2nd Entry: Now More Than Ever
Our world changes every second, but the changes we have seen in the last 8-10 months are truly unprecedented. Our nation has gone from a society of intermingling individuals to one of individual solitude. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the classrooms of our educational institutions. Rows of desks sit empty, lecture halls silent, and libraries are collecting dust. Beyond the educational environment of our schools, the social aspect has all but disappeared as well. The free exchange of ideas, thoughts, and theories in courtyards, quads, and cafeterias has been replaced by safer and more distant means.
I am a father of a high school sophomore and soon-to-be college freshman and I can already see the strain my children are enduring heading into the 2020-2021 school year. My son is in a totally online format that utilizes Zoom, Google Duo, and Schoology as its sole means of classroom interactivity. My daughter will be physically attending her university, even though all of her courses will remain in online modes of instruction. As an adult learner, my entire college experience has been in an online format from my B.S. through to the M.S. program I am currently enrolled in, but at least I had a choice. The point I am trying to make is that my children, like many others, are heading down a path that has yet to be explored, with repercussions that cannot be foreseen.
The pandemic has surely sent educational designers scrambling to find the answers for a classroom that is no longer a classroom. While online learning is nothing new, comprehensive, nation-wide online education, at all levels, is. As an aspiring educational designer, I wonder how I can better facilitate the irreplaceable classroom interaction that we are missing today. While standing in front of a class and watching the light bulbs flicker to a steady glow above the student's heads as they connect the information you are delivering is irreplaceable, maybe we can find a better solution.
Virtual reality (VR) has been a part of our technological society for quite some time now. We have all seen the videos of grandma falling out of her chair while wearing a VR headset, but the possibilities for this technology go so much further than entertainment. What if we could bring all students back into a "classroom" where they could interact with each other, course materials, and even equipment? What if we could enrich the learning experience while simultaneously protecting our educators and students from the threats of our new world or even explore previously inaccessible learning environments like outer space or the ocean floor? VR holds the potential to do just that and more, bridging the gap we must traverse, more effectively, on our way back to the physical classroom. I look forward to exploring these ideas with all of you throughout the life of this blog.
Donnie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the second and third order effects of our children not being in the classroom have yet to be seen. My guess is the impact of our inability as a society to return to the classroom will be much greater than we currently realize. So much of our economic prosperity and future relies upon our children receiving a quality education.
That said, I like your vision of virtual reality being used to bring a virtual classroom into our homes. Having the ability to interact with each other as if they are actually in the classroom could have a significant positive impact on the mental health of our children. I think this is critically important because they simply aren't having the same level of social interaction experiences as they sit on a zoom meeting and listen to their teacher talk. Additionally, I think it is important to consider how VR can be used to create a positive learning environment for working adults which will also be crucial post COVID.
I recently came across an article that captured my attention because it discussed how a public/private partnership between a community college and industry was able to incorporate VR into their training to teach skills such as blueprint reading and using precision measuring tools. These skills were identified as critical skills needed to meet manufactures needs in the midst of a pandemic. The article I'm referring to is found at the following link: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-08-06-after-the-pandemic-higher-education-can-t-afford-to-go-back-to-normal
I'm interested in exploring more about what they specifically did at Alabama Community College as part of this project as well as other ideas corporations and higher education institutions have come up with when it comes to leveraging VR technology. I'm interested in hearing more of your thoughts.
Anthony
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteDonny,
DeleteI would have to agree with you that the effects of the current pandemic have yet to be seen. I am not sure we will realize or see the effects for quite some time. The question becomes have we reached a new normal? Is the classic brick and mortar classroom a thing of the past? These questions will be critical to the education of many in the future. I am not sure our world will ever be the same.
How can we leverage our technology, while keeping the same quality of education for our younger generation? Most sites around the internet have the U.S Ranked about 27th in the world for its level of education. The United States has seen a significant decrease in its educational attainment-partly because of the result of poorly allocated funds for schools. One would have to put into consideration the cost analysis for equipping all schools across the nation with virtual reality capabilities. In addition, you would have to wonder how you could evaluate or standardize testing with this capability. The United States must be able to produce a quality education to its future generation to stay relevant as a global world power. As you well know without a competitive education system for our country, we will quickly fall behind as a world power.
This is where I think VR technology can really help to bridge the gap in our country’s education shortfalls. VR can not only improve our education, but it can also help us to have a more robust global outreach. I think VR can help with collaborative learning along with an enhanced visualization of the course content. To ensure VR is successful it needs to be flexible and most importantly cost effective. I am afraid without a serious cost analysis many school districts will get left behind, and our future generation will suffer. Thanks for the great insight on VR. I look forward to the discussions this blog will bring.
Sorry about the post deletes. I am still trying to figure this whole blog thing out. Have a great day!
Kevin
Donny,
ReplyDeleteYour perspective on using VR in the classroom in a good idea. Worth giving it a try at least, since technology it becoming more readily available and less expensive those hurdles may come quicker than we think. As you stated, classrooms are changing because of this pandemic. Now may be the time to try everything to see what works best, I hate to say that our children are the test subjects, but without them we will continue to shoot in the dark. The only thing that may be a challenge is getting our educators up to speed with the technology that is rolling out faster than the training.
looking forward to your next blog,
Walter
Donny,
ReplyDeleteI really like the path you have started on, while I read your post, I found myself imagining a history class about the Alamo (REMEMBER the ALAMO!) but VRing from the wall standing with William Travis, looking at the thousands of Mexican troops coming. I also imagined a science class I took in high school, Oceanography, and how cool it would have been to VR on the floor of the ocean. Even when students go back to brick and mortar I think your VR idea would still enhance learning! I am excited to follow your blog!
Andy D.
Donny,
ReplyDeleteVirtual Reality! What an interesting topic it is! As you personalized the topic to your children, if VR can be used as a way to communicate among students or between students and teacher in online learning environments, it may (hopefully) diminish social isolation issues that occurred often in online context.
A lot of people including me are interested in knowing how VR may influence our daily lives and educational landscape. I am excited to reading more postings about VR.
Donny, I had never thought of using virtual reality as a safer way to teach and learn. I chose virtual museums as my topic and both of our topics overlap. Many virtual museums use the VR goggles to augment the viewing and learning experience. I am interested to know if any schools are using them yet and how that has impacted the learning experience. I will definitely be following your blog so that I can learn more.
ReplyDelete-Mandy