Using Virtual Reality for fostering creativity

Virtual reality increases the interest of students

Since a couple of years that the VR (Virtual Reality) industry realized more affordable sets, the educational communities have received them with open arms, having students and teachers excited for having VR inside the classrooms. In fact a study made by Samsung in the United States (2016), says that 83% of teachers believe IVR will improve learning outcomes.

IVR (Immersive Virtual Reality) is linked with increasing motivation in students for learning. Bailenson (2018), proposed that using VR to deliver academic lessons may promote effective processes that pique student's interest in learning. may be good for increasing students' interest in learning.

Virtual Reality may not be useful for memorizing learning

However, there is also some studies that support that the use of VR in the classroom may not be useful for learning. Through an experiment in a biology class with elementary students that compares the use of IVR to a normal power point, Parong and Mayer (2020) argue that using IVR on declarative knowledge is counterproductive to learning. Due to the emotional arising that the IVR experience provokes, students were more distracted than on the PowerPoint presentation.

In addition, on a systematic review of the investigations that has been made on the use of IVR on learning activities, Radianti et al. (2020) found that learning theories are not often considered on IVR experiments but usually, studies often focus on the usability of IVR rather than on the learning outcomes. This study concludes that there is not scientifically prove that VR experience are optimal for learning outcomes in higher education.

VR must be use thinkully for applying, analyzing or creating

The findings of Radinti et al. help us relocate the use of technology in education. As the TPACK model underlains, technology comes after the pedagogical framework. As it is the purpose of the entries on this blog, it is necessary to apply VR in a thinkfull way. Retaking the findings of Radinti et al., the use of VR hasn't show to be useful when teaching “declarative knowledge” because of the distraction it lead, however, the same authors underlined that there could be different effects on other types of knowledge, such as analytical, creative or evaluative thinking.

Unity is a design program use by game developers for creating 3D environments that could easily be used on IVR. It is not easy to manage the infinite possibilities that technology gives, and in talking about VR and programs such as Unity, it is possible to see the same patron. Creativity, just as trains need to have clear rails to actually advance. Is possible to use Unity as a tool for the teacher to create VR settings or the high school students to create environments where they can apply their knowledge

If when designing the activity for the students there are clear directions that aim to analyze, apply or create, Unity could be a great tool for developing creativity with the help of emotional engagement that VR and all the possibilities that being immersed in a 3D setting can offer. There are multiple courses online on learning how to use this program, which make the teachers' creativity the leader of the educational program.

References:

Parong, J., & Mayer, R. E. (2021). Cognitive and affective processes for learning science in immersive virtual reality. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37(1), 226–241. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12482

Bailenson, J. (2018). Experience on demand: What virtual reality is, how it works, and what it can do. W. W. Norton & Company.

Radianti, J., Majchrzak, T. A., Fromm, J. & Wohlgenannt, I. (2020). A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications for higher education: Design elements, lessons learned, and research agenda. Computers & Education, 147, 103778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103778

Samsung Business USA. (2016). Is virtual reality ready for the classroom? https://image-us.samsung.com/SamsungUS/b2b/resource/2016/06