iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Virtual and augmented reality have become a trend more recently due to advances in artificial intelligence. They’ve grown to be more commonly utilized tools for interpretation of ideas in a variety of fields. VR is an immersive technology experience. Though it was commonly used in the gaming industry, it’s now being applied to a variety of fields. For example, companies can make use of simulated interviews and best choose candidates for the job when recruiting and training. AR on the other hand, supplements and enhances reality that already exists. Social media filters are a good example of this. Another example, the furniture company IKEA recently used this immersive technology to help shoppers envision how furniture would look inside their home.

The day the Oculus Go was released in May, I rushed to Best Buy to get the virtual reality device, which is owned by Facebook, before they sold out. To my surprise, the staff had no idea what I was describing. Fortunately, I was able to find it at the customer service desk, and I was the first customer to purchase it at that store.

Currently, there are two purchase options available: the Oculus Go with 32 GB of storage at $199 or 64 GB of storage at $249. I opted to get more storage as I test many apps to make recommendations for educators, so the extra $50 was worth the price for double the amount of storage.

It’s been so exciting to watch as students and teachers across the country embrace virtual reality. As a consultant and professional development provider, I spend lots of time in classrooms in different parts of the country. One of my favorite parts of this role is leading demo lessons for teachers and working side-by-side with students.

Virtual reality is a powerful learning tool when integrated thoughtfully into the classroom. This past month I’ve had the chance to introduce virtual reality experiences to students in PreK through fifth grade. These embedded,  interactive experiences can lead to in-depth discussions. So I’ve put together a list of virtual reality discussion prompts you can tailor to your classroom.

How do you captivate a classroom full of digital-since-birth students? According to one Tennessee college professor, you do it by creating immersive learning experiences.

"Virtual reality has been the driving force behind Google’s Expeditions app since it launched three years ago. And recently it’s added another layer of “reality” to the virtual field trip tool—AR, or augmented reality to be precise, which take the form of features such as narration, annotations, and a new “solo mode,” going on virtual trips without a guide.

This past school year Google says over one million students have used the AR tools as part of the company’s Expeditions Pioneer Program. In New York City, 99 different schools experimented with the program for the first time, giving students an up-close look at everything from famous world landmarks to the human body."

Virtual reality is becoming increasingly realistic, and we've tried out some cutting edge VR tech. Here are our favourite VR experiences so far:

In March 2017 I published my model for VR in Education, detailing the various depths of VR and how they can be harnessed in classrooms. The model has been incredibly well received and has been shared at conferences and institutions around the world. I would like to thank everyone who has shared it as well as all those who have given me feedback on it. Below the image, you will find a more in depth analysis of the theory behind the model.

The educational potential of VR technology in today’s classroom is still for the most part uncharted waters. What seems certain, however, is that this technology promises to open up some of the most exciting horizons in the education of tomorrow. Inroads are being made in certain areas, and one of the most exciting examples to have emerged to date is a VR app that lets school children operate a recycling facility from the comfort of the classroom.

Last month, TIME and Felix & Paul Studios launched VR cameras to the International Space Station (ISS) in a new project to bring viewers an intimate look aboard one of the most exclusive places in human existence.


Dubbed The ISS Experience, over the course of the next year VR cameras will provide what the makers call “unprecedented access to a participatory experience—one that will culminate with the first-ever filming of a spacewalk in cinematic virtual reality.”

The year-long project was announced at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah this weekend. The project’s first VR scene was filmed on Friday, January 25th.

The image of screens strapped to students’ faces is what the future of education looks like to some, but others see it as a passing fad that educators will look back on and say, ‘What were they thinking?’

Many proponents of immersive virtual reality in classrooms—using devices like Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard—say one question will be key to the fate of the tech in education: Will these new systems make students and professors content creators, or merely consumers?

In Why Virtual Reality Is So Important For Education, Terry Heick explained the context for Augmented and Virtual Reality in the classroom.


Virtual reality is a kind of digital reality–a way of using technology to create environments designed for expressly human interaction. This is, of course, different than our physical environment. We are human beings, and human beings are simply one organism functioning interdependently with literally countless other living things. The world isn’t designed expressly for us, which is a matter of theological and metaphysical contemplation really. But for context here, it makes sense because it underscores one of the underpinning draws of virtual reality: Through the use of digital technology, virtual realities can be designed precisely for human interaction for very specific reasons to create experiences not otherwise possible.

Sites in VR is a free Android and iOS app that provides a 1700 virtual reality views of significant landmarks around the world. The app is a good one for those who would like to experience a bit of virtual reality without having to use a virtual reality headset. Sites in VR provides imagery that you can navigate through by moving your phone or tablet in a manner similar to that of using a virtual reality viewer like Google Cardboard.

Virtual field trips instantly connect students with learning opportunities they may not get to experience otherwise. And it all happens from the comfort of your classroom computer. Take kids on a unique adventure in just a few clicks with these top virtual field trips for kids of all ages.

Getting started with augmented and virtual reality may seem overwhelming, but with the right approach, successful implementation is achievable—and can actually be a lot of fun to learn. As we head back to school, a solid plan will help turn frustrating experiences into mind-blowing creative lessons.

But first, an introduction to the world of AR/VR, which can sometimes get confusing.

A new whitepaper from personalized learning nonprofit KnowledgeWorks explores how wearables, augmented reality and virtual reality could play out in education. Take one example shared in the report of a fourth-grader: She's wearing a Hello Kitty "smart sleeve" and toting her tablet in a matching knapsack as she heads into the homework center after school and begins to tackle a writing assignment. After 10 minutes of staring at a blank screen and experiencing a rising heart rate, her wearable triggers a "nudge" from an app that reminds her that it's OK to ask for help. She clicks on an icon and receives a holographic image of her coach in a corner of her device, calmly and clearly offering her immediate help.

Education has been a recurring theme throughout the many programs of the NYC Media Lab, a public-private partnership where I serve as an Executive Director. How will virtual and augmented reality change the classroom? How can teachers use immersive media to educate citizens and keep our communities vibrant? In what ways can enterprises leverage innovation to better train employees and streamline workflows?

These are just a few of the top-of-mind questions that NYC Media Lab’s consortium is thinking about as we enter the next wave of media transformation.

Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies allow you to take online training immersion to a whole new level. Employees can walk into the workplace and apply what they’ve learned without even taking a step. Thus, eliminating real-world risks and facilitating mistake-driven learning opportunities. Here are 8 creative applications for employing AR/VR technologies in your online training course.