classroom.

The NYT VR Video: “Seeking Pluto’s Frigid Heart” (View on The New York Times or YouTube VR , 8 min.)

On July 14, 2016, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft zipped past Pluto and its moons, scanning the dwarf planet in unprecedented detail. Before this moment, the best images of Pluto were only a few fuzzy pixels wide.

In this virtual reality video, students will travel on New Horizons, gliding through space at a million miles a day. They will fly over Pluto’s rugged surface and smooth places, stand on icy mountains, and watch the moon Charon rise on the horizon and touch down on a frost-rimmed crater billions of years old.

Roles and Goals Students have been selected to form a student space force to board the New Horizons spacecraft traveling to Pluto. As members of this elite team, their goal is to document their experience and share their insights on the dwarf planet with their peers.

Before Your Mission to Pluto Have students write down at least five facts they know about Pluto. For example:

• What is Pluto? • How big is Pluto? • Where is it located in the solar system? • What are some of its defining features? • How many moons are in Pluto’s orbit? • Can life exist on Pluto?

Compile students’ facts into a class list. They might check their facts, or find out more information, here .

Then, invite them to make a prediction based on what they already know: What do they think it would be like to visit Pluto?

During Your Mission Now, students will experience the NYT VR video “Seeking Pluto’s Frigid Heart.” As they watch, they should pay attention to Pluto’s unique characteristics. After viewing, they should record what they observe about Pluto:

• Location in the solar system • Surface features • Temperature • Gravity • Moons • Atmosphere

After Your Mission Students should report back to the space command center to share the insights they gained on their mission. Invite them to reflect on the following questions in writing or discussion:

What was it like to “visit” Pluto in the V.R. film? How close were your predictions to what you experienced? Based on what saw, what do you think it would be like to actually go there?

What are some of the defining characteristics of Pluto? How do those compare to what you know about Earth?

What is one new thing we learned from the New Horizons mission to Pluto? What questions do you still have about the dwarf planet?

What do these insights reveal about the universe we live in?

To share what the New Horizons mission found when it flew past Pluto, The New York Times created this interactive based on images and information from NASA. Invite your students to demonstrate what they learned about Pluto by creating an original drawing or series of drawings and annotating them with key information about the dwarf planet.

Further Reading and Viewing NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Sends Signal From Pluto to Earth Images of Pluto From NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft

The NYT VR Video: “The Displaced” (View on The New York Times or YouTube VR , 11 min.)

More than 70 million people are currently displaced from their homes by war and persecution. Half are children. In this V.R. documentary, viewers travel to Ukraine, Syria and Sudan to learn the stories of three of those children.

Roles and Goals Students have been invited to form a student council to explore the impact of civil war on children, refugees and internally displaced persons in Ukraine, Syria and Sudan. As members of this council, their goal is to share insights from their experience with their peers and identify ways they can support displaced people in their community and around the world.

Before Your Trip to Ukraine, Syria and Sudan What do your students know about the global refugee crisis? Before they take off on their trip, have them create a K/W/L chart , either individually or as a class, to record what they know and what they want to know about the crisis.

Then, have students to look up the definitions of “ refugee ” and “ displaced person .” They can add these definitions to their chart.

Finally, show students this three-minute clip (Facing History and Ourselves) of Samantha Power, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, giving an overview of the current refugee crisis. Invite them to discuss what they learned and the questions they have, and then add those to their K/W/L chart.

During Your Trip Now students will embark on their virtual field trip to Ukraine, Syria and Sudan by watching “The Displaced.” As they watch, they should pay attention to the moments of “connection” and “disconnection” they have with the three children profiled in the film. In what ways are their personalities, families, homes, hopes and dreams, and life experiences similar? In what ways are they different?

After students have finished watching, they can journal or make a list in a T-chart about the “connections” and “disconnections” they have with the children.

Lastly, they can add anything new they learned about the refugee crisis to their K/W/L charts.

After Your Trip Invite students back together to discuss their insights from the visit, either in writing or together as a class:

Which moments in the video were particularly surprising, moving or affecting to you?

What are some of the causes of displacement around the world? How does displacement affect the lives of children particularly?

How was virtually visiting Oleg, Hana and Chuol different than learning facts about the refugee crisis? What did it feel like to “be” there?

What are some things you found you had in common with these children? In what ways are your lives different? What do you think it would be like to be forced from your home?

If you could talk to these children, what questions would you ask them? What else would you want to know about their lives?

As members of this special student council, students should come up with a proposal for how they can support refugees or people who have been displaced.

They might start by watching Ms. Power talk about small steps individuals can take to help refugees in this one-minute video (Facing History and Ourselves).

Then, they can brainstorm actions they can take on a school level, a local level, a national level and an international level. For example, if there are refugees at their school or in their community, what could they do to support them? If students themselves are refugees, they might share their experiences and what support they would want most from others.

Here are some more resources to get them started:

How You Can Help Refugees in the United States (The New York Times)

4 Ways You Can Support Refugees (Voices of Youth)

Taking Action to Assist Syrian Refugees (I Am Syria)

Students might choose one of the actions they brainstormed and develop it into a plan for supporting refugees in their school, community or country.

Further Reading The Displaced: Introduction The Displaced: Oleg The Displaced: Chuol The Displaced: Hana

The NYT VR Videos: “The Antarctica Series” (View on The New York Times or YouTube VR, links below)

In this collection of four V.R. videos, viewers explore life on, above and below the Antarctic ice. They’ll dive under eight feet of ice with expert divers, fly in a helicopter through the McMurdo Dry Valleys, travel in a military plane over the Ross Ice Shelf, and join the people at McMurdo Station who make life possible on the least habitable continent.

Roles and Goals Your school has decided to establish a student expeditionary force to Antarctica to explore life around the continent. Students’ goal is to document their experience and share it with their peers so they can better understand the Antarctic environment and landscape as a whole.

Students can choose from among these four expeditions:

In “ Under a Cracked Sky ” (10 min.), dive under eight feet of sea ice to swim with seals, explore ice caves and float above a dark seabed crawling with life.

In “ Three Six Juliet ” (11 min.), fly in a helicopter through the McMurdo Dry Valleys, one of the most extreme environments on Earth.

In “ McMurdo Station ” (9 min.), join the mechanics, cooks, drivers, firefighters, scientists and others who run a research station on the least habitable continent, thousands of miles from civilization.

In “ A Shifting Continent ” (15 min.), fly with scientists in a military cargo plane as they probe the structure of the Ross Ice Shelf, a Texas-size chunk of floating ice.

Before Your Antarctic Expedition Have students choose the expedition they want to go on, or assign them to one, making sure each excursion has an even number of people.

Invite students to convene with the other students who are going on their expedition. In their groups, have them discuss what they already know about Antarctica. Then, based on their prior knowledge and the description of their V.R. experience, have them make a list of essentials they would likely need to take with them.

Finally, challenge them to make some predictions: What do they think they will find as they explore life on, above and below the Antarctic ice?

During Your Expedition Now students will embark on their chosen Antarctic expedition from “The Antarctica Series.” As they watch, they should act like researchers, collecting data on their experience to report back to their classmates. They will become the “experts” on this particular piece of the continent, so it’s important they take detailed notes about their observations.

They can use the “If I Were There” journaling protocol to record what they find:

• If I were there, I would touch … • If I were there, I would see … • If I were there, I would hear … • If I were there, I would smell … • If I were there, I would taste … • If I were there, I would feel …

After Your Expedition Have students rejoin their small groups and synthesize the data they gathered from their expeditions before sharing it with their peers. They can discuss the following questions:

What was interesting or surprising about your journey?

What were some of the unique characteristics of the place you visited?

What are the conditions like for researchers there?

What have researchers learned from studying this specific piece of the continent? In what ways might this research contribute to our understanding of the world, the universe or ourselves?

Next, have at least one person from each group meet together in “teaching groups.” In these groups, each expert should have a chance to share what they learned on their respective expedition while the others take notes.

After everyone has had a chance to share, invite each group to discuss the following questions:

Could you see yourself doing any of the research jobs you observed in the V.R. videos? If so, which ones and why? If not, why not?

How do you think the research conducted by scientists in Antarctica might affect the world? In what ways might it affect your lives, if at all?

Do you think it is worthwhile for countries to spend time, money and resources studying Antarctica? Why or why not?

Remembering Emmett Till

In this virtual reality documentary, we explore how the mississippi towns where emmett till’s murder took place more than six decades ago are trying to memorialize him..

On hot August night more than 63 years ago, Emmett Till was lynched here in the Mississippi Delta. His case was so horrific that he became an enduring symbol for racial hostility and injustice. In 1955, Emmett, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago, was kidnapped, brutally beaten and lynched in Mississippi after he was accused of whistling at a white woman at a grocery store. His body was thrown into a river and found days later. “The body was so badly damaged that we couldn’t hardly just tell who he was, but he happened to have on a ring with his initials.” The men charged in Emmett’s killing, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury, and though they later confessed, no one served any time. His mother, Mamie Till Mobley, was thrust into the media spotlight and spoke out on national television. “Well, the whole trial was just a farce, and — but the verdict was the one that I had expected to be given.” She held an open-casket funeral, and in allowing his tortured body to be photographed, brought public attention to the case, profoundly shaping the civil rights movement. “For him to have died a hero would mean more to me than for him just to have died. And I know that his life can’t be returned, but I hope that his death will certainly start a movement.” Here in Mississippi, the name “Emmett Till” has been carried by black families generation to generation, often as a cautionary tale. But only in the last decade or so have officials formally recognized what happened to the teenager in the summer of 1955. I came to Mississippi to learn how these communities are grappling with the legacy of Emmett Till. There are still physical reminders of his death. Many of these structures are easy to miss or not fully accessible. They are off remote dirt roads, along a deserted bridge and even on an old plantation. But now there’s an effort to memorialize his story with historical markers. Here in Sumner, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center puts up some of these markers. Jessie Jaynes-Diming gives tours of these sites, including one with a sign that has been marred by vandalism. “This sign here is the replacement sign for the one that disappeared. And as you can see, it has many different bullet holes in it. We’re due to replace it with a bulletproof one. We do have another one that is up at this particular time, but it’s also shot up. I would not replace it again. I want the world to see just as Mamie did. I want the world to see how some people still feel about Emmett’s death.” Another important site in the story has escaped vandalism, but has withered under neglect. This roofless, crumbling building was once Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, where Emmett encountered Carolyn Bryant Donham, the shopkeeper, in 1955. You could drive right past it and not see it, save for the marker to its side. It’s currently owned by the Tribble family, whose patriarch was a juror in the murder trial. Over the years, the Till center and others have tried to buy the building and have it donated to be restored as a memorial, but so far, the negotiations have been unsuccessful. Emmett was kidnapped from his uncle’s house and brought to this barn, where he was brutally beaten and tortured. The barn’s current owner, Dr. Jeff Andrews, has maintained the structure, upgrading the exterior. He allows people to visit, but it’s unmarked. The Tallahatchie County Courthouse in front of you was the site of the murder trial. Mississippi State Senator David Jordan is one of the last living people to have witnessed the trial in 1955. He was a college freshman then, and he came with his classmates. “So when we walked inside of the courtroom, the four of us were sitting side by side. And as we looked forward — and we could look at at the courtroom like it is now, it was exactly like it was in 1955. When Mrs. Till and Congressman Charles Gage walked in, I believe they walked to their right, and they they took a seat up where the African-American reporters were.” “For 50 years, our community wanted to forget what took place here. And it wasn’t until the community finally came together across racial lines and offered the first apology that we began work on restoring our courthouse back to the way [it was in] 1955, and opening up the Emmett Till Interpretive Center across the street.” Outside the courthouse, there’s now a sign to mark the murder trial on one side, on the other side there’s a Confederate monument. It was put up in 1913, during the Jim Crow era. I came back to this bullet-riddled marker, where Emmett’s body was recovered from the river. Over and over again, the signs have been vandalized. Is there a larger message? A dark interpretation would be that some people don’t want to be reminded of his murder. But for those invested in preserving Emmett’s legacy, their hope is that such memorials help visitors walk away with an honest account of what happened to this 14-year-old boy all those years ago. I was struck by the contrast of the decay and emptiness of Bryant’s Grocery store, and its outsized role in Emmett Till’s fate — and in turn, American civil rights history. In so many ways, this embodies the push and pull of public memory — and the question of how America chooses to forget or face its history.

The NYT VR Video: “Remembering Emmett Till” (View on The New York Times , 8 min.)

In “ Remembering Emmett Till: The Legacy of a Lynching ,” Veda Shastri, Audra D.S. Burch, Tim Chaffee and Nicole Fineman write:

In August 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till of Chicago was accused of whistling at a white woman at a grocery store in Mississippi. He was later kidnapped, tortured, lynched and dumped in a river. Today, more than six decades later, the local communities in towns closely connected to Emmett’s story are grappling with the legacy of the lynching.

In this 360-degree documentary, students will travel with Audra D.S. Burch, a New York Times correspondent, to the Mississippi town where Emmett was killed. They will visit several key locations to explore the cultural reckoning happening now and examine the role that physical structures related to the Emmett Till case play in the efforts to memorialize him.

Roles and Goals Students have been invited to form a student team of curators to help memorialize Emmett for the Emmett Till Interpretive Center. Their goal is to visit the places that make up the narrative of what happened to Emmett and make suggestions for how the center can commemorate this painful history.

Before Your Visit to the Mississippi Delta Invite students to do a quick-write responding to the following question:

How should a community memorialize a painful history — such as a murder, a riot, a lynching or a massacre inspired by racism?

Should it create informational markers, preserve old structures and build statues? Should it try to teach future generations what happened? Or, should it do nothing in an attempt to move on to a better future?

After students have finished writing, have them discuss their response with a partner.

During Your Visit Now, students will travel to the place where Emmett’s murder took place, in the virtual reality documentary “Remembering Emmett Till.” As they watch, they should pay attention to the various markers of Emmett’s story shared in the film, as well as their own emotional reactions.

Have students journal about what they saw and heard, and how it made them feel. They might use the following prompts:

• One location that stood out to me was … because … • One quote that resonated with me was … because … • One emotion I had while watching was … because … • One question I have is …

After Your Visit Have students come back together to discuss what they learned. They can reflect on the following questions in writing or discussion:

What happened to Emmet Till over 60 years ago? How are the two communities where these events happened still grappling with the legacy?

Should the Emmett Till Interpretive Center stop trying to replace the bullet-riddled historical markers, as a way to show the world that some people still want to erase this painful history? Or should they rededicate a new marker, to ensure that vandalism doesn’t prevent people from learning about these events? (You can read this 2019 article to get an update on this story.)

Do historical signs and markers matter? Do you ever read them? Are they important to maintain?

What do you think the Emmett Till Interpretive Center should do next to help preserve the legacy of what happened in these towns? After watching the film, what would you advise?

Have students visit the Emmett Till Interpretive Center’s website to learn more about the center’s work. Then they can use their new knowledge to provide additional insights into answering the key question: How should these two communities memorialize this painful history?

Invite them to write up a proposal or sketch a design of one way these communities could commemorate Emmett’s legacy.

Further Reading Emmett Till’s Murder, and How America Remembers Its Darkest Moments Emmett Till Memorial Has a New Sign. This Time, It’s Bulletproof.

The NYT VR Video: “Inside CERN’s Large Hadron Collider” (View on The New York Times , 6 min.)

In this virtual reality experience, viewers travel beneath the fields of Switzerland and France to tour the largest microscope ever built. They’ll explore the ins and outs of the machine, hear about its future, and study the remnants of the Higgs boson, a long-sought particle that helps explain why there is mass, diversity and life in the cosmos.

Roles and Goals Students have been invited to form a committee to study the Large Hadron Collider, developed by physicists at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, before it closes for upgrades. Their goal is to learn how the microscope works and share their findings with their peers.

Before Your Tour of the Large Hadron Collider Have students begin by discussing these questions: Why are microscopes important? What do we use them for? What are some things we’ve learned about our world that we would not know without them?

Then, invite them to read about how CERN’s Large Hadron Collider works:

The collider is a kind of microscope that works by flinging subatomic particles around a 17-mile electromagnetic racetrack beneath the French-Swiss countryside, smashing them together 600 million times a second and sifting through the debris for new particles and forces of nature. The instrument is also a time machine, providing a glimpse of the physics that prevailed in the early moments of the universe and laid the foundation for the cosmos as we see it today.

What might scientists learn about the universe from this machine? In what ways might this knowledge be useful to us?

Finally, have them brainstorm questions they would want to ask the physicists of CERN about the collider.

During Your Tour Now, students will travel beneath the French-Swiss countryside to tour the microscope in the V.R. video “Inside CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.” As they watch, they should pay attention to the different parts of the machine and how they work.

After the video, students should jot down what they learned about the following components of the collider and the role each plays:

• The “racetrack” • The detectors • Compact Muon Solenoid • Atlas • The computer banks

After Your Tour Gather the students back together to share their insights with each other about CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. Students can discuss what they learned using the following prompts:

What was your experience like inside the collider? What are some things you discovered on your tour?

Why was the discovery of the Higgs boson so significant? How did the collider aid in that discovery?

How do you think the research conducted by physicists using the Large Hadron Collider might affect the world? How might it affect you personally?

Now, have students create a model to illustrate how a subatomic particle would travel through the Large Hadron Collider.

The model can take any form students like, but they should remember that the goal is to help their peers understand how this microscope works. They might create a drawing or a digital illustration. If they have the resources, they can build a virtual model using 3-D software or a physical one using clay or some other material. They could create a comic or a short video that follows an animated proton on its journey through the collider. All models should include labels of the key elements they portray.

They can find more information in the article “ It’s Intermission Time for the Large Hadron Collider .”

Finally, invite students to reflect: What did they learn from creating their model? What are its limitations? In other words, what is the model not able to show? What questions did this assignment raise for them?

The NYT VR Video: “The Land of Salt and Fire” (View on The New York Times or YouTube VR , 6 min.)

Tectonic shifts are disrupting the traditional way of life for people in the Afar region in Ethiopia. In this V.R. video, students will be transported to Dallol, Ethiopia, the hottest place on Earth, where they will travel with camel caravans across salt flats and active geothermal zones, to find out how the Afar people are adapting.

Roles and Goals Students have been invited to form an anthropological expedition to document life in Dallol. As members of this team, their goal is to document their experiences and share insights with their peers to better understand Dallol’s unique geography and people.

Before Your Excursion to Dallol Before visiting the people and places they are studying, anthropologists always conduct background research. Have students do this by first finding Dallol on a map. Next, invite them to spend a few minutes doing a Google image search of “ Dallol ” and “ salt trade ,” an important economic activity in the region.

Then, discuss what they notice and wonder about what they see. Ask them:

• How would you describe the landscape of Dallol? What is unique about it? • Where does the salt trade predominantly take place? • How is salt mined? What tools are used? • What might you expect to see on a visit to Dallol?

During Your Excursion Now students will embark on their expedition by watching the NYT VR video “The Land of Salt and Fire.” As they watch, remind them that anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures, so they should pay special attention to how the people of Dallol have developed their society and what role the environment has played in it.

After they’ve finished, they can use the “If I Were There” protocol to record their observations:

After Your Excursion Invite students to reconvene and discuss the discoveries they made. They can reflect on the following questions in writing or discussion:

What was interesting or surprising about their trip to Dallol? What did it feel like to “be there”?

What role has the salt trade played in the lives of the Afar people over generations?

What are the forces that are changing the Afar people’s traditional way of life? How are they adapting?

How can an environment influence a people’s way of life? How does the environment where you live influence how people live and work in your community?

The goal of anthropologists is to publish their findings so they can share what they’ve learned with the public. Students can create a one-pager to share their insights with their peers. They can summarize their findings with an illustration, a quote and a question they might want to ask the Afar people. Post the one-pagers around the classroom and have students do a gallery walk, or invite them to present their work in small groups.

Further Reading Voyages: The Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

Travis Feldler is the founder of TechRow , a social enterprise that explores how to leverage immersive technology inside schools to improve learning outcomes.

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx

Immersive virtual reality as a pedagogical tool in education: a systematic literature review of quantitative learning outcomes and experimental design

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Published: 11 July 2020
Volume 8 , pages 1–32, ( 2021 )

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C. Wilson ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1054-4928 1

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The adoption of immersive virtual reality (I-VR) as a pedagogical method in education has challenged the conceptual definition of what constitutes a learning environment. High fidelity graphics and immersive content using head-mounted-displays (HMD) have allowed students to explore complex subjects in a way that traditional teaching methods cannot. Despite this, research focusing on learning outcomes, intervention characteristics, and assessment measures associated with I-VR use has been sparse. To explore this, the current systematic review examined experimental studies published since 2013, where quantitative learning outcomes using HMD based I-VR were compared with less immersive pedagogical methods such as desktop computers and slideshows. A literature search yielded 29 publications that were deemed suitable for inclusion. Included papers were quality assessed using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). Most studies found a significant advantage of utilising I-VR in education, whilst a smaller number found no significant differences in attainment level regardless of whether I-VR or non-immersive methods were utilised. Only two studies found clear detrimental effects of using I-VR. However, most studies used short interventions, did not examine information retention, and were focused mainly on the teaching of scientific topics such as biology or physics. In addition, the MERSQI showed that the methods used to evaluate learning outcomes are often inadequate and this may affect the interpretation of I-VR’s utility. The review highlights that a rigorous methodological approach through the identification of appropriate assessment measures, intervention characteristics, and learning outcomes is essential to understanding the potential of I-VR as a pedagogical method.

Systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis on virtual reality and education

Mario A. Rojas-Sánchez, Pedro R. Palos-Sánchez & José A. Folgado-Fernández

Gamification and Game Based Learning for Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Literature Review

Fazlida Dahalan, Norlidah Alias & Mohd Shahril Nizam Shaharom

The Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL): a Theoretical Research-Based Model of Learning in Immersive Virtual Reality

Guido Makransky & Gustav B. Petersen

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

The increasing financial feasibility of virtual reality (VR) has allowed for educational institutions to incorporate the technology into their teaching. According to research, 96% of universities and 79% of colleges in the UK are now utilising augmented or virtual reality in some capacity (UKAuthority 2019 ). In addition, the rising power of personal computers and associated hardware has led to a revolution in graphical fidelity, with ever more complex and realistic simulations and virtual worlds (Slater 2018 ). As Dickey ( 2005 ) alludes to, this has both challenged and expanded the very conceptual definition of what is defined as a learning environment. Where once this would have been restricted to classroom teaching or field trips, VR’s innate ability to give users a sense of presence and immersion has opened new possibilities in education if implemented appropriately (Häfner et al. 2018 ).

The use of technology-aided education as a pedagogical method is not a modern phenomenon, and investigations into its utility have been studied for almost half a century. As far back as the 1970s, Ellinger and Frankland ( 1976 ) found that the use of early computers to teach economic principles produced comparative learning outcomes with traditional didactic methods such as lectures. However, as Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ) allude to, it was with the release of the Oculus Rift in 2013 that VR became synonymous with head-mounted-display (HMD) based VR. This had several ramifications. First, HMDs became economically feasible for consumers and educational institutions to acquire en masse , due to a significant drop in price (Hodgson et al. 2015 ). As Olmos et al. ( 2018 ) remarks, the economic viability of VR has tackled one of the main entry barriers to adopting the technology. And secondly, academic research into the potential benefits of I-VR in education starts to expand, as well as its applied use in pedagogical settings (Hodgson et al. 2019 ). One of VR’s most important contributions to education is that it has allowed students to repeatedly practice complex and demanding tasks in a safe environment. This is particularly true of procedural tasks such as surgical operations or dental procedures that cannot be carried out for real until a certain level of competency has been achieved (Alaraj et al. 2011 ; Larsen et al. 2012 ). Additionally, VR has allowed for students to gain cognitive skills by way of experiential learning, such as exposing them to environments that would be too logistically problematic to visit in reality (Çalişkan 2011 ). For instance, by using a HMD, Bailenson et al. ( 2018 ) were able to expose students to an underwater environment to facilitate learning about climate change. VR has made an important contribution to education in that it has allowed for students to directly experience environments or situations that are difficult to replicate by using traditional teaching methods such as lectures, slideshows, or 2D videos.

A concise definition of VR’s key characteristics is challenging due to the ever-changing nature of the technology. However, Sherman and Craig ( 2003 ) proposed that there are a number of constituent elements that must underpin the VR experience, ultimately leading to the life-like perception of the virtual environment. These include the necessity for VR to be immersive, in that the participant’s own cognitive faculties produce a sense of being present and involved in the virtual space, often with reduced awareness of what is happening in the real-world around them. Additionally, the virtual space should offer a degree of interactivity, in that the user can manipulate the environment and test variables. This can include interacting with objects, virtual avatars, or even collaborating with other real-life users within the computer-generated space.

Definition of key terms

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of VR research and its pedagogical applications, it is important to define key terms used. VR can broadly be broken down into two main categories: desktop VR (D-VR), and immersive-VR (I-VR). D-VR is typically classified as non-immersive, in that a headset is not used, and the participant will be controlling and manipulating the virtual environment on a computer screen with traditional keyboard and mouse hardware (Lee et al. 2010 ). On the other hand, I-VR is typically multi-modal in nature by providing a sense of immersion in the environment through 360° visuals by aid of a HMD, auditory stimulation through the use of earphones, and increasingly the proprioception of limbs by way of controllers and tracking (Freina and Ott 2015 ; Howard-Jones et al. 2015 ; Murcia-López and Steed 2016 ). Although there are a range of HMDs on the market, from high-end hardware like the HTC Vive, to viable low-cost options like the Google Cardboard, they all utilise the same core principals of operation (Brown and Green 2016 ). Typically, a HMD will feature a set of embedded liquid crystal displays (LCD) which will present each eye an image from a slightly different angle. This mimics natural optic function by allowing the wearer to view a stereoscopic image complete with depth perception and a wide field of view. Mobile VR headsets can achieve the same effect using a single display by dividing the screen down the middle and presenting each half to the corresponding eye. Therefore, the current review defines a HMD as a device worn over the head, which provides a stereoscopic computer-generated or 360 ° video image to the user. This includes tethered (connected to a computer), stand-alone (no computer needed), or mobile VR headsets (mobile/cell phone connected to a HMD).

Previous literature and reviews

There have been a number of systematic reviews that have previously explored the relationship between VR and pedagogical attainment. Lee ( 1999 ) reviewed 19 studies from as far back as 1976 and found that 66% of students in simulation groups outperformed those in their respective control groups. However, this review did not focus exclusively on an educational level or age range, so featured both young kindergarten children, as well as higher education students. As a result, the generalisability of VR’s effectiveness as a pedagogical method is difficult to ascertain, with significant differences in age, task difficulty, and applications. Furthermore, all the studies are dated in terms of the technology utilised and feature early D-VR programmes and rudimental computer simulations. This early technology may be primitive when compared with the high-fidelity graphics and immersive components of contemporary technology. Nevertheless, these early studies do help exemplify that the use of technology in education is not a new concept, and computer-based simulations have long been employed as a way of facilitating learning.

A more recent analysis was undertaken by Merchant et al. ( 2014 ), and looked at three specific sub-categories of VR: games, simulations, and virtual worlds. Games give the actor autonomy and freedom to move around the virtual world, testing hypotheses, achieving goals, and eliciting motivation and learning through immersion (Gee 2004 ). Simulations attempt to recreate a real-world environment that can help facilitate learning by allowing for the testing of variables and resulting outcomes. Finally, virtual worlds can provide an immersive or non-immersive sense of presence in a three-dimensional (3D) world, and the ability to manipulate, interact, or construct objects. Furthermore, virtual worlds can give the opportunity for multiple users to interact with one another within the digital environment (Dickey 2005 ). The meta-analysis showed that although game-based VR produced the highest learning outcomes, simulations and virtual worlds were also effective at increasing educational attainment. Once again, the limitation of this review is that it did not restrict its analysis to exclusively one domain of education. Although higher education made up the greatest number of studies, research from elementary and middle school were also included in the analysis.

One of the most recent systematic reviews to look exclusively at I-VR through the utilisation of HMDs was carried out by Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ). In their comprehensive search of existing literature published between 2013 and 2017, the review identified 21 quantitative and qualitative papers that focused on both learning outcomes in I-VR, and subjective attitudes and experiences on the part of the user. The review found limited effectiveness of HMD in the acquisition of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective skills when compared with less immersive technologies. However, Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ) did highlight the relatively low quality of studies included as a concern, and this may impede the ability to draw firm conclusions about the educational utility of I-VR.

Rationale for review

There are several fundamental reasons that necessitate an updated assessment of the topic area, such as the increase in relevant published literature, as well as the narrow scope of previous reviews. The last major review looking at I-VR and HMDs as an educational tool was carried out by Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ), with the most recent studies featured in that paper being published in 2016. Since then, there has been a significant increase in relevant published literature, with > 70% of the papers included in the current review being published since 2017, and therefore not included in the previous systematic review. Additionally, unlike previous reviews, the current examination of I-VR’s pedagogical utility focuses exclusively on studies where I-VR is directly compared to a less immersive method of learning. As a result, the current paper is able to highlight not only whether I-VR is an effective medium, but also whether it is more effective when compared to alternative methods. Additionally, no other systematic review looking at I-VR and HMDs has had a particular focus on the experimental design, assessment measures, and intervention characteristics of the included studies. The review also addresses the underlying methodology of the included studies, to offer an understanding of how I-VR is being employed in experimental literature. Based upon the findings of previous studies as well as areas yet to be sufficiently explored, this paper has a number of core research questions:

To assess the subject area, discipline, and learning domain that I-VR has been employed in.

Understand where I-VR confers an educational benefit in terms of quantitative learning outcomes over non-immersive and traditional teaching methods.

To examine the experimental design of studies, focusing on how learning outcomes are assessed, and how the I-VR intervention is delivered.

To inform future experimental and applied practice in the field of pedagogical I-VR application.

Methodology

Search strategy.

The current systematic review included peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings that passed all the inclusion criteria detailed. An initial scoping review identified seven databases that could be utilised in a comprehensive literature review, as well as associated keywords and search terms. These included Web of Science (Core Collection), Science Direct, Sage, IEEE Xplore, EBSCO, Taylor & Francis, and Google Scholar. These databases encompass a mixture of general, social science, and technological literature.

Each of the seven databases was searched using a series of keywords based on the following Boolean logic string:

("Virtual Reality" OR "Virtual-Reality" OR “Immersive Virtual Reality” OR “Head Mounted Display” OR “Immersive Simulation”) AND (Education OR Training OR Learning OR Teaching)

Due to the scope and parameters of the research objectives, only peer-reviewed literature published between January 2013 and December 2018 was included in the final review. Early access articles due to be published in 2019 were also included if these were found using the database searches. Date criteria was based upon an initial scoping review that found a substantial growth in relevant I-VR literature from 2013 onwards. A major contributing factor was the release of the Oculus Rift Development Kit 1 (DK-1) in early 2013, which is regarded as one of the first economically viable and high quality HMDs that could be used both within educational institutions, and at home (Lyne 2013 ).

The literature search across the databases yielded more than 12,000 references from a variety of sources. After the removal of duplicate records, 9,359 unique references were included for the title and abstract screening stage of the review.

Selection and screening

The open and general nature of the search string used led to a large number of references being returned for screening. As Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ) already alluded to in the last major review, VR research transcends various academic disciplines. The result is a lack of a clear taxonomy of definitions and terms. This means a wide net must be cast to ensure comprehensive capture of relevant material. This review defined I-VR as either a completely computer-generated environment, or the viewing of captured 360 ° video through the use of a HMD. Studies that utilised surgical or dental simulators and trainers such as the da Vinci Surgical System, were excluded as these represent a separate domain of both technological and pedagogical application. For example, surgical simulation based VR typically combines computer-generated visuals with simulated surgical tools, haptic feedback, and robotic components (Li et al. 2017 ). This type of technology would therefore not be applicable for general pedagogical application. Additionally, references were excluded if they: (1) focused on using I-VR as a rehabilitation or therapeutic tool; (2) were not in English; or (3) where the full-text was not available.

After title and abstract screening was performed, 197 references remained to be included in the full-text review. Each reference had to pass an inclusion flowchart based on each of the following criteria:

The population being sampled was from a high school, further or higher education establishment, or was an adult education student.

Population sampled did not have a developmental or neurological condition, nor could VR be used as a rehabilitation tool.

Paper described an experimental or quasi-experimental trial with at least one control group.

At least one group had to have undergone an educational HMD I-VR experience, and was compared with another group who underwent a non-immersive or traditional pedagogical method of education (e.g. Desktop VR, PowerPoint, traditional lecture).

A quantitative and objective learning outcome such as tests scores, completion time, or knowledge retention was used to assess effectiveness.

After full-text screening, 29 references passed all stages and were included in the systematic review. See Fig. 1 for a summary of the selection process by stage.

Stage-by-stage selection process

Inter-rater reliability checks were conducted at the title and abstract screening stage to assess the agreement of included studies. There were four individual evaluators that assessed the suitability of each reference based upon the inclusion criteria, which yielded an average agreement of 96%. Where any disagreement existed, the paper was discussed among all assessors until a unanimous decision was reached as to its suitability.

Quality assessment tool

To assess the quality of the studies, the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) was used (Reed et al. 2007 ). Although this tool was primarily designed to examine the quality of studies in the field of medical education, it is in practice subject neutral. As the MERSQI assesses not only the quality of experimental design and outcomes measures, but also the assessment instrumentation used, it was viewed as a suitable and comprehensive tool for quality appraisal. In addition, the same instrument was used in a previously peer-reviewed systematic review examining VR, by Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ).

The MERSQI tool covers six quality assessment domains. These include: study design, sampling, type of data, validity of evaluation instrument, data analysis, and outcomes. Each domain is scored out of three, with a maximum overall score of 18. Unlike Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ), the current review gave full points in the study design category for experimental trials with participant randomisation, as well as appropriate pre-intervention measures. This decision was made as true randomised control trials featuring random sampling is unrealistic in I-VR pedagogical research, as the participant sample can only be drawn from an educational establishment.

Quality of studies

The first domain examined for quality was the study design of the papers. There were 20 studies (69%) that featured an experimental design with stated random allocation of participants between control and experimental group. The review featured nine studies (31%) that were quasi-experimental in nature, meaning there was non-random allocation of participants into experimental groups.

Only one of the studies featured participants being studied at more than one institution, with most of the studies included ( N = 28) only sampling from a single establishment. All studies produced response rates of over 75%, which means they were given the highest score in that domain.

In terms of the type of data presented, all included studies featured an objective measure of learning outcomes such as test scores or completion times. No studies used self-assessment on the part of the participant to gauge learning outcomes.

The most pronounced weakness of the studies included in the review was the validity of the evaluation instrument used to assess learning outcomes. This domain pertained to the physical assessment instrumentation such as the quiz, test, or questionnaire that was given to the participant. Only six of the included studies (21%) reported the internal structure sufficiently through dimensionality, measurement invariance, or reliability using the criteria set down by Rios and Wells ( 2014 ). In addition, only 10 studies (34%) stated how the content was validated, with the majority ( N = 19) not reporting this information. Only three studies (Kozhevnikov et al. 2013 ; Makransky et al. 2017 ; Molina-Carmona et al. 2018 ) appropriately outlined both the internal structure and validity of evaluation content. The majority of studies ( N = 16) did not report either item.

Of the 29 studies in the current review, 26 scored full marks on the data analysis domain with both an appropriate and sufficiently complex analysis and reporting of the findings. Three studies scored lower than this due to reporting descriptive statistics only (Angulo and de Velasco 2013 ; Babu et al. 2018 ; Ray and Deb 2016 ).

Overall, the average quality score of a study in this systematic review was 12.7 with a range of 10.5–14.5 (SD = 1.0). This was 1.8 points higher than the review carried out by Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ), which could in part be due to differences in study design criteria which was previously outlined. A full summary of the MERSQI scores for each study can be found in Table 2 in the Appendix.

Subject areas and learning domains

Table 1 provides a summary of all 29 articles that were included in the review. Studies were first categorised by the population that was sampled. Most I-VR studies took place in a higher education establishment (college or university) using undergraduate or postgraduate students ( N = 25). A smaller number of studies used high school pupils ( N = 2), or adult education students ( N = 2) such as those in vocational or work-based programmes.

Each of the included studies were then examined for the topic and subject area they pertained to. This was based upon the nature of the VR experience, participant pool, and intervention. In total, six main subject areas were identified. This included: medicine ( N = 4), science (biology, chemistry, and physics) ( N = 13), social science (human geography) ( N = 1), computer science ( N = 2), engineering and architecture ( N = 7), and safety education ( N = 1). One of the included studies (Molina-Carmona et al. 2018 ) did not neatly fit into one of the pre-defined categories as it utilised I-VR to teach abstract spatial concept abilities to multimedia engineering students. It was therefore categorised as ‘other’. Figure 2 shows the percentage of papers included by subject area.

Percentage of papers per subject area

In addition to the subject area, the learning outcomes were also categorised into three specific domains based upon the findings of previous systematic reviews, as well as the taxonomy of learning developed by Bloom et al. ( 1956 ). The first was cognitive which related to studies that intended to teach specific declarative information or knowledge. The second was procedural which intends to teach the user how to perform a specific task or learn psychomotor skills that pertain to a certain activity. Finally, the third learning outcome was affective skills which can be defined as a growth in areas relating to emotion and attitude. Most of the included studies ( N = 24) concentrated on the cognitive domain, with two studies focusing on purely procedural and psychomotor skills. The remaining studies were a blend of two domains with Sankaranarayanan et al. ( 2018 ) and Smith et al. ( 2018 ) examining both cognitive and procedural skills, and Gutiérrez-Maldonado et al. ( 2015 ) utilising both cognitive knowledge and affective awareness in psychiatric diagnosis training. Figure 3 shows the percentage of studies included by learning domain.

Percentage of papers per learning domain

Experimental design

Outcome measures.

A thorough understanding of the role of I-VR as a pedagogical practice can only be fully appreciated when consideration is given to the assessment instrumentation and outcome measures used to assess its utility. As previously mentioned, when analysing the quality of the included studies, it was the evaluation instrumentation itself that was shown to have the most pronounced weakness.

To assess the evaluation instruments being employed, the measures were broken down into two broad domains: outcome measures, and assessment instrumentation. Outcome measures can broadly be defined as how learning outcomes were quantified (e.g. by comparing test scores). Assessment instrumentation pertains to the evaluative instrument itself that is used to measure the learning outcomes (e.g. multiple-choice questionnaire, exam style questions). Twenty-seven of the included studies (93%) used test scores to assess learning outcomes, with the majority using this as their sole method. There were four studies that used completion time as a metric of learning outcome, although only one study (Bharathi and Tucker 2015 ) used this method exclusively. There was one study (Sankaranarayanan et al. 2018 ) that used the correct order of operation in a procedural task as one of its main outcome measures. There were three papers that utilised other outcome measures that could not be easily categorised. For instance Greenwald et al. ( 2018 ) used counting the number of moves needed to complete a task, Webster ( 2016 ) used the performance on a virtual jigsaw puzzle, and Angulo and de Velasco ( 2013 ) used a mixture of scores and evaluations of an architectural space.

Assessment instrumentation

In terms of the direct assessment instrumentation used to examine outcome measures, there was a heavy reliance on the multiple-choice questionnaire (MCQ). There were eighteen (62%) studies that utilised this method of assessment, with the majority of those using it as their sole evaluation instrument. Only five studies used extended answer questions (long or short form) to probe for a deeper understanding of the educational content, which was usually done in combination MCQs. The studies that included the teaching of procedural skills used marking criteria and checklists to assess whether the correct order was being followed. For instance Yoganathan et al. ( 2018 ) had an expert assessor use marking criteria to assess the knot tying skills of students. Similarly, Smith et al. ( 2018 ) had evaluators observe students with a decontamination checklist which evaluated performance based upon certain key tasks that were performed.

There were a smaller number of studies that used more novel instrumentation and methods for evaluation, such as the utilisation of labelling and identifying parts of a 3D model (e.g. Babu et al. 2018 ; Moro et al. 2017 ; Stepan et al. 2017 ). Fogarty et al. ( 2017 ) probed spatial and conceptual understanding in their assessment instrument by having participants draw shapes based on their understanding of structural engineering principles. Additionally, Alhalabi ( 2016 ) used quizzes on both mathematical knowledge, and the appropriate understanding of graphics and charts as an assessment measure for engineering students.

There were three studies (Liou and Chang 2018 ; Madden et al. 2018 ; Ray and Deb 2016 ) where the nature of the assessment instrumentation could not be definitively ascertained from the description.

The majority of studies (62%) utilised the pretest–posttest design by comparing the test scores pre-intervention with those after the I-VR experience. The remainder of the studies tended to assess post-intervention scores only, usually by comparing the difference in learning outcome between I-VR and one or more control group. Less conventional means of post-intervention comparison was sometimes utilised, such as Johnston et al. ( 2018 ) comparing the average score on a specific exam question that pertained to an I-VR experience that some student did or did not undertake.

There were four studies that examined the short to medium term retention rate of information and learning through follow-up assessment. This ranged from as soon as 1 day after the initial I-VR experience (Babu et al. 2018 ), through to 6 months post-intervention (Smith et al. 2018 ). Olmos-Raya et al. ( 2018 ) and Stepan et al. ( 2017 ) had follow-up assessments at 1-week and 8-weeks, respectively.

Intervention characteristics

In addition to having appropriate assessment measures, it is also important to examine the nature of the I-VR intervention itself. The most popular HMDs used were the Oculus ( N = 13) and HTC Vive ( N = 7). There were seven studies that used a form of mobile VR headset such as the Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear VR. In one study (Yoganathan et al. 2018 ) the exact HMD system used could not be definitively ascertained. Figure 4 provides a breakdown of the HMDs used in the included studies.

HMDs used in studies

Most studies (72%) featured only a single intervention with the I-VR experience, meaning that the student was exposed to the technology just once. There were a few exceptions to this, with Ostrander et al. ( 2018 ) having seven individual I-VR experiences in their manufacturing lesson, as well as Ray and Deb ( 2016 ) utilising smartphone based I-VR over the course of 16 sessions. Other studies allowed a greater degree of freedom in the number of interventions or times that a student could use I-VR. This was usually a result of time being dedicated to the technology through scheduled classes or lab times (e.g. Akbulut et al. 2018 ; Alhalabi 2016 ; Molina-Carmona et al. 2018 ). Despite this, the I-VR intervention was usually a single and isolated one.

As well as most of the studies featuring a single intervention, the exposure duration was also typically short, ranging from 6 to 30 mins. Generally, the exception to this was when the I-VR exposure lasted as long as it took the participant to complete a specific task, assessment, or procedure within the immersive environment (e.g. Babu et al. 2018 ; Bharathi and Tucker 2015 ; Greenwald et al. 2018 ; Sankaranarayanan et al. 2018 ). Molina-Carmona et al. ( 2018 ) supplemented the limited intervention duration by allowing participants to take the HMD away with them, so they could access the educational content for 2 weeks outside the classroom. However, just as with the number of interventions, exposure duration tended to be short, lasting on average 13 mins for those I-VR experiences that had a set time limit.

Most of the studies (62%) utilised I-VR as the sole method of learning, and did not combine the technology with additional pedagogical practices or materials to encourage learning. Only a limited number of studies (38%) supplemented the I-VR lesson by providing additional aids that were designed to complement the educational experience. For example, Smith et al. ( 2018 ) and Stepan et al. ( 2017 ) both had participants use web-based modules and textbooks in addition to the I-VR experience before testing them on learning outcomes. A number of the included studies also utilised lecture based instruction or scheduled class time to operate in tandem with the I-VR environments (e.g. Akbulut et al. 2018 ; Fogarty et al. 2017 ; Johnston et al. 2018 ; Ray and Deb 2016 ; Sankaranarayanan et al. 2018 ).

Theoretical frameworks

A fundamental component of any educational tool or activity is to ground its use in learning theory or educational paradigms. Learning theories can broadly be broken down and defined by proposals regarding how student imbibe, process, and retain the information that they have learned (Pritchard 2017 ; Schunk 2011 ). When applied to educational I-VR, these theories should provide a pedagogical framework and foundation as how best to design interventions. Papers were examined for explicit statements regarding the theoretical basis for the study. Those papers that only mentioned theoretical approaches as part of the introduction or literature review were not deemed to have explicitly stated them. The majority of studies ( N = 24) made no mention of a theoretical approach underpinning the intervention. There were two studies that applied a generative learning framework (Makransky et al. 2017 ; Parong and Mayer 2018 ). This can be defined as an approach where the learner will actively integrate new knowledge with information that is already stored in the brain (Osborne and Wittrock 1985 ). Webster ( 2016 ) employed Mayer's ( 2009 , 2014 ) Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML). CTML proposes a dual channel approach where visual and auditory information is actively processed, organised, and then stored in the brain. This is contingent on neither channel (visual or auditory) becoming overloaded with information. Smith et al. ( 2018 ) used the NLN Jeffries Simulation Theory as their theoretical basis. This theory, most commonly employed in nursing education, is where students learn information as part of a simulated experience (Jeffries et al. 2015 ). For the teaching of vocational skills, Babu et al. ( 2018 ) stated that their approach aligned with situated learning. Situated learning employs a constructivist approach in that students learns professional skills by actively participating in the experience (Huang et al. 2010 ).

Learning outcomes

For I-VR to gain wide-spread acceptance as a reliable pedagogical method, it must be shown to confer a tangible benefit in terms of learning outcomes over less immersive or traditional teaching methods.

Cognitive studies

There were twenty-four included studies that fell into the cognitive domain and aimed to teach specific declarative information or knowledge through the I-VR environment. The current review found that most studies demonstrated benefits in terms of learning outcomes when using I-VR compared to less immersive methods of learning. A smaller number of studies found no significant advantage regardless of the pedagogical method being utilised. The results of these cognitive studies have been broken down by subject area.

Science based cognitive studies

The review found that cognitive learning activities requiring a high degree of visualisation and experiential understanding may be best facilitated using immersive technologies. For instance, both Liou and Chang ( 2018 ) and Maresky et al. ( 2019 ) found that anatomical learning facilitated by complex 3D visualisations of the human body were more conducive to learning in I-VR compared to traditional learning or independent study. Similarly Lamb et al. ( 2018 ) used a virtual environment that allowed for the manipulation and movement of strands of DNA, which produced better learning outcomes in content tests than a lecture or a serious educational game. Greater attention and engagement with the I-VR environment as measured with infrared spectroscopy was one of the possible explanations given for the effectiveness of the technology. In a study by Johnston et al. ( 2018 ), participants volunteered to take part in a cell biology experience either because they were engaged with the subject matter itself, or wanted supplementary instruction. Johnston et al. ( 2018 ) compared the exam scores of those students who volunteered to take part with those who did not. The study found that participants who underwent the I-VR experience scored 5% higher on the related exam question compared to the rest of the assessment. Those who did not undergo the cell biology I-VR experienced scored on average 35% worse on the same question.

The increase in graphical fidelity afforded by I-VR has allowed not only for the creation of complex computer-generated environments, but also the viewing of high resolution 360° video. In one such study, Rupp et al. ( 2019 ) had participants watch a six minute 360° video about the International Space Station with either a HMD which created a sense of immersion and presence, or on a mobile screen. The research found that those participants in the HMD condition scored significantly higher in a learning outcome test (MCQ) than those who watched the video in the non-immersive condition.

Although I-VR has been shown to confer a benefit in science education, there is evidence to suggest that not all learning objectives can be learned equally well. For instance, in task devised by Allcoat and von Mühlenen ( 2018 ), the researchers found that I-VR conferred a benefit over video or textbook learning when questions required remembering , but not ones pertaining to understanding of the material. The authors suggest that unfamiliarity and the novelty of the I-VR environments could have contributed to the lack of an obvious benefit in the latter domain. Another study that examined specific question types to understand I-VR’s effectiveness was undertaken by Kozhevnikov et al. ( 2013 ). In this study, participants learned more conceptual and abstract relative motion concepts using either I-VR or D-VR. The study demonstrated that those in the I-VR condition performed significantly better in the two-dimensional problems than their D-VR counterparts, although there was no significant difference between groups in problems featuring only one spatial dimension.

There were several studies in the domain of science that showed no obvious benefits to using I-VR over traditional pedagogical methods. Two studies (Greenwald et al. 2018 ; Moro et al. 2017 ) compared science learning in I-VR with desktop based VR and 2D videos. Results showed no clear benefit of I-VR based instruction when comparing the difference and significance of learning outcomes between mediums. Similarly, Stepan et al. ( 2017 ) found that I-VR was no more effective than online textbooks for the teaching of neuroanatomy. Interestingly, the same study found no difference in information retention rates when the participants were reassessed 8-weeks later. Madden et al. ( 2018 ) used I-VR, D-VR, and the traditional ball and stick method to teach astronomy principles pertaining to phases of the moon. The study found that I-VR and D-VR produced comparable test score results, with no significant differences in attainment. However, the authors commented on the encouraging finding that despite being a novel technology to most participants, I-VR still facilitated comparable learning outcomes to more traditional methods.

Despite the majority of studies demonstrating that I-VR learning is more effective or at least on par with traditional pedagogical methods, some studies have shown a detrimental effect of I-VR. Makransky et al. ( 2017 ) used a combination of assessment and EEG to find that an I-VR lab simulation produced significantly poorer test scores than a non-immersive alternative. Similarly, during another science experiment, Parong and Mayer ( 2018 ) found that students who used I-VR during a biology lesson scored significantly poorer than those who learned using a PowerPoint. Both of these studies cited Mayer's ( 2009 , 2014 ) Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning as a possible explanation for the poorer performance for I-VR. The researchers postulate that the high-fidelity graphics and animations could have significantly increased cognitive load, which would have detracted from the learning task at hand. It was therefore proposed that a less immersive, yet well designed PowerPoint presentation would facilitate better learning outcomes than a graphically rich I-VR experience.

Engineering and architectural based cognitive studies

I-VR was effective in engineering and architectural education as a tool to visualise key concepts within the discipline. For example, Fogarty et al. ( 2017 ) allowed students to volunteer for an I-VR experience who struggled with the comprehension of spatial arrangements in structural engineering. Before the intervention, those students who volunteered to take part scored significantly poorer than their non-intervention counterparts. At post-test, not only did those who underwent the I-VR experience score significantly higher than they did at pre-test, but they also eliminated the significant difference with the non-intervention group. This would suggest that I-VR could serve an important function in supplementing or assisting learning in those students who are struggling to grasp complex problems relating to their discipline. Interestingly, Angulo and de Velasco ( 2013 ) used many of these same spatial and visualisation principles in a more applied setting. Their study split students into groups who were tasked with designing an architectural space (a health clinic waiting room), either with the assistance of an I-VR design tool (experimental group) or a physical model (control group). The study found the space that gained the most positive affect was designed by the I-VR group.

Webster ( 2016 ) created a graphically rich immersive environment which combined active and passive media with elements of gamification and interactivity to teach corrosion concepts to US army personnel. The study found that although both the I-VR environment and a traditional lecture were effective pedagogical methods for teaching these principles, it was the I-VR condition that produced the highest gain in knowledge acquisition.

There was also some evidence to suggest that I-VR interventions could assist in short-term retention of information in engineering related activities. Babu et al. ( 2018 ) found that although participants performed similarly in a mechanical labelling task using either I-VR or a tablet computer immediately post-intervention, the I-VR group had better retention of knowledge when the test was re-administered 1 day later. Furthermore, those participants in the I-VR group were also less likely to wrongly recall information compared to the non-immersive group on the retention test.

Interestingly, Ostrander et al. ( 2018 ) examined cognitive learning outcomes over seven separate manufacturing tasks utilising I-VR in one group, and a traditional class-based environment in the other. The study found that in six out of seven tasks, I-VR was no more effective than a traditional class where students could interact with the instructor or the physical models that they were accustomed to.

Medical based cognitive studies

Although papers featuring surgical simulators did not form part of this review, there were several applications of I-VR in the field of general medical education. Harrington et al. ( 2018 ) had medical students watch a ten-minute 360° video with slides containing surgical information superimposed over it. This was viewed either on a large television screen, or through a Gear VR headset. The study found no significant differences in knowledge retention scores between those who viewed the information through a HMD, or a traditional television screen. Despite not showing a distinct advantage in cognitive learning outcomes, the authors did suggest that the 360° surgical experience may facilitate a better understanding of how teamwork and interaction takes place within an operating theatre. This type of learning may be more difficult to measure using assessment instrumentation such as the MCQ, but nevertheless it could be that the experiential nature of I-VR may facilitate an understanding of interactions and communications. Smith et al. ( 2018 ) used either I-VR or D-VR on a computer to teach students about decontamination protocols. The research found that I-VR was no more effective than D-VR in a MCQ immediately post-intervention, or at 6-weeks follow-up.

Computer science based cognitive studies

Two studies demonstrated a significant advantage in using I-VR to teach computer science information. For instance, Akbulut et al. ( 2018 ) found that students who underwent an I-VR experience that focused on software engineering principles scored 12% higher than students who did not undergo I-VR learning. Interestingly, in a study by Ray and Deb ( 2016 ) that ran over 16 sessions on microcontrollers in computing, the I-VR group performance lagged behind that of the control group who used slideshows for the first four sessions. It was only on session number five that the I-VR group outperformed the control group, and this performance enhancement remained relatively stable in the majority of the remaining 11 sessions. In effect, it took the I-VR group some time to catch up with the control group, but once they did, they tended to outperform them in the remaining lessons. The authors propose that this may have been due to the novelty of the I-VR equipment which participants took time to become comfortable and competent with.

Other cognitive studies

I-VR was also used by Molina-Carmona et al. ( 2018 ) as a means of spatial ability acquisition and visualisation. The study showed that learning outcomes as assessed by a spatial visualisation test were higher among those who undertook the task in an immersive, compared to a non-immersive environment. There was only one study in the field of social science that used I-VR to teach cognitive information. Olmos-Raya et al. ( 2018 ) used either I-VR or a tablet-based system to teach high school students about human geography. The research found that I-VR produced higher learning gains on a MCQ than the tablet-based system. Further, those who used I-VR performed better than the non-immersive group on a knowledge retention quiz when administered 1-week later.

Procedural studies

Three of the four studies that attempted to utilise I-VR as a means of teaching procedural skills showed a distinct advantage over less immersive methods. Bharathi and Tucker ( 2015 ) found that engineering students were faster in assembling a household appliance in a virtual functional analysis activity in I-VR compared to D-VR. Yoganathan et al. ( 2018 ) also found that medical students were more accurate in knot tying practice when using I-VR as a training tool as opposed to a control group who used a standard video. Medical and surgical residents were also studied by Sankaranarayanan et al. ( 2018 ) who used I-VR as a teaching tool for emergency fire response in an operating theatre environment. This study found that 70% of those who utilised the I-VR training were able to perform the correct procedure in the correct order. This was 50% higher than the control group who were exposed to a presentation and reading material only and did not experience I-VR.

One of the studies found no significant advantage to using I-VR as a learning tool. Smith et al. ( 2018 ) split nursing students into an I-VR group, a D-VR group (desktop PC based), or a written instruction group to learn about appropriate protocols for decontamination. The study found that there was no significant difference in performance between the groups as measured by a decontamination checklist, or the time taken to complete the task. Furthermore, reassessment 6 months later showed that I-VR conferred no advantage in procedural knowledge retention (accuracy and speed) compared to less immersive methods.

Affective studies

Only one of the studies attempted to use I-VR as a pedagogical tool to teach applied behavioural and affective skills. Gutiérrez-Maldonado et al. ( 2015 ) used I-VR in the field of diagnostic psychiatry in an attempt to improve interview skills when assessing patients for an eating disorder. Participants were exposed to a series of virtual patient avatars in either the I-VR condition, or a D-VR condition using stereoscopic glasses. Analysis showed that both conditions were equally as effective, and no significant differences were shown in the acquisition of skills between the two groups. Nevertheless, this was a novel study as it traversed the boundaries between traditional cognitive skill acquisition and applied behavioural and affective change.

Discussion and implications

The purpose of this review was to investigate I-VR’s effectiveness as a pedagogical method in education, as well as examining the experimental design and characteristics of the included studies. In particular, the review found that the utilisation of I-VR is typically restricted to a small number of subject areas such as science and engineering. Furthermore, a heavy reliance has been placed on the MCQ and test score measures to assess learning outcomes. In addition, I-VR interventions were typically short and isolated, and were not complemented with additional or supplementary learning material. Despite this, most studies did find a significant advantage of using I-VR over less immersive methods of learning. This was the case particularly when the subject area was highly abstract or conceptual, or focused on procedural skills or tasks.

Is the utilisation of I-VR within education restrictive?

The findings of the review suggest a relatively homogenous application of I-VR in terms of both the subject areas represented, as well as the learning domain being taught. Almost 70% of the studies were from the field of science or engineering, with other subjects being marginally represented. It is worth noting, however, that although medical disciplines made up a small proportion of the studies included (14%), this was because most medical applications of I-VR feature surgical simulators and therefore were not part of the current review’s inclusion criteria. Most studies utilised I-VR as a way of teaching cognitive skills, with only a handful examining the procedural or affective applications.

The findings of the review raise several issues when trying to assess the general effectiveness of I-VR in education. Similar to the findings of others (e.g. Jensen and Konradsen 2018 ; Radianti et al. 2020 ), the arts, humanities, and social sciences were underrepresented in in the current review. This makes generalisable conclusions as to the cognitive benefit of the technology in these subjects challenging. One major reason for this under representation may be the lack of I-VR learning content, experiences, and teaching tools. Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ) highlighted that instructors are restricted to the material published and produced by VR designers, and this may not necessarily meet the individual needs of the teacher, or the learning outcome trying to be achieved. The skillset needed to produce and create wholly virtual environments that can be rendered and displayed in a HMD is still demanding, despite the release of affordable VR creation suites. Therefore, the bespoke I-VR experiences required to teach social science lessons (or indeed any subject) is completely dependent on an appropriate I-VR tool already existing or having the technical proficiency to create one. A potential solution to the lack of bespoke material could be the examination of the pedagogical effectiveness of HMD 360° video in the classroom, as opposed to computer-generated environments. This content is comparatively easier to create using appropriate video equipment and can be tailored to the individual needs of the instructor or student group. Widespread research that examines the potential of I-VR in a multitude of diverse disciplines and learning domains will continue to be constrained by the availability of the requisite material. That is until such a time where bespoke and individually tailored I-VR experiences become more accessible.

Implications of outcome measures and assessment instrumentation

One of the most striking characteristics of the assessment instrumentation used in the studies was the reliance on the MCQ to assess learning outcomes. Although there have been many debates on the respective advantages and disadvantages of utilising the MCQ, it has generally been considered that it is most appropriate for testing large amounts of surface knowledge over the course of an entire module or syllabus (Excell 2000 ). As O’Dwyer ( 2012 ) points out, the assessment instrumentation encourages comprehensive learning of the entirety of the taught material, as opposed to just specific components. However, since most of the studies featured single interventions of between 6 and 30 mins, doubts are cast on whether MCQs are the most appropriate way to assess learning. Since the MCQ was most commonly administered immediately after the I-VR experience, much of the information may still be stored in short-term memory, and this may not give an accurate reflection of more comprehensive learning or long-term retention.

A second disadvantage associated with the heavy reliance on the MCQ is the limited breadth of knowledge that can be assessed. In Jensen and Konradsen’s ( 2018 ) systematic review, the researchers found that none of the cognitive studies went beyond teaching lower level cognitive skills as defined by Bloom’s taxonomy (Bloom et al. 1956 ). Similar results were found in the current review, with most studies requiring only a knowledge of previously learned material to successfully achieve the desired learning goal. Previous research on pedagogical assessment material (e.g. Ozuru et al. 2013 ) has suggested that the MCQ cannot assess higher levels of cognitive understanding or conceptual knowledge. Therefore, it may not only be the nature of the I-VR experience itself that restricts the learning of higher level cognitive skills, but also the restrictive nature of the assessment instrumentation that may impede an appropriate demonstration of learning outcomes. The utilisation of short or long form answers could be able to provide a more appropriate measure of the depth of learning achieved, giving the student an opportunity to demonstrate their conceptual knowledge of a given subject. Furthermore, I-VR research could benefit by expanding the very definition of what constitutes a learning outcome. This could be achieved by not relying exclusively on test score comparisons, but rather examine how I-VR could be used to foster deeper conceptual understanding through experiential learning and subsequent classroom discussions with peers or instructors.

Implication of intervention characteristics for learning outcomes

The current review examined how I-VR is being utilised in experimental and applied settings, and the implications this has for assessing its pedagogical suitability. In most studies, the participant took part in a single I-VR experience that was also short in duration. This presents several key challenges. Most importantly, the novelty of the I-VR technology itself may have impeded the learning experience of the user, especially if they had never used the technology before or were unfamiliar with it. This seemed to be demonstrated by Ray and Deb ( 2016 ) who found that in the initial sessions of I-VR learning, performance was on average poorer than those who underwent traditional teaching methods. It was only after the participants began to become familiar with the technology (on session number five) that learning surpassed the control group. Similarly, studies that allowed for extended exposure to I-VR (e.g. Akbulut et al. 2018 ; Alhalabi 2016 ; Molina-Carmona et al. 2018 ), either through free navigation, repeated sessions, or scheduled class time, tended to show an advantage of using I-VR over non-immersive or traditional methods. It is therefore important to address the potentially negative influence that I-VR’s novelty as a learning tool may have, especially when outcomes are directly compared to another medium or method. Scepticism for media comparison studies was highlighted in the 1980s by Clark ( 1983 ), and then later re-addressed by Parong and Mayer ( 2018 ). As Parong and Mayer ( 2018 ) put it, the side-by-side comparison of two learning methods is an “apples-to-oranges type of comparison” (p. 788). This “apples-to-oranges” comparison is made starker when considering that I-VR is an unfamiliar technology to most in an educational capacity, and its pedagogical outcomes are being directly compared with familiar methods such as textbooks or lectures. It is important to consider that the novelty of HMDs and I-VR may hinder learning outcomes and classroom application, and it is therefore prudent to ensure that the degree of familiarity with I-VR technology is factored into any direct comparison with other methods. In practice, this could mean that participants require extended familiarisation trials or free navigation before the start of experimental studies as a means of mitigating against potential problems caused by technological novelty.

In addition to the short intervention and exposure time, most studies did not complement I-VR with an additional method of teaching or self-learning. The limited number of studies that did tended to utilise web-based textbooks or modules, as well as lectures and scheduled class time. Encouragingly, those studies that combined or supplemented traditional class-based learning with I-VR (e.g. Akbulut et al. 2018 ; Fogarty et al. 2017 ; Johnston et al. 2018 ; Sankaranarayanan et al. 2018 ; Yoganathan et al. 2018 ) tended to show a learning advantage. This suggests that I-VR may be best employed as form of blended or multi-modal learning to supplement and complement class-based instruction (Garrison and Kanuka 2004 ). An area for investigation would be to examine I-VR’s application longitudinally in a natural classroom environment. The current review contained only a limited number of studies that employed this approach, however, by implementing and studying how I-VR can be adopted and integrated into a module or syllabus, a clearer picture of its capabilities can emerge.

Learning theories ultimately provide a theoretical framework and foundation as how best to design educational interventions (Pritchard 2017 ; Schunk 2011 ). However, the review found that few papers explicitly state that any predetermined learning theory was used to advise the characteristics or methods of the study. Similar findings were reported in a systematic review by Radianti et al. ( 2020 ) examining I-VR use in higher education exclusively. Radianti et al.’s ( 2020 ) review found that in around 70% of the 38 studies included, no learning theory was mentioned as forming the foundation of the VR activity. Several studies have shown that educators regard clear pre-defined intervention characteristics and objectives as essential components of I-VR teaching (Fransson et al. 2020 ; Lee and Shea 2020 ). It is therefore essential that future experimental and applied research is based on a sound theoretical basis that can advise how the technology can be appropriately utilised and assessed.

Learning outcomes in I-VR

The current review examined learning outcomes across three domains: cognitive, procedural, and affective. By far the most popular domain was the teaching of cognitive skills and knowledge which made up 83% of the studies in the current review. Around half of those demonstrated a positive effect on learning when using I-VR over less immersive pedagogical methods. Most of the remaining studies showed no significant effect either way, with only a small number of papers exhibiting detrimental results. Researchers have suggested that the increased levels of immersive content that stimulate multisensory engagement can ultimately lead to more effective learning outcomes (Webster 2016 ). When this is implemented in cognitive learning activities that require a high degree of spatial understanding and visualisation (e.g. Maresky et al. 2019 ), I-VR can allow the user to gain insights that are difficult to reproduce in reality. This review has already identified scientific subjects such as biology and physics as promising avenues for educational I-VR implementation. However, other scientific disciplines that require abstract or conceptual understanding (e.g. chemistry, mathematics) could also benefit from the visualisation afforded by I-VR.

Studies that utilised I-VR for the teaching of procedural skills and knowledge produced encouraging results, with three of the four studies finding a significantly positive increase in learning (Bharathi and Tucker 2015 ; Sankaranarayanan et al. 2018 ; Yoganathan et al. 2018 ). Interestingly, two of the studies featured a transfer component by having the user first practice the procedure in I-VR, and then use this form of experiential learning to complete a task in the real world. Yoganathan et al. ( 2018 ) had students practice how to tie a surgical knot in I-VR and then complete this task for real in-front of an expert. Sankaranarayanan et al. ( 2018 ) had medical students learn how to deal with an operating theatre fire by first practicing the procedure in I-VR, and then applying this knowledge to a mock emergency in a real operating room. Both studies found a positive effect of using I-VR as the training method by demonstrating improved results when performed in a real environment. These are encouraging findings for I-VR’s effectiveness in psychomotor and procedural education, as there has been a degree of scepticism over whether I-VR simply produces a “getting good at the game” effect. For instance, Jensen and Konradsen ( 2018 ) point out that the honing of procedural skills within I-VR may simply lead to the participant becoming proficient when performing the task virtually, and this may not necessarily transfer to the real world. The current review has identified that the two procedural studies that implemented a transfer task did indeed demonstrate a significant benefit to using I-VR as an initial education method. This demonstrates that virtual training can be a successful precursor to implementation in the real world. This suggests that I-VR could be useful in educating students in dangerous vocational subjects such as electrical engineering without risk to themselves or others. However, this view is based on a small number of studies, and it is therefore important that future procedural tasks utilise a transfer activity to understand the potential scope and parameters surrounding I-VR training and real-world application.

Only one of the studies had a firm focus on the training of affective skills, namely by using I-VR as a way of teaching diagnostic interview techniques in a psychiatric setting (Gutiérrez-Maldonado et al. 2015 ). Although this study found no clear advantage to using I-VR, other research out with the domain of education has demonstrated promising results in utilising the technology for affective and behavioural change. This included applying the technology successfully in areas such as exposure therapy, anxiety disorder treatment, and empathy elicitation (Botella et al. 2017 ; Maples-Keller et al. 2017a , b ; Schutte and Stilinović 2017 ). As a result of the strong non-educational body of literature suggesting I-VR can facilitate affective and behavioural change, future research should examine how this can be applied in an educational context, and then transferred to real-world scenarios. For instance, in their psychiatric interview experience, Gutiérrez-Maldonado et al. ( 2015 ) had users interact solely with virtual avatars, and did not have the participants demonstrate their learning with a real actor or patient. Therefore, just like with procedural skill acquisition, affective I-VR experiences should seek to understand how virtual learning can then be applied to real situations.

Implications and future practice

The current review has been able to identify a body of experimental and applied research that show the potential benefits of using I-VR in education. It has already been noted that I-VR has traditionally been used to teach low level or fundamental skills and knowledge, and has not necessarily been used to facilitate what Bloom et al. ( 1956 ) would consider higher level learning. This would include analysing and evaluating experience. By expanding the definition of learning outcomes to encompass potential benefits such as an increased depth of understanding or the ability to identify complex themes, pedagogical practice can take advantage of the inherent strength of the medium. These should be comprehensively analysed to investigate learning outcomes that go beyond simple test scores.

The review has also been able to identify areas for improvement in future studies, which would address confounding variables and expand the scope of research. Firstly, as Allcoat and von Mühlenen ( 2018 ) suggest, the novelty of I-VR could hamper learning outcomes due to unfamiliarity with the technology. Therefore, it is important to factor in an extended familiarisation or free navigation period that would help alleviate this concern. Additionally, follow-up qualitative analysis such as interviews or focus groups could help explore the phenomenology or direct experience of using I-VR, and highlight concerns relating to unfamiliarity or technological anxiety. The biggest concern relating to the assessment instrumentation was the over reliance on the MCQ (62% of studies used it as the sold method of assessment). Although this method is deemed appropriate for assessing large amounts of surface knowledge, it may not reveal more nuanced forms of learning that extend beyond mere recall of information. Therefore, long form essay questions, oral examinations, or group discussions could be used to facilitate students’ ability to present their in-depth understanding and applied knowledge. Future research must base the nature of these interventions on a sound theoretical framework. This would assist in identifying specific learning objectives and methods of assessments. An explicit theoretical approach was commonly lacking in the included studies.

I-VR has already been demonstrated to be an effective tool in non-pedagogical behaviour change, such as treating phobias, mental health conditions, or as a tool for rehabilitation (Botella et al. 2017 ; Maples-Keller et al. 2018; Ravi et al. 2017 ). Research should therefore concentrate on I-VR’s potential as an acquisition tool for affective skills. There is already a strong body of evidence suggesting I-VR experiences can elicit high levels of empathetic response and perspective taking, and this should be explored within an educational context (Herrera et al. 2018 ; Shin 2018 ). For example, Dyer et al. ( 2018 ) used I-VR to allow health care students to take the perspective of an older patient with age-related medical conditions, which led to increased empathy. Future studies should investigate whether this perspective taking ability can lead to higher domains of learning, such as evaluating one’s actions, applying problem solving skills, or creating new solutions as a direct result of the insights they received from I-VR. This will require researchers and instructors to carefully consider their tools for evaluation and assessment, perhaps incorporating mixed-methods to give a more holistic overview of learning achieved.

Conclusions

The current review found that I-VR conferred a learning benefit in around half of cognitive studies, especially where highly complex or conceptual problems required spatial understanding and visualisation. Although many studies found no significant benefit of using I-VR over less immersive technology, only a small number resulted in detrimental effects on learning outcomes. However, the homogenous nature of assessment instrumentation, such as an over reliance on the MCQ may have stifled the ability for participants to demonstrate learning outcomes beyond low level cognitive knowledge. Short exposure times and isolated interventions could also pose a problem as the novel nature of the technology could negatively impact the amount of learning able to be imbibed. Encouragingly, most procedural tasks did show a benefit to utilising I-VR, and furthermore, there was evidence that virtual skill acquisition could be transferred successfully to real world problems and scenarios. The ability to repeatedly practice a procedure in a safe environment whilst expending little resources could be one of the most advantageous and intrinsic benefits of I-VR technology. Although affective behavioural change has been widely studied in non-educational applications of I-VR, the domain was underrepresented in the current review, and is an important area for future investigation.

Over the coming years, technological advancement, an increase in creative content, and the possibilities for instructors to create bespoke I-VR experiences will all contribute to I-VR’s potential as a teaching tool. It is essential therefore that the implementation of such technology is based on sound theoretical and experimental evidence in order to ensure that the I-VR is utilised correctly, and to its full potential.

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Hamilton, D., McKechnie, J., Edgerton, E. et al. Immersive virtual reality as a pedagogical tool in education: a systematic literature review of quantitative learning outcomes and experimental design. J. Comput. Educ. 8 , 1–32 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-020-00169-2

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Virtual reality: could it be the next big tool for education?

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Stay up to date:, emerging technologies.

Virtual Reality training is becoming more common in teaching.
VR offers the advantage of providing students and teachers with a standardized, reproducible environment for repeated and optimized training.
A study in VR training has shown it is more effective than traditional teaching at developing technical, practical and socio-emotional skills.
The study also found students who complete VR training reported 20% higher levels of confidence after completing their courses.

Walter Garcia was finishing his technical degree in nursing education amid COVID-19. Eight months before his graduation, his technical university closed its doors to face-to-face classes and rapidly shifted to virtual instruction. Fortunately, Walter did not have problems assuring access to a PC and internet to take his courses. Nonetheless, Walter was concerned because he would have to miss important classes, practical in nature, that were aimed to develop his technical skills on patients’ triage and emergency evacuation. How could he develop these skills using WebEx or reading a manual? Walter was frustrated and worried about having to complete his degree with skills gaps in these critical areas.

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Why digital inclusion must be at the centre of resetting education in africa, what will education look like in 20 years here are 4 scenarios, virtual reality 'reunites' a mother and deceased daughter.

Fortunately for Walter, his lab teacher, William O’Donovan, was savvy in technology and learned about a Virtual Reality application used by the medical industry to develop nurses’ technical skills to respond to medical emergencies. After having the nursing school dean's agreement, William purchased Head Mounting Display (HMD) headsets and licenses that would allow his students access to this immersive medical emergency simulator. After giving students the proper training to use the tech, students were given access to this virtual course. The course could be taken at a designated room at the college’s library, or students could borrow the headsets and try this simulation experience at home. Through the simulator, Walter was, after all, able to enter a virtual emergency room and be exposed firsthand to medical emergencies that could emulate vividly real-life situations.

Virtual Reality training is becoming more accessible to students

Virtual Reality training is often known as the process of learning in a simulated or artificial environment. VR training has existed in the realm of education for over half a century but has dramatically expanded over the past fifteen years as VR simulators are becoming less expensive to develop and increasingly realistic. Training using Virtual Reality has recently been applied in many education fields, but primarily in health and safety, engineering, and technical education. Numerous studies assessing the use of immersive training in education yielded promising results in educational outcomes.

In some educational fields, the development of adequate cognitive, technical, and socio-emotional skills remains a challenge for trainees and their tutors, partly because of the limited availability of hands-on training or access to appropriate content and learning situations. Even before the pandemic, it has become particularly challenging for education systems to supply learning opportunities that provide students with hands-on pedagogical experiences necessary to develop practical skills, especially for programs that require the use of laboratories. As a response, educators are starting to rely on VR simulations to develop learning experiences that would otherwise not be easily accessible to students. VR simulations can provide students with practical training opportunities without pressure, danger, and allowing for repeated opportunities to practice. Also, VR simulations can provide students access to situations and learning environments (such as traveling within a cell, simulated scenarios for public speaking, among others) that would otherwise be very difficult or impossible to access. Such opportunities can accelerate students' learning curve in a simulated environment, reproducing real-life conditions and situations without time or space limitations and much fewer risks than real environments.

Virtual Reality training offers many pedagogical advantages

VR simulations offer the great advantage of providing students and teachers with a standardized, reproducible environment for repeated and optimized training. VR simulations allow gamification, performance metrics, and collaborative features (using avatars) embedded in the software, enabling continuous peer interaction, active learning, enjoyment, and performance feedback – all elements that enhance proficiency-based training. Constructivism is often cited as one theoretical framework that supports the implementation of learning in virtual environments. Constructivism suggests that students learn by constructing knowledge and incorporating it into their existing knowledge structure. Thus, constructivist learning environments can increase active learning, motivation, interactivity, and personalized learning. VR simulations can be conducive to higher student motivation and presence, two channels through which VR training simulations can influence student learning. As a result, VR simulations have been regarded as a pedagogical method with the potential to increase student learning.

Is Virtual Reality training successful at developing student’s skills?

A recent study, supported by the Korea World Bank Partnerships Facility, provides a systematic review of the extent to which VR training can successfully develop students’ skills across different education fields [ Meta-analysis assessing the effects of virtual reality training on student learning and skills development ]. The study relies on a review of 92 different experiments that assess VR training effects on student learning through robust evaluations. Figure 1 presents descriptive statistics of the experiments included in the study. Most experiments were conducted in higher education settings in topics related to health and safety and virtual labs for engineering, science, and technical education.

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Results in the study show that VR training is, on average, more effective than traditional training, developing students' technical, practical, and socio-emotional skills. Results are particularly promising in the fields of health and safety, engineering, and technical education. In general, results reveal that students exposed to VR training, score higher in learning assessments, than students exposed to the same curricular content delivered through traditional training methods

Results also indicate that students exposed to VR instruction, report higher scores in socio-emotional skills assessments after completing their training than their peers receiving traditional instruction. The analysis also indicates that students exposed to VR training are more efficient using inputs, time, and/or avoiding performance errors than students exposed to traditional training, per additional hour of instruction.

Figure 1: Descriptive statistics of the primary experiments assessing the effects of VR on student learning

The main results of the study can be summarized as follows:

A total of 72 experiments show that VR training is equally or more conducive to improve student learning outcomes than traditional training.
For each additional hour of training, students exposed to VR training score 3 percent higher in learning assessments, when compared to students exposed to the same curricular content delivered through traditional training methods.
Students who complete VR training report 20% higher levels of confidence and self-efficacy towards learning after they complete their courses.
Students who are exposed to VR training are, on average, up to 30 percent more efficient (using inputs, time, and/or avoiding performance errors) than students exposed to traditional training per additional hour of instruction.

More evidence is needed on the effects of VR training in developing countries

Most studies assessing the effects of VR training on learning have been conducted in OECD countries, notably in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. As such, the promising results of VR training may not necessarily hold in all educational settings because several factors necessary for VR training to succeed (e.g., connectivity, availability of equipment and IT support, students' and teachers' dominium of essential digital skills, among others) are not necessarily assured in many education institutions in developing countries. Also, it will be essential to continue to assess the cost-effectiveness of VR training. While VR training's cost-effectiveness is likely to vary depending on many parameters such as course duration, field, and type of technology used, it is not always assured. Indeed, this type of instruction could be cost-effective because it provides savings compared to other alternative multimedia or traditional laboratories. VR training development requires software development and equipment, maintenance, support, and updates, which need sustained investments. To date, not many studies assessing the effects of VR training have focused on conducting a cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analysis of VR instruction compared to traditional training methods. Having more such information will be crucial to assess the scalability potential of VR training across education systems.

In summary, VR training tends to be an effective mechanism of instruction to develop students’ skills and has proved to be a valuable tool for students like Walter, especially amid COVID-19. Walter received a job offer to assist the emergency room at his local hospital, where he will surely encounter similar situations to those he was exposed to when taking the VR training. Moving forward, it will be important to continue to assess the pros and cons of using VR for pedagogical instruction for different subjects as well as its cost-effectiveness and scalability.

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Published: 19 October 2020

Exploring the trends of educational virtual reality games: a systematic review of empirical studies

Solomon Sunday Oyelere ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9895-6796 1 ,
Nacir Bouali 1 , 2 ,
Rogers Kaliisa 3 ,
George Obaido 4 ,
Abdullahi Abubakar Yunusa 5 &
Ebunayo R. Jimoh 6

Smart Learning Environments volume 7 , Article number: 31 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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Virtual Reality (VR) and educational games are emerging technologies mediating a rapid transformation in the educational world. However, few studies have systematically analyzed Educational Virtual Reality Games (EVRGs) and how they have been applied in educational settings. This study reviewed 31 articles published in high impact journals and educational conference proceedings to unravel the technological, pedagogical, and gaming characteristics of contemporary EVRGs. The results show the predominance of Oculus Rift headsets and HTC Vive as the main technology used in EVRGs. Moreover, the analysis revealed that the pedagogical application of the majority of EVRGs was developed for all levels of education (e.g. tertiary, K-12, lifelong learning), with the specific target audience of each game based on the desired learning outcome. Furthermore, the application of EVRGs has primarily focused on out of class use, with healthcare education topics dominating the topics taught using EVRGs. Based on our findings, we highlight some key implications and suggestions to advance the field of EVRGs.

Introduction

This study explores the advances of educational virtual reality games (EVRGs) and expounds its important developmental features such as technology, pedagogy and gaming. The rapid development in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has revolutionized the computing industry and propelled a paradigm shift in the pedagogy of teaching and learning (Kaliisa, Edward, & Julia, 2019 ; Oyelere, Suhonen, Wajiga, & Sutinen, 2018 ). Contemporary computer hardware and software have improved significantly in size, speed, and precision, and a key to the creation of immersive technological applications (Bekele, Pierdicca, Frontoni, Malinverni, & Gain, 2018 ; Voinea, Girbacia, Postelnicu, & Marto, 2018 ). Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that has recently gained prominence as one of the core features of modern ‘high-tech’ with wide-ranging applications, including education (Virvou & Katsionis, 2008 ), gaming (Zyda, 2005 ), entertainment (Liu, Cheok, Mei-Ling, & Theng, 2007 ), military (Lele, 2013 ), skills training (Aggarwal, Black, Hance, Darzi, & Cheshire, 2006 ), tourism (Tussyadiah, Wang, Jung, & Dieck, 2018 ), as well as physical exercise (Finkelstein et al., 2011 ). VR is computer-simulated, which gives users the illusion of being physically present in the world and uses not only sight but also sound and touch to fully engage a user in the virtual world (Mandal, 2013 ).

In this paper, we refer to VR as the experience in which a user is fully immersed into either a virtual environment using head-mounted displays (headsets) or projection-based displays. A user through the utilization of an avatar (Carvalheiro, Nóbrega, da Silva, & Rodrigues, 2016 ) can as a result, navigate this world. This functionality differs from 3D environments visualized using headsets, but the user is only able to experience the virtual world from a fixed perspective and an onscreen visualizable three-dimensional (3D) environment. In this research, educational games are defined as the games designed, implemented, and evaluated with the purpose of teaching, or aiding in the instruction of a subject, or aiding in the learning of a specific skill within a formal or an informal setting (Oyelere, Suhonen, & Laine, 2017 ; Pavlidis & Markantonatou, 2018 ). We define Educational Virtual Reality Games (EVRGs) as educational games that exploit the 3D stereoscopic display, using a wearable headset or a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) system to teach or aid in the instruction of a specific topic. With such a definition non-immersive educational VR games, wherein the user navigates a virtual world using an avatar controlled by a mouse and a keyboard and/or a joystick, have been excluded.

VR technology has become increasingly a popular teaching and learning support tool across different disciplines. It provides an opportunity for students and teachers to experience, as well as interact, with real-time learning phenomena, something that would have been almost impossible in the physical world (Shin, 2017 ; Vesisenaho et al., 2019 ). VR allows for the use of multiple senses (e.g., touch, sense of heat, smell), which are used simultaneously during the learning process. In this regard, this could improve the activeness and mental alertness of both the students and teachers. This claim is supported by Lee and Wong ( 2014 ) who concluded that there is a significant interaction effect between the learning mode and the spatial ability of the students. Furthermore, other studies have established the pedagogical benefits of VR, such as the ability to support students with diverse learning styles in gaining cognitive achievement (Lee, Wong, & Fung, 2010 ), improving spatial thinking (Cohen & Hegarty, 2014 ), learning object-oriented programming concepts (Bouali, Nygren, Oyelere, Suhonen, & Cavalli-Sforza, 2019 ), and in facilitating collaboration (Greenwald et al., 2017 ).

The goal of this study was to systematically review the trends of EVRGs from the perspective of their technological, pedagogical, and gaming characteristics. The study draws on research conducted by Laine ( 2018 ), by focusing on studies that describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of EVRGs. Since Laine’s ( 2018 ) study focuses strictly on mobile Augmented Reality Games (ARs), our work provides a slightly different and more comprehensive perspective by focusing on EVRGs. A review of previous studies of EVRGs would make it possible to understand in which direction the field is heading and how future EVRGs should be designed to best fit the needs of both the teacher and students to improve educational outcomes. We argue that a review of EVRGs is needed (i) to understand and conceptualize the existing body of EVRGs; (ii) to provide evidence about the technologies that support the implementation of EVRGs across a wide range of settings and techniques used; (iii) to explore the teaching and learning attributes of VR games and how different pedagogical characteristics such as context, topics taught, and types of learners have changed over the years. We further aim (iv) to develop a set of pointers to researchers and practitioners (e.g. teachers) interested in conducting and applying VR games in research and pedagogical practice; and (v) to understand the characteristics of contemporary games to supporting educational developments. To achieve these goals, we, therefore, seek to answer the research question: What are the technological, pedagogical, and gaming characteristics of contemporary educational VR games?

The rest of the paper is organized as follows: presentation of related work, the methodology, and conclusion with several remarks that reinforce the critical points regarding the use of educational VR games.

Related work

Relationship between vr and education.

The educational process requires the learner to grasp and comprehend abstract concepts and appreciate scenarios, as well as to understand situations which are far removed from the confines of the classroom. Duffy and Jonassen ( 1992 ) argue that the teaching of abstract phenomena, analogy and lived experiences are used to describe and ease through abstract concepts from commonly observable reality. However, over the last decade, the application of emerging technologies in education have revolutionized the pedagogical or teaching processes in the classroom, to explain better and to provide comprehension of abstract concepts.

VR is an emerging technology that has gained traction in education. Educationists have discovered that VR allows the user to interact with a computer-generated 3D model or virtual environment (Christou, 2010 ) which fosters the understanding of the imaginary world on a realistic scale. This makes it a useful tool for teaching and learning by transforming the way educational content is delivered (Hentsch, 2018 ). A study by Lee and Wong ( 2008 ), described VR as a technology that aids student learning through the visualization of information and engagement, which affords a learner with the opportunity to experience subject matter or concepts that are not easily discernible.

VR does not only relate positively to education but aligns with the constructivism school of thought, which stipulates that humans construct knowledge by learning from experience. The constructivist theory advocates that learning through interaction with sensory data allows knowledge construction from experience for which VR is suited. Christou ( 2010 ), chronicled broad application areas of VR in educational contexts used in the enhancement of core curricula in schools and colleges, application of VR in museums, edutainment, demonstrations, simulation, and training.

Comparison of VR and 3D games in education

In the past few decades, game-based learning has been an integral part of the educational process (Boboc, Orzan, Stoica, & Niculescu-Ciocan, 2018 ; Hwang, Wu, Chen, & Tu, 2016 ; Xenos, Maratou, Ntokas, Mettouris, & Papadopoulos, 2017 ). EVRGs are designed to assist users to grasp the concepts of a specific subject, to expand their knowledge, and to facilitate participation. A typical example of educational virtual reality game is GridlockED, which was developed by Tsoy et al. ( 2019 ) as a collaborative learning game, targeted for medical trainees, to acquire the skills on how to treat and triage a patient. Modern educational games are played using high-end video technology such as stereoscopic 3D, or through a Head-Mounted VR environment (Snowdon & Oikonomou, 2018 ). These technologies use a spatial depth on the screen and offer rich learning experiences for the user.

A study by Sampaio, Ferreira, Rosário, and Martins ( 2010 ) described 3D technology as that which creates spatial depth with 3D pop-up visualizations so that objects contained in the game may appear closer to the player with the use of dedicated 3D-capable glasses. In comparison to the 3D technology, Triberti, Villani, and Riva ( 2016 ) described VR as a computer-simulated reality that uses a 3D environment whereby the player interacts with using a specialized head-mounted display (e.g. Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard etc.) that shows visual effects to the eyes. Unlike 3D, where the user is a just a viewer, VR allows for the user to become part of a story, offering an untethered immersive experience (Bradshaw, 2016 ). Therefore, a video game in VR is more realistic than one played in a 3D condition. Hence, VR technology could be applied to complement 3D modelling, ensuring better communication both in an educational or vocational training (Bradshaw, 2016 ). A comparative study by Roettl and Terlutter ( 2018 ) on 237 players showed that the participation and cognitive load was much higher in players using VR than just 3D. Recently, researchers have critically debated on the effects of 3D and VR technologies on issues such as adverse effects like social isolation (Nicas, 2018 ), discomfort, eye fatigue, and headache when using these technologies for an extended period (Bradshaw, 2016 ; Roettl & Terlutter, 2018 ; Sharkawi, Ujang, & Abdul-Rahman, 2008 ).

Related EVRGs reviews

Since this article focuses on exploring current EVRGs, we consider it vital to summarize in a tabular form the existing efforts in this direction. Table 1 presents the previous attempts to review works in EVRGs.

As can be observed from the existing studies reviewing EVRGs (Table 1 ), the field of VR games has garnered interest amongst educational technology researchers. This may be partly as a result of an increase in innovation within the field as well as in the variation in the pedagogical application of VR. However, to the best of our knowledge and evaluation of the existing reviews, no study has attempted to review systematically the trends of EVRGs accounting from the viewpoints of technology, pedagogy, content, knowledge, and games. To bridge this gap, this paper centers in a systematic literature review to examine the current research on EVRGs and to provide important insights beyond the specific research findings within the individual studies.

Methodology

This study follows the guidelines for conducting a systematic literature review by Kitchenham and Charters ( 2007 ) (Fig. 1 ). The search service of the (blinded for review) library’s printed and electronic resources, (blinded for review) was utilized to access databases and extract publications. Google Drive was used for collaboration among the team, and MS Excel spreadsheets were used to manage and organize the information acquired from the search.

The systematic literature review process based on guidelines by Kitchenham and Charters ( 2007 )

Phase 1. Planning the review

This phase focuses on the initial preparation undertaken to achieve the goal of this literature review.

Phase 1.1 Rationale of the review

Based on the guidelines by Kitchenham and Charters ( 2007 ), we identified previous systematic reviews that addressed either our research questions or similar questions. However, as discussed in the introduction, none of the reviews focused on EVRGs. Thus, we decided to conduct a review on EVRGs with specific attention to attributes such as technology, pedagogy and gaming.

Phase 1.2. Specifying the research question

By drawing on existing accounts about the application of VR games, in the educational sphere, this study set one research question: What are the technological, pedagogical, and gaming characteristics of contemporary educational VR games? To answer this research question, this study analyzed existing research about EVRGs with an emphasis on profiling the games in terms of the country of research, year of production, technological attributes (e.g. platform, types of headsets), pedagogical attributes (e.g., topics, types of learners, educational settings) and the gaming attributes (e.g., player’s role, the theme of play, mode, and goal of the game).

Phase 1.3. Developing a review protocol

According to Kitchenham and Charters ( 2007 ), a review protocol provides the basis to carry out the systematic review. Creating a review protocol beforehand helps to reduce the likelihood of research bias, such as potential prejudiced selections of particular studies carried out by the researcher. Formal and informal searches were used to find relevant studies in response to the research question. Table 2 presents the databases and the search strategy of the preliminary searches of existing related studies of EVRGs in education, which set the direction for this study. The databases were selected because they were either specialized in educational technology, educational games or in virtual reality applications, or that have published at least one special issue in educational virtual reality and games for learning. Thereafter, the preliminary review studies presented in Table 1 were used to create the research framework as well as the research question, which yielded a well-organized review protocol.

Phase 2. Conducting the review

The second phase of the guidelines by Kitchenham and Charters ( 2007 ) follows five stages: the search strategy, the study selection criteria, the study quality assessment, the data extraction plan, and the data analysis tool.

Phase 2.1. Search strategy

The research question of this study guided the formulation and expounding of the search strategy. As a first step, the search keywords were identified as a way of narrowing down and focusing on relevant articles for the topic under study. The search keywords were chosen according to the research theme; research question and the objective of this study (see Table 2 for search strategy and list of databases). Search keywords: The search space was narrowed down using Boolean search phrases and different combinations of the following terms: “virtual reality” AND “education”, OR “learning”, OR “game”, OR “gamification”, OR “serious game”. While many researchers use the term “educational games” to refer to games, the purpose of which is helping a learner acquire a skill, others opt for a more generic term like “serious game”. The keyword choice was made in a way to capture any game that is used in an educational context, be it formal or informal, as long as it uses VR technology, with the definition we adopted above. The time frame for publication considered within the systematic review was between 2012 and 2018 . Since the field of educational technology and virtual reality games is developing very fast, articles before 2012 have been reviewed in previous studies and are not particularly relevant in this work. The screening was based on titles, abstracts, and full-text skimming and took place from 1 February 2019 to 30 May 2019.

Phase 2.2. Study selection criteria

Using the keywords and search strings presented in the section “ Phase 2.1. Search strategy ”, several articles were selected based on their relevance to the research question and inclusion criteria. A flow diagram representing the steps of the selection criteria is presented in Fig. 2 . The researchers read the title, abstract, keywords and skimmed through the contents of all the papers and selected the articles that appeared to be appropriate based on VR, education, and gamification. Abstracts, posters, books, and articles that did not show an implementation that required a VR headset were excluded. Altogether, we found 162 research papers through the predefined search keywords on the four databases. However, after we applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Table 3 ), only 31 articles made it through the scrutiny (Table 4 ).

Flow Diagram of the Review Process (Adapted from Moher, Liberati, Tetzlaff, & Altman, 2009 )

Phase 2.3. Data extraction and analysis

We set up a coding scheme to guide the extraction of relevant data from research articles with relevance to our research question. The coding scheme included the following overarching dimensions: Title/name of the game, description of the game, country of game implementation, player role, theme, mode, gameplay, goal, platform, VR headset, game interaction, focus, learners, educational setting, research, and evaluation methods.

In summary, the methodology section, presented the planning and implementation process of the systematic review and these included; providing the rationale for choosing the framework adopted for the review, specifying the research questions, developing the review protocol, executing the review, identifying the keywords, drafting the study selection criteria as well as data extraction and analysis. Subsequently, the results yielded by these processes are presented in the next section.

The results are organized in four main categories: A general overview of the EVRGs, technological, pedagogical, and gaming characteristics.

Overview of the VR serious games

The number of EVRGs publications appearing in each year from 2012 to 2018 is presented in Fig. 3 . The bar chart shows a definite increase in the number of research works dedicated to VR educational games. Research shows that there was one study in 2014 and increases to 14 studies in 2018. Table 5 shows that EVRGs have been researched in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. See Table 5 for full details of serious games.

The number of research publications dedicated to VR games per year

Technological characteristics

The review looked at the technological characteristics of the selected EVRGs in terms of platform, headset, and interaction components. As shown in Fig. 4 , the Oculus Rift seems to dominate the VR headsets used in EVRGs, as it was used in nearly half of the games (45.2%). HTC Vive came in second used in almost a quarter of the games (22.6%). Cardboard, which is the cheapest of the VR headsets, was only used in 9.7% of the games, while under a quarter (22.6%) of the papers we reviewed, did not specify which headsets were used as target technology.

Headsets breakdown in surveyed literature

The platforms used for the games were consistent with the headsets, given that HTC Vive and Oculus Rift DK2 are PC VR devices, 83.9% of the games were playable using a PC or MAC, while 12.9% were playable using a mobile device, which matches the Cardboard requirements (Fig. 5 ).

The distribution of the platforms in the literature within the SR

In Table 6 (technological characteristics), we show the interaction techniques and hardware used in the EVRGs. While the most basic headsets (e.g. Cardboard) provide basic VR interaction mechanisms like gaze and head movements, more advanced headsets come with more sophisticated controllers. These controllers allow the users to interact with the props in the game environment and facilitate movement. Some games provide natural user interfaces, while other task-specific games provide more advanced controllers such as steering wheels. However, it is noteworthy that traditional input devices, such as a mouse or keyboard are challenging to use with VR technology, as the latter conceals the user in a virtual environment, disallowing the visibility of the surrounding real environment. Some games have, however, suggested such input devices, which makes the gaming experience slightly inconvenient.

Pedagogical characteristics

The analysis of the games showed that more than two-thirds of the educational VR games were developed for informal learning context (Fig. 6 ). While the topics taught in the analyzed games were of great variety, we tried to group them under specific themes, to understand which of the tasks or learning goals were deemed VR-appropriate by the researchers. For instance, one-third of the games targeted teaching healthcare-related topics, while a quarter of the games aimed at introducing, training, or enforcing safety measures in various environments (e.g., construction sites, hospitals, or roads). Topics such as biology, physics or astronomy represent a tenth of the surveyed games (represented in Fig. 7 as natural sciences). While topics like language learning, geography, and civil engineering, received minimum interest with one VR game each.

Game settings

The topics taught using VR educational games

The target audience of the EVRGs depended on the desired learning outcomes. Additionally, the VR games were developed for all levels of formal education, from K-12 to tertiary education students, as well as for lifelong learners who need to acquire some skills to deal with specific health conditions, as illustrated in Table 7 .

Gaming characteristics of EVRGs

The 31 EVRGs reviewed in this paper differ significantly in the player roles suggested to their users but are mainly dependent on the educational purpose of the tool. Most of the games suggest player roles that are adequate for the tasks the user is being prepared for, in environments similar to those that they will be working on (see Table 8 for several aspects of gaming characteristics). This shows the power of VR in providing learners with a preview of working activities and conditions.

VR facilitates collaborative learning, where many learners can be together in the same virtual world to execute some learning tasks. Only five EVRGs incorporated such a feature in their designs, while 26 games decided to allow only single-player mode. Gameplay-wise, most games suggest the user moves through the virtual world and executes tasks similar to the real-world tasks they are being prepared for, and so games genres like puzzles are quasi-inexistent in the game set that we have reviewed. This study has found that the VR games present the content to be taught as a series of entertaining challenges to the learner in a virtual environment.

General overview

The study revealed that the number of articles or literature on emerging VR systems has been increasing since 2012, which indicates the interest VR has gained since its spread in late 2012. The study also revealed many educational topics in which VR has already been applied. A general emphasis was placed on healthcare education by VR researchers, along with a variety of other topics such as biology, computer science, astronomy, and fire training (Sárkány, 2016 ; Süncksen et al., 2018 ). VR has the potential to allow users to experience environments that are otherwise inaccessible in a very realistic way. It allows training in environments that would otherwise be hazardous for learners to train in, as is the case for fire training (Diez et al., 2016 ). It also allows learners to simulate training with expensive hardware on a risk-free yet realistic environment. Despite these affordances and the application of VR unraveled by this study, there appears to be a lack of research on the use of VR for language learning, failing to benefit from the technology in simulating social interactions, which are very efficient in helping learners to practice their language skills effectively.

Another key finding of this research is the absence of any VR educational games on the African continent. While North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia participated in developing EVRGs. The cost of technology seems to affect African countries from benefiting from this promising technology. One solution is to rely on affordable headsets supported by Google Cardboard (Bouali et al., 2019 ). Still, such headsets suffer from the lack of appropriate interaction hardware that allows users to traverse and interact with the virtual world using only gaze and head movement. Such limitation causes Cardboard-related research to engineer games that require minimum interaction while preserving the targeted learning outcomes.

Technology and gaming

Despite Cardboard being the cheapest VR device, it is the least used technology in the surveyed literature, ranking even lower than the expensive HTC Vive. This raises some questions on the level of adoption of some educational games in real educational contexts, which is not the focus of our study. Nevertheless, the study shows that various games have adopted the use of the Oculus Rift VR, despite being more expensive than Cardboard headsets. Consequently, headsets are not the only problem in VR adoption. This study reveals that interaction is also an issue. In our analysis, we found that most of the games rely on gaze as an interaction mechanism, but this is hardly ever complemented with a natural user interface or interfaces, which facilitate interactions in VR worlds, resulting in the difficulty of using other input devices like keyboards.

Games that target teaching specific skills, such as diving or driving, require more advanced input devices, like Kinect to input body movement or a steering wheel to provide a life-like controller to a vehicle in the virtual world (Calvi et al., 2017 ; Likitweerawong & Palee, 2018 ). However, this incurs that such technology can only be afforded by a handful of users, presenting a stumbling block in the adoption of VR games in real-world contexts.

Regarding gaming, most of the gaming environments and contexts were dependent on the real-world context for which the learner is being prepared. This helps in the learning process of the user as it provides him/her with tailored environments that mimic the real world to a higher level of detail. The study also reveals that most of the games developed, allowed only for a single-player mode, failing to benefit from VR’s ability to connect learners in virtual worlds. The dominant game genre in the literature is Role Playing Game (RPG), which is adequate given that the learner impersonates the roles they are being trained for in the virtual world.

The concept of applying digital technology to build a virtual, physical/virtual or hybrid learning environment in which a student experiences a form of play, has emerged over the years and is now gaining acceptance. The puzzle here is that despite the wide variety of VR games developed for different fields (education, healthcare, business, climate, energy, industrial, and financial) only a handful of the games focused on education. Thus, begging the question of why EVRGs have not been widely adopted in mainstream education? Considering the interactive, immersive, and multi-sensory nature of VR, coupled with its growing popularity amongst researchers in psychology, aviation, and cognitive neuroscience, we had expected that even more EVRGs could have been developed and that the technology should have been widely adopted (Alexander et al., 2019 ). However, there are many reasons for the lack of adoption of EVRGs in mainstream education. One reason is that people tend not to consider VR as a mainstream technology. They perceived that the hype around the technology would lose popularity and be replaced by the reality of the time, in what was called the ‘trough of disillusion’ (Linden & Fenn, 2003 ). Additionally, there seems to be a lack of know-how by learning technologists and experts on how to design learning solutions with VR. Furthermore, the costs of implementing EVRG for large-scale adoption across educational curricula constitute a limiting factor for adoption in mainstream education (Alexander et al., 2019 ) and health-related issues.

Christou ( 2010 ) states that the three categories of formal and informal educational application areas of VR are used to improve core curriculum subjects such as the applications for edutainment, demonstrations, cultural heritage and museum experiences, as well as an application for training. Our analysis of the pedagogical contributions of EVRGs indicated a considerable variation among the subjects that were implemented. For example, the trend of EVRGs in this study showed that 32% of the applications were developed to support medical education. In contrast, only 3% was implemented to support subjects that involve the concretization of abstract concepts such as physics and geography.

Although the learners in these studies balanced well amongst children, youth and adult learners, there are obvious variations amongst the type of learners about the kind of EVRGs. For example, most learners could have medical conditions such as patients with neck or back pain, dementia, autism spectrum disorders, post-stroke conditions, brain lesions, and visual impairment. Translating clinical procedure into EVRGs to facilitate learning and future implementation of the procedure by caregivers and patients constitute the main interest in developing medical EVRGs (Heuven et al., 2017 ; Mihajlovic et al., 2018 ). Simulating the medical procedure offer motivation, engagement, and positive learning experience among EVRGs users (Trombetta et al., 2017 ). Having examined an essential pedagogical attribute, of the context of the learner in this study, we noticed that the learning context for most EVRGs falls within the informal settings. As several EVRGs are developed to provide particular training solutions to the user, the informality of the setting tends to overshadow the necessity of a classroom environment (formal setting).

Limitations of this study

The limitations of this study include:

The study focused on EVRGs in the educational domain without considering other uses in other facets within the gaming industry.

The study did not consider cross-cultural usage of the EVRGs, such as articles published in languages other than English.

Several studies have shown that the most critical value that VR adds to existing technology is the sense of immersivity in a virtual world built around the user. In education, it is theoretically crucial for learners to experience real-world scenarios from a first-person perspective compared to traditional two-dimensional (2D) screens which usually offer learners the chance to traverse the world from a third-person perspective, usually using an avatar. “Virtual Reality” as a concept, reveals some ambiguity as some of the research we surveyed referred to it as desktop VR, while others use the term to mean immersive VR. However, the inclusion criteria we developed focused on working on systems that immerse users into a virtual world rather than research that suggests a virtual world on a desktop screen.

Virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality are rapidly evolving phenomena in the educational landscape. Literature has shown the positive impacts that these adaptive and immersive technologies could have on students learning when applied in the gaming contexts. The essence of this study was to contribute new knowledge using analysis and synthesis of research articles that focused on the EVRGs in different contexts. The study explores the trends of EVRGs and relevant characteristic attributes that make effective learning such as technology, pedagogy and gaming. Besides, this study considers the learning content and the technology to be the critical aspects of the transactions that go with the teaching and learning process in terms of the pedagogy.

Moreover, the review focused on the application of VR as a gaming technology, with the learner fully immersed in the environment. In the final analysis, the review exposed a growing trend of research in EVRGs studies since 2012 to 2018, while also revealing the application of VR in the sciences, healthcare and technology education spheres having the most significant attention. The mainstream education and arts (such as languages) gained the least interest of educators using VR. This scenario offers the opportunity for further research in the educational contexts with emphasis on the arts and humanities disciplines. It is therefore pertinent that through this systematic review, technology-mediated learning will be enhanced when there is a clear understanding of the trends concerning its application in the different domains of learning.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

Information and Communication Technology

Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality

Mixed Reality

Educational Virtual Reality Games

Role Playing Game

Two-Dimension

Three-Dimension

Personal Computer

Natural User Interface

Head Mounted Device

University of Eastern Finland

Microsoft Excel

Association for Computing Machinery

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

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Solomon Sunday Oyelere & Nacir Bouali

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Oyelere, S.S., Bouali, N., Kaliisa, R. et al. Exploring the trends of educational virtual reality games: a systematic review of empirical studies. Smart Learn. Environ. 7 , 31 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-020-00142-7

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Educational games
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How Virtual Reality Is Changing Education

Teacher guides students wearing VR goggles.

Virtual reality (VR) first surfaced in the 1935 science fiction short story “Pygmalion’s Spectacles.” This idea was revolutionary for the time and, like walking on the moon, only a dream. However, just like Neil Armstrong became the first person on the moon, VR went from an idea on paper to a tool used in classrooms by more than 6 million students, according to CNN.

The Path to Virtual Reality in Education

How did futuristic technology become so widely accessible? According to Wired, it began with the Oculus Rift—a headset released in 2012 connected to a monitor that immersed the user in a 3D realm. Since its introduction, VR has shifted not only how we experience video games but also how we experience the entire digital space, including the use of virtual reality in education.

Since 2012, VR has experienced a vast technological revolution. As headsets have gotten smaller, mobile, and more powerful, the technology has become vastly more accessible. Additionally, 5G cellphones have made it possible to access the virtual realm from anywhere.

This increased accessibility has made VR a feasible option for schools. Cameras that offer 360-degree recording and new apps such as Google Expeditions have brought VR into the classroom, creating opportunities for teachers and students to approach education like never before. According to tech website Built In, the use of VR in classrooms is predicted to increase dramatically over the next five years.

Traditional vs. VR Education

The way students learn hasn’t evolved much throughout the course of history. Fact retention teaching has long been the traditional approach to education. Studying for tests, sitting in lectures, and trying to visualize history through a textbook constitute the typical classroom experience.

However, the introduction of VR has made it possible for students to experience their education in more immersive and engaging ways. VR can transport students from their desks to the Roman ruins, let them mix volatile chemicals and see the reaction without being physically harmed, and allow them to not only see but interact with virtual worlds.

As a result, the teacher’s role is shifted from delivering content to facilitating learning. “Teachers will be focused on creating conditions for exploring, rather than providing ready-made knowledge,” according to Adobe.

Adobe also posits that VR will benefit students in six ways:

Better sense of place: Students can learn about a subject by living it.
Learning experiences at scale: Educators can create virtual labs to cut costs and increase accessibility.
Learning by doing: Students can learn by performing tasks instead of simply reading.
Emotional reaction: Educators make memorable experiences for students to increase their retention.
Creative development: Technology such as Tilt Brush increases opportunity for students to be creative.
Visual learning: Educators can increase visual learners’ comprehension of educational content.

Educational Use of VR

Virtual reality in education has a wide array of applications that benefit both educators and students.

New Teacher Training and Lesson Prep

Often, teachers are thrust into classroom settings right after earning their undergraduate degrees. However, they still have a lot of real-world learning to do when it comes to putting their skill to practice.

VR offers a way to further educate teachers before they set foot in the classroom. Through systems such as TeachLiVe, educators can practice lessons in a mixed-reality setting, according to DistrictAdministration.com. During the lesson, student avatars respond as if they were actually in a classroom, allowing teachers to hone their skills. This also assists current teachers by letting them practice difficult lessons and gauge the potential learning of their students.

Crosswater Digital Media has even created a system that transports educators into scenarios of conflict, according to Ed Tech. This allows them to learn how to deal with a difficult student or situation before real-life consequences occur.

Digitized Classroom Sessions

VR can also help students and teachers gain classroom insights by recording and recreating real classroom sessions. As software company vSpatial highlights, teachers have already begun to create detailed recordings of lessons through 360-degree cameras. If a student misses a class, they can use these VR recordings to be digitally transported into their classroom, see their peers, and learn as if they were there.

Virtual classroom sessions can be equally beneficial to teachers. By recording and revising classroom sessions, teachers can gain valuable insights into both their students’ learning styles and their own approach to teaching.

Enhanced Learning Opportunities

VR also expands the potential for student field trips and laboratory experiences. Educational excursions were once limited by cost, distance, and accessibility, but VR eliminates these barriers and provides endless opportunities.

Google Expeditions created virtual reality spaces for students to explore, from swimming with whales to visiting Mars. Students can even board real school buses that have been transformed into VR landscapes by replacing windows with 4K displays.

Science laboratories are also being digitized, cutting expensive costs, providing over 100 different experiments, and allowing for more accessibility to low-income communities, AR Post explains.

Lead the Future of Education

As VR becomes more relevant, accessible, and beneficial to school settings, teacher education is also evolving. Through the Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Master of Arts in Education with a specialization in educational technology , LSU Online is preparing future leaders to leverage cutting-edge technology such as virtual reality in education. Both master’s programs equip educators to advance their careers in education and transform classrooms by embracing technology.

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Tina’s students' work regularly wins awards at festivals, including second place at the BEA Festival of Media Arts this year for their Planned Parenthood VR experience. Additionally, her project 'Future's Fate: Choose Your Own Ending' is among the top 50 nominated projects for the AWE XR challenge to fight climate change. Her work focuses on using design as a medium of communication, mobile application development and building interactive technologies to address social and environmental issues. Tina’s passion for storytelling, mixed reality (MR), and 360° video technologies has led her to co-found the Immersive Storytelling Lab at SJSU. She has been recognized for her excellence as an innovative designer, receiving numerous awards and grants throughout her career, and is currently co-authoring a forthcoming book exploring how women are reimagining society through the metaverse.

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Prisms VR is a learning platform pioneering a new paradigm for math education. Prisms’ virtual reality experiences aim to radically improve student achievement by teaching students mathematics, spatially, through hands-on problem-solving before connecting to symbolic notation.

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Bodyswaps is a VR soft skills organization leveraging immersive simulations and AI to empower learners to practice and develop their skills.

Centro is the premier school for design, film and digital media in Mexico City. Centro partnered with Meta to weave Meta Spark AR throughout their curriculum, and were so successful that they are now teaching other institutions about their methodology.

Factory42 produced UnEarthed, an educational XR game to learn about conservation and the environment.

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Virtual Reality in Higher Education: Elevating the Transfer of Knowledge

Erin Brereton has written about technology, business and other topics for more than 50 magazines, newspapers and online publications.

Students aren’t donning headsets to participate in virtual reality lessons on most college campuses yet, and you won’t find VR on EDUCAUSE’s list of the top 10 strategic technologies institutions are expected to implement this year.

But a number of institutions have embraced VR technology in the classroom — to dissect a simulated cadaver, or travel back in time and make other educational journeys that would be difficult or impossible in real life — according to D. Christopher Brooks, EDUCAUSE’s director of research.

As the price point drops and devices improve, Brooks suspects VR use in higher education will expand.

“Our numbers show it’s very much still in the experimental phase,” he says. “We’re not seeing it in lecture halls, but it’s being used in specialized labs and other kinds of teaching venues . It’s becoming more common.”

MORE FROM EDTECH: Check out how universities are investing in VR to improve research programs.

Arizona State Uses VR in Higher Education in Online Biology Program

Arizona State University decided to adopt VR to allow remote students to participate in lab exercises in its recently launched online biological science degree program in the School of Life Sciences.

ASU used a grant to obtain 140 Mirage Solo headsets from Lenovo . Just over one third of students have elected to receive one, at no cost, since the program piloted their use in 2018.

Alternately, students can view simulations on a computer or a Google Daydream device, says Philippos Savvides. He’s a learning technology manager with EdPlus , an ASU unit focused on scaling access to education through online programs and other initiatives.

“We’ve gotten very positive feedback,” Savvides says. “They get to be active and move around using the headset and controller , so there’s an active-learning element involved. There’s a wide body of literature that shows significantly higher learning outcomes on simulations versus other modes of learning.”

Consider Physical Space and Accessibility When Planning VR Programs

VR can pose logistical challenges, some of which can be mitigated with newer standalone headsets. Headsets that connect to a computer — the more common choice for many colleges — can be limited by cord length and the physical environment.

“You tend to need a pretty high-powered PC with servers to process all these polygons making up the environment as you’re experiencing it,” Brooks says. “When these things are tethered to machines, the amount of mobility you have is somewhat constrained.”

Even without a need for much space, traditional classrooms and lecture halls with fixed seating aren’t ideal for VR use, he says.

“It’s very difficult to have students really experience virtual reality in a meaningful way if they’re not able to move around or it’s crowded and noisy,” Brooks says. “That can disrupt the experience. Schools need to rethink what a virtual reality classroom might look like.”

Philippos Savvides Learning Technology Manager with EdPlus, Arizona State University

Device accessibility is another consideration. “That’s been overlooked somewhat,” Brooks says. “A lot of people wear corrective lenses. Designers may need to start thinking about how the devices accommodate glasses .”

For some disciplines and pedagogical objectives, VR experiences may not be readily available, says Dr. Matthew Bramlet, pediatric cardiologist and physician at OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria , and director of advanced imaging and modeling at Jump Simulation, a collaboration between the hospital and college.

“The problem a lot of institutions have getting into the VR game is the limited content that’s out there,” Bramlet says. “In medicine, there are some fantastic VR modules that are specific to how to put a central line in or hammer a nail into a bone . That solves .0001 percent of the curriculum.”

To address that, U of I’s medical college developed its own content. Approximately 40 faculty members have created more than 250 VR lectures. The college provides access to Enduvo , a VR authoring tool Bramlet helped create, and lab space, featuring ceiling-mounted workstations equipped with HTC VIVE headsets powered by a variety of Dell , HP and other computers.

The VR exercises that faculty devised for medical students may ask them, for example, to identify a specific artery on a 3D model.

“We didn’t want to write traditional questions,” Bramlet says. “We wanted [students to perform] more of a task.”

MORE FROM EDTECH: See these four ways colleges are embracing virtual reality.

VR Experiences Elevate the Transfer of Knowledge

Alice Butzlaff, an assistant professor with The Valley Foundation School of Nursing at San Jose State University , created original teaching exercises through a program sponsored by eCampus, a university resource that offers design and training assistance to help faculty integrate AR/VR technology, including workshops and demos of its HTC VIVE, Samsung Gear VR and other equipment.

Most of Butzlaff’s students said the technology enhanced their learning experience.

“It uses your hearing and visualization senses,” she says. “ You can actually reach out and touch things — it was really entertaining for them .”

The percentage of higher education institutions that have fully deployed VR, compared to 28 percent with some deployment and 32 percent that are testing it

While VR usage is still on the upswing, Bramlet sees potential for the technology to help instructors deliver crucial information in a more effective, efficient manner than in the past.

“ We go through a ton of production to create the best 2D video we can , but it’s so impersonal,” Bramlet says. “The 2D format was terrible for the transfer of knowledge — this is the missing link in that process.

We’re able to achieve a lot of interaction that we couldn’t in other digital media formats. You teach to the individual.”

Reality Check

Keep these factors in mind when designing a campus VR lab.

Connectivity: On-campus and online students may have different considerations in order to stream VR content smoothly, so plan accordingly to ensure everyone has high-quality access.

Staff oversight: A program manager or faculty member can manage access to equipment, particularly if limited headsets are available.

Alternative options: Some users experience vertigo or “VR sickness,” says EDUCAUSE’s D. Christopher Brooks, so instructors should consider other ways they can participate in VR-based projects.

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Virtual Reality in Education: How Schools Are Using VR

teacher and students in classroom education setting using virtual reality headsets

The education sector, from K-12 through higher education, has a long history of adopting emerging technologies to supplement traditional pedagogical methods. From smartboards to laptops and even the internet itself, there have been many examples of technologies that have profoundly altered the way educators and students teach and learn. Virtual reality is poised to become the next technology to do so. By allowing educators to create visually stimulating learning experiences for students that are innovative, immersive, and interactive, VR will lead to fundamental changes to longstanding education practices. In this article, we will be exploring how schools and education departments are using virtual reality gear and technology.

Virtual Reality in Education: Statistics

As of last year, according to Zippia , there were 57.4 million virtual reality users across the United States, which accounts for 15% of the country’s population
The global virtual reality in the education market is rapidly growing, up from $6.37 billion in 2021 to $8.66 billion in 2022. It is expected to reach $32.94 billion by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate of 39.7%, according to the Business Research Company .
97% of students are keen to take a virtual reality course, The App Solutions reports .
93% of teachers feel that using virtual reality technology in the classroom would bring excitement to their students, the same report from The App Solutions shows.
7 out of 10 teachers want to utilize virtual reality technology to simulate experiences relevant to the coursework that they are teaching, The App Solutions discovered.

two young students using virtual reality headsets in school

How Schools Are Using Virtual Reality

Simulated technical/vocational skills training.

Schools are using VR to help students learn valuable technical and vocational skills. Compared to traditional instructions that center around reading books or watching instructional videos, the simulated scenarios made possible by virtual reality provide a much better and more immersive learning experience for students. In addition to providing opportunities for students to gain “hands-on” experience with the subject matter, VR training scenarios can also eliminate any potential dangers that may arise while practicing new skills in an uncontrolled environment. Take chemistry experiments, for example. While they have been a time-honored way for students to learn chemistry principles, they can sometimes lead to dangerous or even deadly outcomes if gone awry. Virtual reality allows students to learn and practice chemistry principles safely and repeatedly by eliminating the risks associated with conducting potentially dangerous experiments in the real world.

Distance/Remote Learning

Schools are also leveraging virtual reality technology to help facilitate distance learning. In situations where physical barriers or limitations (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) may prevent teachers and students from being in the same classroom together, VR can provide a viable alternative. Rather than relying on two-dimensional video conferencing, VR can create an immersive learning environment that allows teachers and students to be present within the same “room” virtually. Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business currently offers a “Creativity Workout” course conducted entirely in virtual reality. As part of the Stanford Executive Program, this course aims to help business leaders embrace creativity as a discipline. The University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law is also using virtual reality to offer lectures to its students via a VR social application called VR Chat.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Being on the Autism Spectrum, having limited mobility, and/or having other Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can affect a student’s learning ability in various ways. Virtual reality technology makes it possible for teachers to create personalized educational content that can tailor to these students’ unique needs. For SEND students, simply getting around a school, visiting new environments for the first time, going on field trips, and many other activities that most take for granted as routine can be very stressful. Thankfully, immersive VR experiences can also be calming for students prone to overstimulation, making it less likely for them to become heightened in an otherwise overstimulated school environment.

Virtual Field Trips

One of the most popular reasons that schools are taking advantage of VR technology is its ability to let students take field trips virtually. Field trips are a time-honored tradition for educational institutions. They allow teachers to educate their students in immersive environments and provide hands-on learning opportunities that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to achieve within the classroom. However, field trips can be financially prohibitive for some students. They can also be challenging for students with mobility limitations to attend.

Additional factors, such as the recent Covid-19 pandemic, can even make organizing field trips all but impossible. Despite these roadblocks, students can still take advantage of the educational benefits of field trips through the power of virtual reality. VR experiences such as Google Expeditions can transport students to far-flung locales around the Earth and beyond without them ever having to leave the classroom (or their homes for that matter), allowing them to explore historical locations, archaeological sites, or even experience events throughout history firsthand.

Why Are VR Technology and Gear Helpful for Schools, Educators, and Students?

Equality of access.

Since virtual reality is not constrained by physical limitations, all students, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or geographical location can benefit from VR-driven learning experiences.

Boost Student Engagement

VR allows educators to take theoretical concepts from the pages of textbooks and render them into immersive and interactive experiences within a virtualized learning environment. This allows students to wrap their heads more easily around a topic, making them more engaged, motivated, and ultimately translating to student success.

Reduce Risk

VR allows educators to create risk-free virtualized learning environments for students to learn, practice, and most importantly, make mistakes. Unlike in the real world, students are free to conduct experiments or practice dangerous skills in VR without having to worry about accidentally creating explosions, noxious fumes, or bodily harm.

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Understanding How Students Learn Through Virtual Reality

This In Focus story is a part of The Student Researcher series.

How UC Davis Virtual Reality Research Is Promoting STEAM Learning and Helping Improve Child Education

by Alex Russell
March 25, 2024

The little boy, about 7 years old, almost disappeared inside the virtual reality headset, yet the way he was holding up his hands showed he knew exactly what to do. A laptop screen showed what he was seeing: digital outlines of hands manipulating Tetris-like blocks. A hand turned a block to make it fit, then picked up another.

On President’s Day at the Museum of Science and Curiosity, or MOSAC, in Sacramento, Valerie Klein, a UC Davis undergraduate research assistant, explained to the boy’s parents the purpose of the study, which is to understand how children learn in virtual environments.

“I’ve always enjoyed learning new things and being able to teach them to people,” Klein said later. She is majoring in neurobiology, physiology and behavior, with plans to become a psychiatrist. “Seeing that moment when it clicks in your head, for me that’s the best thing ever.”

Everything about the study with kids at MOSAC is unique, from its research questions to its data collection that took place during three busy holiday weekends. In many ways, the two undergraduate researchers are making it all possible.

“I think sometimes people forget that research is not just running the experiment,” said Allyson Snyder, a Ph.D. candidate in communication who leads the research. “There are so many extra steps involved. On a day of activity like this, our research assistants are coordinating the chaos.”

The role of undergraduate research in study on VR learning

On President’s Day, the MOSAC doors opened at 10 a.m., and within an hour the first floor was full of the clack of wooden blocks, the shouts of children and stomps across the carpet. The research team had set up beside the cavernous tube of an MRI machine that had nothing to do with their study but that piqued curiosity about that corner of the floor.

In this experiment, children would first put on VR headsets and try to solve the puzzles virtually. Then they would take off the headsets to try to solve them with real blocks. Snyder and project co-lead Camren Allen, also a Ph.D. candidate in communication, would offer encouragement through the challenging puzzles, reminding children that they could always try them again later.

Puzzle pieces on a laptop computer screen

Before the study’s first participant got started that day, Klein and fellow undergraduate research assistant Nicole James organized aluminum trays with puzzles of the physical blocks. With those trays stacked and ready, they turned to each other to discuss how to manage the flood of kids hoping to give the experiment a try.

Both Klein and James take part in a UC Davis program that gives undergraduates unique research opportunities. Accelerating Success by Providing Intensive Research Experience, or ASPIRE , offers students hands-on experience with state-of-the-art research in the mind and brain sciences.

“In high school we had no access to this kind of research experience,” said James, a psychology major and pre-med student. “The only research was all pipettes and chemistry, not psychology.”

Two college students prepare for an experiment with puzzles.

Integrating research and teaching

For Richard Huskey, an associate professor of communication, that day was the first time he had seen how the data was collected. He leads the Cognitive Communication Science Lab at UC Davis. He is also a close collaborator on this project with Drew Cingel, an associate professor of communication who leads the Human Development and Media Lab that oversees this study.

“We’re a research university, and when the research integrates with the teaching mission, that’s when we get the best opportunities,” said Huskey.

He has mentored Klein since she first joined his lab two years ago. Her first job was a different study that also used a virtual reality game.

“I didn’t really understand what we were testing or what the research question was,” said Klein. “It was mainly, set these participants up, collect the data and give it back to us.”

Since then, said Huskey, Klein has come a long way. During this study at MOSAC she and James are making real contributions to how the team collects data. He is also counting on her to help plan data collection for a new study he’s designing right now.

“She started off like any other student who needs a ton of training, and today she’s someone who has a lot of autonomy, someone who is a research partner,” said Huskey.

Ph.D. candidate instructs a child on how to use the VR headset.

The power of hands-on VR research experience

The puzzles are challenging. One boy in the youngest group (ages 7-8) struggled to manipulate the virtual blocks in the VR headset, while his older brother, who was in the oldest age group (ages 11-12), struggled with the physical blocks.

But neither of the brothers gave up, and this persistence was common across all three weekends. Every kid left with a sticker that said, “Junior Scientist.”

“One kid told us, ‘I’m going to work really hard to make sure that ‘junior’ goes away,’” Allen said. “He really left the experience feeling like a scientist.”

That feeling is one reason Snyder originally asked MOSAC to host the study. She had already volunteered there as a science communicator and knew the value of making science fun for kids.

“We’re thrilled to open up the space for scientists and our guests to connect in this way,” said Natalie Rhoades, exhibits manager at MOSAC. “MOSAC and UC Davis have created an accessible space for guests of all ages and backgrounds to actively engage with the scientific process, personally connect with scientists and be inspired to continue exploring STEAM topics.”

President’s Day marked the final weekend of data collection. Snyder has tasked Klein and James with managing data input and storage, so everything is ready to be coded for analysis in the coming months.

“I’m pretty hands off in this process, and it’s because I just trust them,” said Snyder. “They are going to come up with a system that makes sense for all of us, and they’re already inputting data faster than I can imagine.”

Media Resources

Media Contacts:

Karen Nikos-Rose, UC Davis News and Media Relations, 530-219-5472, [email protected]
Alex Russell, UC Davis College of Letters and Science, 530-752-8585, [email protected]

Press kit of downloadable images.

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The integration of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in e-learning is revolutionizing the way students learn, engage, and interact with content. These innovative technologies offer immersive and interactive experiences that could transform traditional teaching methods. We explore the role of AR VR solutions in e-learning, highlighting the benefits, challenges, and their future.

AR/VR software development has enabled educators to create more interactive learning experiences for students. These technologies make it easier for learners to grasp complex concepts and retain information. AR allows students to overlay digital images and information onto the physical world and VR creates completely simulated environments for students to explore. These technologies support a hands-on approach to learning that goes beyond traditional textbook-based methods.

As the demand for online education continues to grow, the integration of AR and VR solutions in e-learning are becoming increasingly important. It enables students to conduct experiments in simulated laboratories and experience historical events in an immersive way. AR and VR integration with e-learning platforms can help educators cater to different learning styles and preferences. In this way, they create a more personalized and adaptive learning experience for students. The evolution of AR and VR solutions in e-learning has opened new opportunities for innovative and engaging educational experiences that are shaping the future of online education.

The future further integration of AR/VR has the potential to make online learning more engaging and effective.

Benefits of AR & VR Solutions in E-Learning

Enhanced Learning Experience

AR and VR solutions have greatly enhanced the learning experience in e-learning by allowing learners to engage with course materials in a way that traditional methods cannot match. Students can explore virtual simulations and 3D models or they can participate in virtual reality field trips to experience different cultures and environments firsthand. These are some of the examples of AR and VR in education. This hands-on learning method helps to improve knowledge retention and understanding. In this way, AR/VR makes the learning process more engaging and effective for students.

Improved Knowledge Retention

AR/VR solutions have significantly improved knowledge retention in e-learning. The level of immersion developed by AR/VR solutions can help students to better understand and retain information compared to traditional forms of learning. Overall, AR and VR solutions have modernized e-learning by making it more effective and engaging for students.

Enhancing Student Engagement Through Immersive Experiences

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality solutions have revolutionized the way students experience immersive learning in e-learning platforms. By providing interactive and engaging environments, AR and VR technology allows students to explore complex concepts more visually and practically. These tools enable students to step into virtual worlds, manipulate objects, and engage with content in a way that enhances their retention and understanding. Furthermore, AR and VR solutions can cater to all types of learners, including visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learners, by providing a multi-sensory learning experience.

Overall, AR and VR technology has the potential to transform the e-learning landscape by making education more interactive, engaging, and effective for students.

Future of AR & VR Solutions in E-learning

The future of AR/VR solutions in e-learning is promising. Augmented Reality allows users to overlay digital information in the real world. Virtual Reality, on the other hand, transports users to virtual environments where they can explore and interact with content in ways that were previously impossible.

The Grand View Research anticipated that the market of AR & VR is expected to reach $597.54 billion by 2030 .

By integrating AR/VR solutions into e-learning platforms, educators can create dynamic learning experiences that cater to different learning styles and cater to the needs of individual students.

Furthermore, AR/VR solutions in e-learning can bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application. For example, students studying biology can use AR to visualize and explore complex biological processes in 3D, while students studying engineering can use VR to simulate and test their designs in a virtual environment.

Are you Prepared to Improve the Way You Learn Online?

To take full advantage of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in e-learning, teachers and instructional designers must be ready to modify and advance their methods of instruction. They need to optimize the influence of these technologies on learning outcomes. In addition, teachers must be eager to modify their AR and VR lesson plans in response to the requirements and preferences of their students.

In the end, learning experiences that are more interesting and productive for students of all ages and backgrounds can result from being ready to embrace the possibilities of AR and VR in education.

These technologies can also make learning more interactive and personalized, allowing learners to actively engage with the content and apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios.

Conclusion

We can conclude that the future of AR and VR custom app development in education holds exciting possibilities, from personalized learning experiences to virtual mentorship programs. The integration of AR and VR opens new possibilities for both students and educators. By embracing these tools and exploring their potential, we pave the way for a more immersive, engaging, and effective learning experience. The future of education is bright, with AR and VR at the forefront of revolutionizing the way we teach and learn.

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Ai, vr, and the future of assessment in schools.

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Assessment is evolving to leverage new technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual ... [+] reality.

Can assessment in schools be interesting to students, useful to educators, and instructive for strengthening systems?

And it’s starting to happen right now in classrooms and school buildings in the U.S. and abroad.

New research into how assessment is being reimagined around the world provides clear indications of the current and emerging priorities in creating evaluations that are rigorous, adaptive, and useful for learning.

The what, how, when, and who of student learning assessment is shifting under our collective feet. It’s an exciting moment full of new possibilities for more effectively gauging the skills that are increasingly in-demand by employers and fully necessary for young people to flourish in a rapidly changing global economy and society.

And it comes right on time. Skills and competencies like creative thinking, resilience, communication, collaboration, and more are now essential for success in life and career. Indeed, these are some of the most sought-after skills in the world of work. A new survey of employers from the World Economic Forum found that creativity is the second-most in-demand skill for workers, just behind analytical thinking. Until recently, however, these qualities and attributes were firmly outside the domain of assessment in our schools.

Now, by leveraging new technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality and reenvisioning how assessment occurs, these much desired skills and competencies are better understood, measured, and then supported than ever before.

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To better evaluate the development of students’ interpersonal skills, Chile is broadening what they measure in student assessment to include three categories in this domain – personal, community, and citizenship. Administered three times a year, the Comprehensive Learning Diagnosis ensures that educators help students make progress and create a school environment that supports and fosters growth across these areas.

Similarly, in Cleveland, Ohio, the Hawken School created the Mastery Transcript to evaluate the skills and competencies demonstrated by students both inside and outside the classroom rather than through traditional letter grades. Students are exposed to learning experiences that allow them to demonstrate important capabilities like self-reflection and independent learning. Over 370 schools around the world are now part of a consortium that is putting the Mastery Transcript to use.

We’re seeing not only a shift in what skills are being measured, but also how skills are being measured. Two school districts in Iowa have partnered with ACT to pilot the use of an educational assessment video game – Crisis in Space – to track students’ decision-making and collaborative problem-solving skills. The students play two roles, a mission control engineer and/or an astronaut operator, and solve puzzles to prevent asteroid collisions and launch satellites. The students have fun and learn while the educators in the school get valuable information about where students stand in these important areas.

Another emerging dynamic is making assessment more student- and educator-centered. A profoundly positive development, school systems in British Columbia worked with key education stakeholders including students, parents, local business leaders, and members of First Nations communities to develop three Core Competencies that guide the education system – Thinking, Personal and Social, and Communication. Students are guided through self-assessments of these areas by teachers who give them opportunities across the school year to reflect on their progress and identify areas for growth.

In Henry County Schools in Georgia, elementary students are conducting their own formative assessments using thoughtfully designed feedback loops to reflect on how they are learning and seek feedback from both peers and teachers. Based on teacher-developed prompts, these feedback loops help young learners give each other constructive feedback on their reading skills, hold discussions with one another after assessments to review mistakes, and help them discover new ways to solve problems.

Virtual reality is now being applied to more assessment and evaluation of learning progress. Electrician apprentices in Switzerland, where two-thirds of students participate in apprenticeships, have access to a virtual learning platform that provides engaging evaluations of their skills as part of their practical exam preparation. The innovative assessment tool was developed by Zurich University of Teacher Education and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Virtual reality-enhanced assessment is being put to use in other places around the world like Hong Kong’s nursing preparation programs and North Carolina State University's virtual chemistry labs. The technology allows on-demand and relevant assessments that can inform subsequent learning experiences and strengthen student mastery of key concepts and competencies.

Artificial intelligence continues to dominate conversation in teaching and learning communities, both because of its obvious promise and because educators and system leaders have precious little guidance on how to effectively and responsibly make use of what is an obviously transformational tool. Ensuring the ethical and inclusive use of generative AI in assessments and more broadly in learning is a major question before everyone from classroom teachers to system leaders. So too is getting clarity around what learners need to master to prepare for jobs in an AI-enabled future.

Green shoots of promise are emerging.

In South Korea, an AI-driven smartphone app is helping students by personalizing formative assessments, analyzing their work, and evaluating their problem-solving methods to make recommendations for further study. Singapore’s Language Feedback Assistant for English is saving teachers time by marking basic spelling and grammar issues and allowing educators to focus on higher-level concepts like persuasiveness and writing organization. In Australia a new framework on the use of generative AI is helping teachers establish clear guidelines on the appropriate use of the technology by students – during assessments and other schoolwork – with an emphasis on enhancing critical thinking and creativity.

In order for schooling to be the dynamic, equitable, and future-focused experience young people and our society need it to be, assessment of student learning must be up to the task.

To varying degrees and in a diversity of ways, school systems are delivering new, rigorous and forward-looking forms of assessment. Sustained progress on this front, well-scaled and replicable, can be a powerful force for progress in our classrooms, schools, and communities.

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Students outside in school wearing ClassVR headsets

Virtual Reality in Education

Engaging vr and ar educational content for students of all ages, virtual reality for students of all ages.

Introducing a whole new concept in educational technology: a ‘standalone’ Virtual Reality headset complete with a unique student-friendly interface, gesture controls, embedded educational resources and simple-to-use teacher controls. ClassVR is a groundbreaking new technology designed to help raise engagement and increase knowledge retention for students of all ages.

Ages 4-7 years

Pre-School / Infant / Kindergarten

Early education is all about learning through experience. Find out how your youngest students can benefit from immersive 360 environments, used to enhance, impact and complement the real-world exploration and play that builds a solid foundation in the pre-school years.

Ages 7-11 years

Primary School / Elementary School

There’s so much potential for bringing the curriculum to life using virtual and augmented reality experiences, from visiting far-flung corners of the world to holding the human heart in your hands. Find out more about how VR and AR can have a remarkable impact in all areas of learning.

Ages 11-14 years

Secondary School / Middle School

Entering the next phase of education, students aged 11-14 can use virtual reality in education to build emotional intelligence, creative thinking and further develop a secure foundation of knowledge for a more engaging and effective learning condition than just textbooks and videos alone.

Ages 14-16 years

Secondary School / High School

Ensuring students are engaged, motivated and challenged throughout their school career is a key priority for teachers. See how virtual and augmented reality can impact students by unlocking potential, providing new ways to experience learning and even opportunities to create their own media.

Ages 16-18+ years

Higher or Further Education

Universities and colleges have always been at the cutting edge of new technologies, driving development, impacting industries and creating the next generation of scientists, developers and entrepreneurs. Virtual and augmented reality technologies are at the frontier of development right now, and change is happening at a frenetic pace.

Vocational Courses

Vocational Courses and Training

Vocational training will really begin to feel the impact of virtual and augmented reality over the next year or so. The ability to experience training in 360 is invaluable – and imagine budding mechanics viewing a working engine from all angles without leaving the classroom. All this is possible right now with ClassVR.

SEND Students

Special educational needs and disabilities

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can impact each child's ability to learn differently. Using virtual reality, teachers can create personalised learning or regulation environments to meet the needs of every student in creative, innovative and fun ways.

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How Virtual Reality Technology Has Changed Our Lives: An Overview of the Current and Potential Applications and Limitations

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No new data were created or analyzed in this study. Data sharing is not applicable to this article.

Despite virtual reality (VR) being initially marketed toward gaming, there are many potential and existing VR applications in various sectors and fields, including education, training, simulations, and even in exercise and healthcare. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of general understanding of the strengths and limitations of VR as a technology in various application domains. Therefore, the aim of this literature review is to contribute to the library of literature concerning VR technology, its applications in everyday use, and some of its existing drawbacks. Key VR applications were discussed in terms of how they are currently utilized or can be utilized in the future, spanning fields such as medicine, engineering, education, and entertainment. The main benefits of VR are expressed through the text, followed by a discussion of some of the main limitations of current VR technologies and how they can be mitigated or improved. Overall, this literature review shows how virtual reality technology has the potential to be a greatly beneficial tool in a multitude of applications and a wide variety of fields. VR as a technology is still in its early stages, but more people are becoming interested in it and are optimistic about seeing what kind of changes VR can make in their everyday lives. With how rapidly modern society has adapted to personal computers and smartphones, VR has the opportunity to become the next big technological turning point that will eventually become commonplace in most households.

1. Introduction

This literature review aims to contribute to the library of literature on the applications of virtual reality (VR), how they are currently used and can be used in the future, and some of the strengths and difficulties that come with using VR.

Virtual reality (VR) refers to a computer-generated, three-dimensional virtual environment that users can interact with, typically accessed via a computer that is capable of projecting 3D information via a display, which can be isolated screens or a wearable display, e.g., a head-mounted display (HMD), along with user identification sensors [ 1 ]. VR can mainly be divided into two categories: non-immersive, and immersive [ 2 ]. Non-immersive VR utilizes a combination of screens surrounding the user to present virtual information [ 3 ]. A typical example of this is driving or flight simulations in which the user sits in a chair with multiple screens around them, giving them the feeling of being in the cockpit or driver’s seat without being fully immersed. Immersive VR refers to using a wearable display, e.g., HMD, to track a user’s movement and present the VR information based on the position of users [ 4 ], which allows them to experience 360 degrees of the virtual environment. This immersive experience is what most people think of when it comes to VR and is one of the most marketable aspects of VR technology. In between immersive and non-immersive VR, there is also augmented reality (AR). AR makes use of computer-generated imagery that is overlayed on physical elements in the real world, which can be found in many applications, such as stores providing a virtual fitting application for people to “try on” clothes. Mixed reality (XR) represents the spectrum between the physical and digital worlds, combining AR and VR to allow users to both immerse themselves in a virtual world while also being somewhat grounded in reality.

The concept of VR was first introduced in the 1960s, with Morton’s creation of the Telesphere Mask and the Sensorama [ 5 ]. The original technologies served the purpose of immersing the user in the video display around them, making them feel like they are a part of the video. The Ultimate display was an idea developed by Ivan Sutherland [ 6 ], operating on a similar concept of allowing the user to feel immersed in a computer-generated environment using multiple input and output devices [ 7 , 8 ]. Following the creation of the Sensorama and the idea of the Ultimate display in the 1960s, the next large boom in VR technology development occurred in the early 2010s. During this period of time, VR was still considered a gimmick—it was expensive and was not considered a technology that would ever become popular with the general public. This, however, started to shift in 2012, when Palmer Luckey debuted his prototype for the first Oculus [ 9 ]. In 2014, Facebook acquired Oculus after seeing the interest it garnered, leading to a significant increase in the popularity of VR devices for home use. Since then, VR has grown to become more popular and accessible to the everyday consumer, with more VR headsets available on the market, such as the HTC Vive, Samsung VR, Oculus, Google Cardboard, and more.

Despite VR being initially marketed toward gaming, there are many potential and existing VR applications in various sectors and fields, including education, training, simulations, and even in exercise and healthcare. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of general understanding of the strengths and limitations of VR as a technology in various application domains. Some of the largest issues with current VR technology are hard to overcome and can span from technical to financial and health issues. Technological limitations regarding users feeling uncomfortable or ill while using a VR headset, the inaccessibility of this technology to most people due to the high price of the associated hardware, and the lack of technical standardization are all current issues that the tech industry is hoping to overcome with research and future improvements.

Overall, this literature review serves the purpose of covering how different types of VR applications can be utilized, as well as providing information on the advantages and drawbacks of using VR technology in various application domains.

In order to present a reliable literature review, an extensive search was performed using common journal search engines/websites, e.g., Google Scholar, JSTOR, MDPI, ResearchGate, PubMed, and Science Direct, which includes peer-reviewed studies and articles. Keywords and phrases used in searching for sources include a combination of “VR” or “virtual reality” with “Education”, “Simulation,” “Games”, “Virtual”, “Immersive”, “Non-immersive”, “Training”, “Application”, “Manufacturing”, “Industrial”, “Medical”, “Healthcare”, and “Entertainment”. The variety in keywords helped yield different results for VR not only as a technology but also in major use cases where it has already been utilized for different industries and fields. The gathered papers and articles were then reviewed to further select representative and up-to-date evidence.

Papers were selected with the goal of providing sufficient coverage of the topic by presenting an overarching summary rather than an exhaustive review of every type of application within VR. Having a large variety of papers does not guarantee that every particular use case of VR is covered, but it does provide a wide breadth of use cases of VR that are currently applied, as well as opportunity spaces for VR applications in the future. As shown in Figure 1 , 145 papers were initially collected, but only 77 were thoroughly reviewed to provide enough coverage without unnecessary advanced technical details. Five additional papers and articles were added after review to accommodate additional information, resulting in a total of 82 sources used for the final literature review.

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General structure of the paper selection and literature review.

Included papers were those that clearly presented a specific VR application, those that showed clear negative or positive outcomes of VR usage, or papers that provided relevant background information on a specific VR technology. Exclusion criteria included disregarding papers that had an overt focus on VR hardware components, excluding studies that may have mentioned VR without it being the focus, and rejecting papers that became repetitive after utilizing other papers on similar topics. The following sections provide detailed reviews based on various VR applications and domains.

3. Reviews of VR Technology Applications

The technological applications of VR have advanced to a point where they can be applied to an extensive range of fields and industries outside of just gaming or entertainment. Many have started to take advantage of VR in performing tasks that are hard to practice due to limited resources or the inherent risks and dangers associated with said tasks that can sometimes lead to catastrophic consequences. The greatest strength of VR is that it opens up opportunities for people to practice these tasks in a safe capacity while also being immersed enough for it to feel realistic and transferable to the real world and depict almost any situation accurately [ 10 ]. This section covers some of the main categories of VR applications and provides examples of how these applications are applied or can be applied to different use cases across various fields.

One of the most widely used and largely applicable applications of VR is the simulation aspect, which can be uniquely created and customized to suit users’ needs. There are two main types of simulations: immersive and non-immersive. As mentioned above, non-immersive VR simulations usually include multiple screens and some type of platform or apparatus that mimics the activities or tasks in reality [ 3 ]. Immersive VR simulations differ in terms of using HMDs in place of screens and can either utilize a control platform or apparatus such as the ones used in non-immersive simulations [ 11 ] or can instead be fully contained within a virtual setup and require no external setups or platforms. Whether users opt for immersive or non-immersive VR simulations, there is no significant difference in the performance, and the results appear to be very similar in fulfilling the simulation’s purpose [ 12 ]. There is, however, a slight advantage to using immersive VR simulations with HMDs, as they are capable of fully immersing the user in the simulated environment and giving them a more thorough experience [ 13 ].

3.1. Industrial Simulation Applications

VR simulations have many applications that can span from training simulation to prototyping, designing, and testing tools and objects. Some commonly used VR simulations in the industrial domain include driving simulators, flight simulators for pilots, and combat simulators for military personnel, all of which provide training to users in highly dangerous circumstances without putting them at risk during the training process [ 14 ]. Among the many use cases, two typical simulation applications are further discussed in the following sections.

3.1.1. Driving Simulations

One major use of VR simulations is driving simulations for both driving training and within the automotive industry; VR provides the ability to create driving simulations in which users can be placed in risky driving scenarios without real danger [ 15 ]. Driving simulators can be useful in multiple capacities, such as observing driving behavior to collect data or training inexperienced drivers in a low-stress environment.

VR driving simulations can be used to train young or novice drivers and help them understand their mistakes or point out some bad driving habits they need to adjust. Within a simulation, drivers can be placed in a virtual vehicle within an environment resembling a cityscape, with their behaviors and actions observed and recorded to later analyze for any issues or mistakes or to see if the drivers made the correct decisions in a given scenario [ 16 ]. After conducting the simulation, drivers can be informed of their mistakes and receive feedback about how to improve their behaviors in an actual driving situation. These driving simulations can also be beneficial in training young drivers with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [ 17 ], who may otherwise have difficulties learning in an uncontrolled environment.

Another application of VR driving simulations is the ability to collect real-time data on how users react to different scenarios as drivers on the road in a simulated environment. This data can be used in multiple capacities, such as designing better safety features in a vehicle, providing a better user experience for drivers, developing training modules for drivers, and for use in autonomous vehicle (AV) research and development. AVs have been an emerging field of technology that will continue to develop and advance, with VR simulations continuously providing opportunities for safe and efficient data collection and user testing [ 18 ]. One common issue in the field is developing trust between users and autonomous vehicles and understanding how to mitigate the distrust most people have in this technology [ 19 ]. It is important to ensure users have a certain level of trust in an AV so as to ensure drivers take over when appropriate. Accordingly, putting users in a VR driving simulation in which they interact with an autonomous vehicle virtually can yield substantial amounts of data on how users behave within that environment while also ensuring that users feel safe in the process and can become accustomed to being in an AV [ 20 ].

3.1.2. Product Design and Prototyping

One application of VR that can be useful is the ability to look at 3D models in a virtual space in a way that is difficult to visualize via a screen. Prototypes or preliminary designs for products can be modeled and shown in a virtual environment for test and evaluation purposes [ 21 ]. One significant advantage of showing these models in VR is presenting a virtual prototype or part without spending a lot of time, money, effort, or material on building the prototype in real life. Through simulations, VR can also show how the product would react under different conditions. Simulations can be run in VR to show the effect of different interactions between the prototype and surrounding subjects [ 22 ]. This can help the prototype designers determine if any areas of the prototype need to be improved based on the simulated interaction results. The ability to see the product in a virtual environment can also provide the ability to make changes to VR design for a quick turnaround and faster results, which could increase the speed of prototyping, reduce prototype production waste, and increase the understanding of the functions of the prototype.

3.2. Education

Educational applications of VR have not been utilized much yet, but there are many promising examples and studies of how beneficial VR can be in an educational environment. Using VR can help increase student attention by keeping them engaged with what is happening inside the VR environment [ 23 , 24 ]. Most teenage students find it challenging to pay attention in class, especially when they feel that the discussed topics are not relevant to them. When students use exciting technologies such as VR, they are more interested and engaged with what they are learning while immersed in a virtual environment [ 25 , 26 ]. VR headsets are also useful in blocking out visual and auditory distractions, creating an opportunity for the student to focus on teaching materials better. Such VR approaches open up more opportunities for teachers to interact one-on-one with students and have more useful and beneficial teacher–student interactions [ 27 ].

VR also provides the opportunity for students to construct and practice their own knowledge by being able to engage in meaningful experiences. Students are able to immersively engage in educational activities and gain a better understanding of the topic at hand [ 28 ]. VR also has the capability of transporting students to different environments, allowing them to learn and explore various concepts safely and efficiently. This can be especially useful to demonstrate environments that are impossible to visit in reality, such as underwater or space [ 29 , 30 ].

Mixed reality can be considered an extended VR application, which can be applied to real learning environments, such as exploring laboratory experiments [ 31 ]. Students can wear an HMD that shows information and instructions about the laboratory they will experience and can interact with items in reality to recreate what is simulated to them in VR. Essentially, students are still fully aware of their surroundings while also having a better visual understanding and representation of their task, which can help reduce mistakes, allow students to be more independent, and keep students interested and engaged.

With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sudden increase in virtual learning, with many classes being held via online meeting platforms and others being fully asynchronous. VR offers a new, unique approach to asynchronous learning; VR can create a learning environment in which a student can participate in lectures and ask questions to virtual instructors with pre-generated answers [ 32 ]. It is particularly important for students to feel immersed in the virtual environment in order to keep them engaged [ 33 ]. Virtual environments can be created to look just like real-life classrooms where students can walk around and work with other students on assignments [ 34 ]. The issue with asynchronous classroom experiences is that not all of a student’s questions will necessarily be answered; information will be limited to what is currently updated within the virtual experience. Thus, VR-based virtual education does provide a better experience to students than watching videos online, but it cannot replace the experience of being in a classroom with teachers who can directly engage with students.

With VR technology further advancing, VR could also be used for live, synchronous classes where students can engage with classmates and teachers from the comfort of their homes in real time. This would have been especially beneficial when schools were closed due to the pandemic, but it can also provide a way for students to attend classes while experiencing health difficulties, traveling, or living in other countries, etc. Even though live classes have not yet really been held using VR, such applications can be developed in the future, especially with some of the current development being made in both asynchronous learning and social interaction.

3.3. Public Health

Another domain in which VR has been utilized is within public health and wellness. Due to the immersive nature of VR, it can be used to simulate experiences that can directly impact people’s health. Some examples include providing immersive training simulations to medical personnel, offering a new method of exercise or meditation, and presenting therapists with opportunities to better help and understand their patients.

3.3.1. Medical Training

VR simulations provide the opportunity for medical professionals to practice procedures before operating on a patient, which has proven to help provide patients with better outcomes more consistently and reduce the incidence of mistakes. Preparation and practice in VR help improve patient outcomes because medical personnel are better prepared for each patient’s unique circumstances before operating [ 35 , 36 ].

In terms of learning how to perform procedures, medical students can train in an interactive virtual environment that can be programmed with different scenarios, which allows a student to experience real-life scenarios with virtual patients [ 37 ]. The virtual environment can be programmed in a multitude of diverse ways so the student can be prepared and better accustomed to different types of scenarios they may face with future patients. The simulation can be programmed so that a video can be played, showing how to effectively use a tool or object when the user looks at it [ 38 ]. The simulation can also provide hints or step-by-step instructions to students so they know how to perform the surgery properly. All these practices are much more hands-on than reading a textbook and more realistic than practicing on mannequins with minimal risks to a real patient, which makes VR a perfect tool to assist student learning.

Medical students are not the only ones who can benefit from VR simulations; seasoned medical professionals and surgeons can also benefit from this technology. Patient-specific virtual reality simulations (PSVR) are a technology that allows doctors to practice actual upcoming operations in VR [ 39 ]. This technology allows surgeons to practice customized procedures to match their patients’ specific needs and circumstances. A patient’s medical history and physical attributes can be created in the simulation and programmed with the most likely outcomes. When a surgeon performs a task or action in the simulation, the appropriate or most likely reaction can be programmed to simulate what would occur in real life under the same circumstance. This provides an opportunity for surgeons to plan out their surgery beforehand in a virtual environment, allowing them to be better prepared and more confident in their plan for the surgery ahead [ 40 ].

3.3.2. Exergaming, Fitness and Sports

With the initial focus of VR being on gaming, developers saw an opportunity for the emergence of a genre of games called exergames, in which users participate in physical activities to achieve the goals of the game. “The core concept of exergaming rests on the idea of using vigorous body activity as the input for interacting with engaging digital game content with the hope of supplanting the sedentary activity that typifies traditional game interaction that relies on keyboards, gamepads, and joysticks” [ 41 ]. VR games tend to fall under the category of exergames by requiring the user to stand up and move around in order to interact with the environment. Games such as Beat Saber (Beat Games, Prague, Czech Republic) make the user move around frequently to fulfill the game’s requirements.

Using VR as a workout tool helps gamify exercise, which can greatly assist users in staying motivated and engaged by providing them with goals to achieve during their workout. A study performed by Segura-Orti on dialysis patients shows that patients that used VR exercises instead of conventional physical activities had an increased level of physical activity compared to those who worked out using conventional methods [ 42 , 43 ]. This is probably due to the more enjoyable experience of getting exercise in game form that real life has failed to achieve with exercise apps and challenges. Some current examples include the implementation of treadmills and stationary bicycles with VR applications that allow users to physically run/cycle in place while virtually traveling through a virtual environment. These types of immersive experiences can make users’ workouts more enjoyable and can help encourage those new to fitness to start exercising from home in a new and exciting fashion.

VR technology is also being utilized in sports, where it is used to train athletes to improve their skills and can help provide them with physical therapy and rehabilitation. In terms of athletic training, VR presents a great method of perceptual-cognitive skills training [ 44 ], where users are able to experience and learn from video-based playback in an immersive environment rather than on a screen. This can be especially useful in customizing training for players in large team sports, such as football, basketball, or soccer [ 45 ]. VR allows individuals to repeatedly practice skills with lower risks of harm, which helps reduce injury. When injuries do occur in the real world, VR can be used in the rehabilitation process by allowing athletes to train from anywhere and at any time, even in the absence of a trainer or facility.

3.3.3. Therapy and Meditation

Another use of VR is in mental health therapy and meditation. The immersive nature of VR provides the flexibility to create various types of environments or experiences. Accordingly, VR can be used to experience situations that are hard to come by in real life, or that can be dangerous to go through in real life. For example, for those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), VR can be a way to experience situations that can trigger traumatic events within a safe, controlled capacity. Specific scenarios can be recreated in a virtual environment, and the patient can experience them in the presence of a therapist in order to receive help dealing with their trauma [ 46 ]. This type of therapy is similar to exposure therapy, in which patients confront what triggers them in order to slowly heal from their trauma [ 47 ].

For people who have certain disorders that may be hard to explain with words, VR can be a safe way to put people in scenarios that may trigger their disorders and observe their behaviors. Allowing a therapist to observe the situation can give them a better insight into why their patient is reacting in a certain way, which will allow them to better treat their patient [ 48 ].

Another application of VR is to use the immersive nature of the technology for meditation purposes. With the ability to experience a calm virtual environment that fully blocks distractions, VR presents a unique form of meditation that may be otherwise difficult to achieve at home. Studies on the use of VR in meditation have shown a slight increase in positive effects and a state of mindfulness in users after the meditation experience [ 49 ]. One study showed that VR meditation was more successful in reducing pre-exam anxiety in college students than watching a meditation video, where 71% of those using VR reported lower anxiety levels compared to 47% of the control group [ 50 ]. VR mediation has been shown to be useful in calming healthcare workers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual reality plus neurofeedback (VR + NF) meditation was shown to decrease the user’s anger, tension, depression, vigor, fatigue, and confusion [ 51 ]. Navarro-Haro et al. experienced an immersive VR mediation simulation and reported an increase in mindfulness and a reduction in negative emotional stress [ 52 ]. They were also less sad and less angry after the simulation. Mediation experts acknowledge that meditation with VR can be an immensely helpful and unique experience that is not yet fully utilized, and studies such as the one discussed here show promising results for this use of VR.

3.4. Social Interaction

VR provides the ability to transport users to a virtual environment in which they can interact with other users. This provides an opportunity to create social connections that may otherwise be hard to create or maintain. Social interaction via VR can be especially helpful for those with autism, as it provides a way for them to practice their communication skills. Users are able to participate in virtual cognition training to better improve their social skills, such as emotion recognition, social attribution, and analogical reasoning [ 53 ]. There are even programs in which young adults with high-functioning autism can participate that are designed with the purpose of increasing their social skills. These programs train users to better recognize facial expressions, body language, and emotions from a person’s voice [ 54 ]. These programs have lasting effects on the users, as they gain the ability to recognize other people’s emotions within the training that they can carry forward in their lives.

Social virtual reality also provides a new way for people to connect over long distances. Virtual spaces can be created in a VR environment and allow users to interact with each other in a realistic setting; users can have realistic avatars and talk to each other as if they were face-to-face [ 55 ]. This method of communication can be as effective as talking to another person in real life as long as the users feel immersed in the environment. When the users are immersed in the virtual environment, they have a better sense of presence, and their responses are more genuine [ 56 ]. This was especially popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when social distancing and travel restrictions made it much harder for people to see and speak with their loved ones [ 57 ]. Being able to attend events and experience activities with others via VR has provided a substitute for real-life interactions that is more realistic than merely speaking over the phone or via video chat [ 58 ].

3.5. Entertainment

The most prominent application of VR among the general public is within the sphere of entertainment, with VR offering new ways for users to experience several types of media in an immersive capacity.

One such form of media consumption within VR is watching movies, shows, or videos. VR offers new ways for users to experience visual media due to its ability to immerse users in a virtual world. VR displays are able to play 360° videos and allow the users to move around in the virtual environment, which provides the user with a more immersive experience and allows them to interact with the world as they see fit [ 59 ]. Users now have more control over what they want to pay attention to in a video and can experience videos in a whole new way.

Another application is virtual travel and tourism. Virtual tourism allows users to experience immersive tourism in simulated environments based on real landscapes or locations. This can make travel attainable to many people that would otherwise not be able to afford the time or money needed to physically visit faraway destinations. Examples of VR tourism include virtual museum visits, navigating areas using applications such as Google Street View, and virtual tours of popular destinations such as the Grand Canyon or the Great Wall of China. The concept of virtually visiting other countries or worlds has existed since the 90s [ 60 ], but there was a boost in interest recently due to travel constraints during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 61 ], with more people seeking travel experiences from the confines of their homes.

Live music is another form of entertainment that seems to be gaining traction as another large application of VR. Virtual reality has the ability to change the way people experience concerts, offering users the ability to attend and enjoy concerts from anywhere in the world. Prerecorded concerts are already available as a VR experience, with videos of the concerts filmed in 360 using omnidirectional cameras, allowing users to move their heads around and feel like they are physically present at the concert [ 62 ]. This can be an opportunity for users who do not have the ability to travel or could not get tickets to still enjoy the show. This will also allow users to see parts of the concert they could not see even if they were there due to cameras either being positioned on stage or close to the stage. The livestreaming of concerts in VR is still not technologically applicable, but it seems like the music industry is aiming to make it a reality at some point in the future with further VR development. As part of the most significant applications of VR, gaming has gained huge popularity recently, with headsets becoming more accessible and game developers investing more in the VR landscape. Many users have purchased VR headsets to play popular games such as Beat Saber , Super-Hot , and Job Simulator (Menlo Park, Prague, Czech Republic), some of the top-selling VR games. Besides designated VR games, many other games that were not initially made for VR are also being developed to include this capability and expand the options gamers have concerning their in-game experience. The rise of VR gaming popularity in recent years owes to the immersive capabilities of HMDs to immerse the users in the game environment, blocking out all external distractions [ 63 ] and giving the users a better sense of presence [ 64 ]. Players can experience the game from their point of view, which allows users to experience games in a whole new way [ 65 ].

4. Limitations and Side Effects of VR

Despite VR being a powerful and versatile tool, current VR technology has some evident limitations and drawbacks. These limitations include technological limits on what VR can do, how accessible VR is to the general public, and some of the side effects of using VR devices.

4.1. Technological Limitations

As a technology still in the earlier stages of development on a grand scale, VR has made significant leaps in evolution. Still, more substantial progress must occur before VR can be fully utilized in all possible applications and purposes.

Right now, the standardization of VR technology and presentation is still limited [ 66 ]; every developer may have their own interface specifications and functionality associated with their technology, and applications are not easily transferable between devices. The only standardization that can be observed as of now tends to be with popular games that are developed to be used across different VR platforms. It is also hard to troubleshoot bugs and receive proper support for any issues due to the lack of standardization. Hopefully, with time and progress in VR development, the technology can become more streamlined and provide better usability for users and transferability between devices. There are currently efforts to standardize VR, but these efforts are new, and the process is still in its infancy [ 67 ].

Other issues include hardware and software requirements for professional VR development, as most VR development software tends to take up a lot of data space on computers and have high-power consumption [ 68 ]. VR headsets also tend to be very heavy and can cause physical strain on users, causing headaches and pain, especially around the neck and shoulders [ 69 ]. As of now, it is not yet known what kind of detrimental effects VR use will have on users’ eyesight, but it is known that it can cause strain, especially with prolonged usage [ 70 ].

Another common issue is the lag between the user’s movements and the visual display within a VR headset [ 71 ]. A lot of the time, the headset’s tracking does not keep up properly with the user’s movements, which not only decreases their immersion but can also cause dizziness or “cybersickness,” which is explained in more detail below [ 71 , 72 ].

Cybersickness

One of the crucial issues with VR usage is VR-induced motion sickness, or “cybersickness” [ 73 , 74 ]. Cybersickness is a phenomenon where users will feel symptoms similar to motion sickness (i.e., nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness) as a result of using a VR device [ 71 ]. It is not yet known exactly why this occurs, but there are a few theories to explain this phenomenon. The most likely theory is known as the “sensory conflict theory,” which states that the excessive mismatch between the motion a user perceives visually and the lack of the corresponding movement in their body causes a conflict [ 71 , 72 , 75 ]. This happens when there is a disparity between the user’s visual system and vestibular system, which is the sensory system responsible for providing the brain with information about motion, head position, and spatial orientation [ 76 ]. Another explanation for cybersickness is the “ecological hypothesis”, which states that when people are not able to perceive or react to new dynamic situations, postural instability occurs [ 77 ].

Cybersickness does not always come with virtual experiences, but the issue can be exacerbated by several factors. Some individual factors include prolonged VR exposure; the user’s predisposition to motion sickness, fatigue, or nausea; and how adapted a user is to VR applications [ 71 , 78 ]. Cybersickness symptoms also seem to be less frequent when users are sitting instead of standing. Symptoms tend to worsen when a user is experiencing a high-speed simulation or game. Being a passive participant makes users more susceptible to symptoms than when they are in control of the simulation [ 71 , 79 , 80 ].

There are also some technical factors that can increase the likelihood of cybersickness occurring. These issues include noticeable lags (delays in the visual display can cause symptoms), position tracking errors (better head tracking reduces symptoms), and flicker in the visual display [ 71 , 72 ].

Cybersickness is one of the most uncomfortable issues that comes with VR usage, and if users continue to experience these uncomfortable symptoms, this can present a huge hindrance to the widespread development and utilization of VR applications [ 72 , 77 ].

4.2. Accessibility

As VR technology evolves, it is becoming more accessible, especially compared to its earlier stages. The cost of VR headsets on the market is still higher than most people can afford, but their current pricing is on par with most gaming consoles. Headsets such as Oculus Quest 2 cost about $300 for the base model and can be fully operated without the need for a computer, making it one of the more accessible headsets on the market. Most other headsets require using a computer that is “VR-ready”, meaning a high-end computer with a powerful graphics card that can manage VR applications. VR-ready computers tend to be more expensive than most computers, making this type of VR headset more expensive overall and out of reach for most people. This makes cost one of the larger barriers for people to get into VR as regular consumers, which is a hindrance to the growth of VR as a household technology.

VR as a field also includes augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (XR), which are less immersive forms of virtual experiences where users still operate in the real world with a virtual overlay. AR and XR applications are more accessible to people due to their development for use on mobile devices, which are much more common with most people owning or having access to one. A common example of this type of application is AR games such as the popular Pokémon Go , which combines using a smartphone with a physical exploration of the real world [ 81 ] in search of “Pokémon” around them that can only be observed via their phones. Distances are tracked based on a user’s steps, and users can connect fitness apps to the game in order to increase rewards gained from crossing long distances. These types of games and applications can encourage people to be more physically active by gamifying the walking experience [ 82 ]. Similar smartphone games and applications can be a more accessible entry point for people interested in VR but who lack the funds to invest in an immersive headset and computer setup.

5. Conclusions

This literature review has shown how virtual reality technology has the potential to be a greatly beneficial tool in a multitude of applications and a wide variety of fields. Current applications span different domains such as engineering, education, medicine, and entertainment. With VR technology gaining popularity and traction, more VR applications can be further utilized in the future, both in improving current use cases as well as expanding to more domains. The hope is that with more VR technological breakthroughs and development, the current limitations and issues can be overcome, making long-term VR usage more realistic and accessible to more people.

Overall, VR as a technology is still in its early stages, but more people are becoming interested in it and are optimistic about seeing what kind of changes VR can make in their everyday lives. However, more and more application scenarios are under development by experts from different fields, which allows for more specific applications and development. With how rapidly modern society has adapted to personal computers and smartphones, VR has the opportunity to become the next big technological turning point that will eventually become commonplace in most households.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.H. and B.J. methodology, A.H. and B.J. validation, B.J.; formal analysis, A.H.; investigation, A.H.; resources, A.H.; data curation, A.H.; writing—original draft preparation, A.H.; writing—review and editing, B.J.; visualization, A.H.; supervision, B.J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Understanding How Students Learn Through Virtual Reality

This In Focus story is a part of The Student Researcher series.

How UC Davis Virtual Reality Research Is Promoting STEAM Learning and Helping Improve Child Education

by Alex Russell
March 25, 2024

The role of undergraduate research in study on VR learning

“In high school we had no access to this kind of research experience,” said James, a psychology major and pre-med student. “The only research was all pipettes and chemistry, not psychology.”

Integrating research and teaching

“We’re a research university, and when the research integrates with the teaching mission, that’s when we get the best opportunities,” said Huskey.

He has mentored Klein since she first joined his lab two years ago. Her first job was a different study that also used a virtual reality game.

“I didn’t really understand what we were testing or what the research question was,” said Klein. “It was mainly, set these participants up, collect the data and give it back to us.”

“She started off like any other student who needs a ton of training, and today she’s someone who has a lot of autonomy, someone who is a research partner,” said Huskey.

The power of hands-on VR research experience

But neither of the brothers gave up, and this persistence was common across all three weekends. Every kid left with a sticker that said, “Junior Scientist.”

“One kid told us, ‘I’m going to work really hard to make sure that ‘junior’ goes away,’” Allen said. “He really left the experience feeling like a scientist.”

That feeling is one reason Snyder originally asked MOSAC to host the study. She had already volunteered there as a science communicator and knew the value of making science fun for kids.

Media Resources

Media Contacts:

Karen Nikos-Rose, UC Davis News and Media Relations, 530-219-5472, [email protected]
Alex Russell, UC Davis College of Letters and Science, 530-752-8585, [email protected]

Press kit of downloadable images.

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Shepherdsville school is first in Kentucky learning through virtual reality

N orth Bullitt High School is using virtual reality in the classroom and it’s the only school in Kentucky doing so using the interactive learning platform Prisms VR tech.

The VR learning experience is an innovative approach to reshape education and improve student outcomes.

“This is a way to enhance their learning and it gives them a chance to get out of Hillview and get out of Shepherdsville,” said principal Kristi Lynch. “These virtual reality modules take them everywhere.”

With a VR headset on and controllers in hand, the possibilities are endless, and principal Lynch says the students aren’t easily bored by the teachings.

The freshman and sophomore students utilizing it are immersed in a digital environment that brings their geometry and algebra curriculum to life.

“It's very interesting at first, but then after a while you get used to it, like okay, this is pretty cool,” said Leland Rohme, a sophomore student. “I think it's pretty smart they did this for a new learning experience for most students here.”

Using Prisms, students are up and moving around, transforming the traditional pen-and-paper classroom experience.

Geometry teacher Kayla Dixon says it sparks their creativity and ability to problem solve. It also aims to help students who may find math difficult.

“It bridges gap with students who hate math,” she said. “They kind of get excited to do VR and that helps too with a regular day in the classroom.”

Improving low math test scores at North Bullitt was a motivator for Lynch to implement the technology a year ago. She's also seeing how VR benefits teachers who are trained to teach the course.

“My teachers are really empowered to try new things and take risks,” she said. “I've watched both of my math teachers really grow this year.”

While learning math equations in school, many of us probably wondered when we'd need them again. With VR, students aren't just seeing how math connects in the real world but are using it outside the classroom.

“With the measurements, I get a better understanding whenever I'm doing the projects at my trade school such as industrial maintenance,” said one student.

And if you’re asking how students are graded on VR assignments, teachers say perspective and participation.

“Success in a module VR is a student taking away a valuable experience,” said Dixon.

Lynch says the district helped with the $13,000 to secure the license for the technology. Currently, the school has nearly 40 pairs of headsets and controllers.

Science teachers at North Bullitt will use the technology beginning next school year.

MedCity News

Overcoming the fear factor in adopting virtual reality in nursing education.

There are some lingering misconceptions around the use of VR that are likely to give instructors pause when considering whether to add a VR component to the nursing curriculum. This article addresses five common misconceptions about immersive VR simulations.

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I often speak about the usefulness of simulation in nurse training, highlighting how virtual reality (VR) technology has expanded the menu of simulation options beyond manikins and standardized patient actors. A new study in Taiwan even advocated that VR simulations “should be arranged as early as possible in fundamentals of nursing practice courses” due to their value in teaching soft skills, such as therapeutic communication, through practice scenarios.

However, from my conversations with nursing administrators and instructors, I know there are some lingering misconceptions around the use of VR that might give instructors pause before deciding to add a VR component to the nursing curriculum.

1. Doesn’t VR require a large space?

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A major advantage of VR as a training modality is its flexibility, as it can be used in the lab, the classroom, or even from home for nurse learners who live long distances from the training center. Since VR replaces visual reality with a virtual one, the learner needs a clear safe space when donning the headset to avoid mishaps when losing track of physical surroundings. A rule of thumb is to allocate approximately 7ft by 7ft of free space per user to ensure a comfortable experience. Compared to other simulation types, though, VR requires little re-set time or sanitation procedures.

2. Won’t VR require a network systems upgrade?

Because of the immersive nature of VR, a VR headset — even untethered — is best used in a static space to avoid physical hazards. Wireless network challenges such as bandwidth, latency, and consistency are considerations as internet speeds vary based on location and connection (cable, DSL, fiber, 5G wireless, etc.). However, if an internet connection is good enough for smooth video streaming, it should be adequate for VR, although more bandwidth will be required if there are multiple learners. If the area for using VR does not have good WiFi speed or reliability, it may require an upgrade to a newer router or mesh router system, or adding a range extender. As with configuring space requirements, it’s wise to consult an expert in VR simulation to ensure you get the best network setup.

3. Won’t VR learners be isolated from classmates?

Leveraging Technology for Providers

Immersive VR convinces the mind to feel a sense of true physical presence in simulated scenarios, encouraging deep focus while interacting with patients and team members. Younger, “Gen Z” nurses especially value collaboration and are more likely to thrive in environments where they can engage with their colleagues. A 2022 Cairo University study found “a statistically significant positive correlation between nurse collaboration behavior and quality of work life.” Depending upon the VR platform, training can be delivered in a variety of flexible instructional approaches. Training can be facilitated by instructors, or through peer-to-peer interactions, where multiple active participants have the capability to exchange objects and share information directly. Additionally, this flexibility extends to observational learning, with peers able to watch the simulation unfold either on their computers or from within the VR environment itself. Learners can also participate from different physical locations, an advantage for nursing educational institutions drawing nurses from remote rural areas.

4. Doesn’t VR make people sick?

VR-induced sickness is not common, but it is real. It’s essential to use a VR platform with high frame rates and accurate proprioception so that your brain and body movements feel connected. Personally, my triggers are similar to those for car sickness — if I haven’t eaten lunch, if I’m not well hydrated, if I don’t have enough fresh air. Nausea and headache are correlated to VR exposure time, so it’s best to take a break after 30 minutes in a headset. If learners feel discomfort, they should be able to participate by actively observing a casted view of the VR simulation on a TV or computer screen.

5. Isn’t VR only appropriate for large nursing schools with deep pockets?

According to a UK study , VR allows “simulations to be delivered at reduced cost with fewer resources,” especially relevant for institutions looking to scale training. Virtual experiences help reduce the material costs of nurse education as there’s no need to purchase new medical equipment or supplies for each nurse to train on, also saving on medical waste. VR headsets such as Meta Quest, HP Reverb, and ByteDance Pico can be had today for as little as a few hundred dollars, depending on the version. (Perhaps by the time nursing applications have been developed for the eye-wateringly expensive new Apple Vision Pro, the pricing will have adjusted to a more accessible level.)

An urgent need

The website of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) tallies sobering statistics that highlight a concerning trend. Despite projected growth in the nursing workforce according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections, the continued shortage of qualified nurses, nursing instructors, preceptors, and clinical placements is real. And it will only worsen as the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation hits retirement and increases long-term care needs.

Incorporating VR-based training simulations into the nursing curricula presents a practical solution to instructor and clinical placement shortfall. If instructors can navigate past their apprehensions toward the unfamiliar, VR can help in ushering more qualified nurses through the pipeline, more quickly, to avoid a healthcare deficit that could compromise the quality of patient care.

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Ep24: Utilizing Virtual Reality to Transform Pain Education, Management, and Research Paincast

This episode showcases how Virtual Reality, VR in short, can be used to facilitate, advance, and even transform pain education, management, and research. You'll hear about a few different applications of VR in physiotherapy, including using VR as a tool for pain neuroscience education, VR for phantom limb pain, and VR for research. We also highlight the current literature related to these applications. Note that this episode is a limited demonstration of how VR can be used in different aspects of pain care and there are a lot more out there. Interested listeners can refer to the review papers I have cited in the episode description. Timestamps:(00:01:14) Reality Health: VR as a tool for Pain Neuroscience Education (00:27:48) VR as a tool to prevent or manage Phantom Limb Pain (00:43:52) SilicoLabs: VR as a versatile research and clinical tool Relevant resources: VR for pain overview: Ahmadpour, N., et al. (2019). Virtual Reality interventions for acute and chronic pain management. The international journal of biochemistry & cell biology, 114, 105568. Trost, Z., et al. (2021). Virtual reality approaches to pain: toward a state of the science. Pain, 162(2), 325-331. VR for phantom limb pain: Limakatso, K., et al. (2020). The effectiveness of graded motor imagery for reducing phantom limb pain in amputees: a randomised controlled trial. Physiotherapy, 109, 65-74. Purushothaman, S., et al. (2023). Assessment of efficiency of mirror therapy in preventing phantom limb pain in patients undergoing below-knee amputation surgery—a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Anesthesia, 1-7. Cheung, J. C. W., et al. (2023). X-reality for phantom limb management for amputees: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Engineered Regeneration, 4(2), 134-151. SilicoLabs: www.silicolabs.ca Reality Health: https://reality.health/home/ Skidmore, N., et al. (2024). Acceptability and Feasibility of Virtual Reality to Promote Health Literacy in Primary Care from the Health Professional’s view: A Qualitative Study. Patient Education and Counseling, 108179. Making pain education better: historical underpinnings & recent innovations – a discussion paper: https://www.petalcollaboration.org/uploads/1/4/4/1/144169171/moseley__ryan_petal_discussion_paper_making_pain_education_better_120923.pdf Video introduction to the platform: https://vimeo.com/915832727/e6572e2a5c?share=copy Paincast is dedicated to bringing together researchers, clinicians, and students to discuss topics related to pain and physiotherapy. The primary purpose is to facilitate knowledge translation and critical thinking. Some episodes posit themselves as more educational than others, and some more opinionated than others. The listener is encouraged to listen critically. While there is an effort to incorporate research evidence, and the topics are always researched by the host, we recognize there is room for improvement and there is expertise in the community. As such, we invite constructive critique and that you inform us of any inadvertent errors, so that we may correct them. You may submit your feedback through this form: https://forms.gle/UFfbUHBh8uKwSKgS8

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Virtual reality in education often involves viewing or interacting with learning content using a VR headset along with any associated hardware, such as controllers that can let the user navigate and manipulate a simulated reality. VR headsets use screens, lenses and other advanced technology like sensors that are designed to wrap the viewer in ...
How virtual reality can be applied in schools
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Another part of the future of virtual reality in education is greater accessibility. As headsets and software become cheaper, virtual reality will ultimately become a ubiquitous part of education. As hinted at by the popularity of Google Cardboard (the official VR cardboard case costs just $14.95 ), VR's rise will change aspects of how ...
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The benefits of virtual reality in education go beyond academics as well to include cultural competence, the ability to understand another person's culture and values—an important skill in today's interconnected, global society. For example, a virtual reality field trip to other parts of the world, whether it be Peru or China, exposes ...
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Virtual Reality (VR) in Education. PC-based VR can help enable rich learning experiences for the next generation of innovators. VR is an immersive technology that allows students to interact in a computer-generated world of imagery and sounds. VR-based active learning can help to improve knowledge retention and student engagement.
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As an explanation for Figures 3 and 4, it is clear from the bibliometric analysis that "Virtual Reality in Education" has overlapping studies with virtual reality technology design, navigation, dentistry, gamification, children, anxiety, higher education, learning outcome, and curriculum. More distant studies connected to virtual reality ...
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Virtual Reality (VR) and educational games are emerging technologies mediating a rapid transformation in the educational world. However, few studies have systematically analyzed Educational Virtual Reality Games (EVRGs) and how they have been applied in educational settings. This study reviewed 31 articles published in high impact journals and educational conference proceedings to unravel the ...
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March 25, 2024. The little boy, about 7 years old, almost disappeared inside the virtual reality headset, yet the way he was holding up his hands showed he knew exactly what to do. A laptop screen showed what he was seeing: digital outlines of hands manipulating Tetris-like blocks. A hand turned a block to make it fit, then picked up another.
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The integration of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in e-learning is revolutionizing the way students learn, engage, and interact with content. These innovative technologies offer immersive and interactive experiences that could transform traditional teaching methods. We explore the role of AR VR solutions in e-learning, highlighting the benefits, challenges, and ...
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Virtual Reality (VR) has made significant inroads into both the consumer and professional sectors. As VR has matured as a technology, its overall practicality for use in education has also increased. However, due to the rapid evolution of the technology, the educational field struggles to stay informed of the latest advancements, changing affordances, and pedagogical applications.
Advantages of Virtual Reality in Education
So, in summary virtual reality helps education by creating immersive lessons that are engaging, memorable and impactful for students. These VR experiences improve learning outcomes and help students build important interpersonal skills such as empathy, collaboration, and social skills needed for the future. Virtual reality is a hugely powerful ...
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Despite virtual reality (VR) being initially marketed toward gaming, there are many potential and existing VR applications in various sectors and fields, including education, training, simulations, and even in exercise and healthcare. Unfortunately, there ...
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March 25, 2024. The little boy, about 7 years old, almost disappeared inside the virtual reality headset, yet the way he was holding up his hands showed he knew exactly what to do. A laptop screen showed what he was seeing: digital outlines of hands manipulating Tetris-like blocks. A hand turned a block to make it fit, then picked up another.
Shepherdsville school is first in Kentucky learning through virtual reality
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Virtual experiences help reduce the material costs of nurse education as there's no need to purchase new medical equipment or supplies for each nurse to train on, also saving on medical waste.
‎Paincast: Ep24: Utilizing Virtual Reality to Transform Pain Education
This episode showcases how Virtual Reality, VR in short, can be used to facilitate, advance, and even transform pain education, management, and research. You'll hear about a few different applications of VR in physiotherapy, including using VR as a tool for pain neuroscience education, VR for phantom limb pain, and VR for research.

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Cite this article

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Systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis on virtual reality and education

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Introduction

Definition of key terms

Previous literature and reviews

Rationale for review

Methodology

Selection and screening

Quality assessment tool

Quality of studies

Subject areas and learning domains

Experimental design

Assessment instrumentation

Intervention characteristics

Theoretical frameworks

Learning outcomes

Cognitive studies

Science based cognitive studies

Engineering and architectural based cognitive studies

Medical based cognitive studies

Computer science based cognitive studies

Other cognitive studies

Procedural studies

Affective studies

Discussion and implications

Is the utilisation of I-VR within education restrictive?

Implications of outcome measures and assessment instrumentation

Implication of intervention characteristics for learning outcomes

Learning outcomes in I-VR

Implications and future practice

Conclusions

Author information

Corresponding author