In this context, and thanks to different technologies such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality, many students, especially those in higher education, could continue their training.
Once the pandemic is over, we will find that these technologies are here to stay, and eLearning will continue to be used as a learning tool in hybrid training environments.
A tool to motivate students.
Until a few years ago, few thought it was possible to study the organs of the human body by going inside them, studying a history class traveling to ancient Rome, or taking a practical class to understand how a vehicle engine works. The truth is that the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in classrooms has ceased to be a futuristic idea to become the perfect complement through which students can live immersive experiences with images and sounds that perfectly recreate a natural environment.
The educational world is evolving by leaps and bounds thanks to XR technologies. As a result, many educational centers are betting on using Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality in their classrooms to improve student learning and thus become benchmarks.
In this context, universities and vocational training centers use these technologies the most in their teaching-learning methods. It is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to evolve at the pace of society. And the potential of XR technologies in education is immense:
– Encourages student participation and interaction.
– Allows students to get involved in their learning process.
– Facilitates the understanding of abstract concepts.
– It is a step towards the gamification of education.
– Help students acquire and consolidate knowledge more quickly, increasing their satisfaction.
– Facilitates the inclusion of students and overcomes social barriers.
– Students can develop transversal and specific skills such as decision-making in safe environments.
XR technologies in the university environment.
Virtual teaching is one of the methodologies that have the best acceptance in the university environment. Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality is innovative technologies that turn traditional classes into more dynamic, interactive classes where students can carry out practical cases of everything they learn through virtual simulators. In addition, these allow them to develop their creative and problem-solving capacity and repeat the content as often as needed.
According to Internet2, a consortium that develops advanced networking technologies and applications made up of American universities, different educational institutions, and companies, about half of US universities have implemented some Virtual Reality applications.
Now, in this framework, what can universities use XR technologies for? Here are just a few examples:
– Immersive language learning accompanied by content about a new culture
– Study of three-dimensional reconstructions
– Anatomy Learning
– Delve into soft skills and social interactions
Harvard, Stanford, or the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey are the three higher education centers with the most excellent implementation of Virtual Reality in their classrooms. In addition, they are international reference centers that make using these technologies one more attraction of their educational offer.
Professional training with XR technologies
If something defines teaching vocational training, it is about practical studies. They are aimed at labor insertion and updating, and their objective is to adapt the knowledge and skills of future workers.
Being teachings of a more practical nature, XR technologies become the perfect ally to explain concepts to students that they can then test in a virtual environment and free of any risk.
In this sense, and as an example, a Professional Training Degree in Vehicle Maintenance, Virtual Reality simulators offer students the possibility of interacting in the first person with an exact vehicle with all its components. In this way, the student can learn the safety processes and protocols necessary for handling the vehicle, thus putting the knowledge acquired to the test and ending with more practical training closer to the company’s needs.
The best complement for teachers
The rise of new technologies such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality in education also implies a change in the teacher’s teaching method. Here, the teacher has to adapt and perfectly understand the operation of this type of technology so that, far from being an obstacle, they become the best complement to training students.
At ARSOFT we are experts in helping schools implement XR technologies to turn the student’s teaching process into a unique experience that allows them to consolidate the knowledge acquired through the “learn by doing” method.
To do this, we have our content creation platform, EYEFLOW, which allows us to get the most out of Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality. It is an authoring platform that allows you to create interactive Virtual Reality simulators easily and Augmented Reality procedures without programming a single line of code with a drag-and-drop system. All this is at a reduced and controllable price for educational entities. With EyeFlow, students and teachers create their own educational XR content.
It’s time to bet decisively on virtual education! And at ARSOFT we help you.
We have worked with different educational centers such as the Giner de los Ríos (León), Juan Antonio de Castro (Talavera de la Reina) or Leonardo Da Vinci (Salamanca) Secondary Schools, and Universities such as Vigo or Salamanca to help them implement this type of technology in their classrooms, and the results have been very positive. They have verified how students who received training through RA, VR, and RM technologies understood the concepts better and faster than traditionally trained.
