Educational Technology News

"The future of human beings interaction is changing with the development of the technology and the evolution of the information technology innovations."

"Virtual reality has been on the radar since Morton Heilig’s Sensorama in the 1950s, and head mounted versions of the technology were even around in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until recently that its use has become less of a novelty and more of a commonality. Console games and smartphone adapters have brought the potential of virtual reality into the lives of everyday people. And soon, that technology will enter the classroom."

The United States Department of Education (ED) has formally kicked off a new competition designed to encourage the development of virtual and augmented reality concepts for education.

Virtual reality (VR) is on the rise. Less than a quarter of educators (23 percent) have tried out VR in their schools so far, and most of that effort has been in science (52 percent) vs. history (29 percent), engineering (20 percent) or any other subject.

As virtual reality headsets become more mainstream, researchers initiated "A Code of Ethical Conduct" because little is known about long term VR use, especially

While Virtual Reality in education is a while away from becoming as mainstream as something like YouTube in the classroom, it might be closer than we think.

In a recent survey more than 9 in 10 teachers (93 percent) said they believe the use of VR would "excite" their students, and 8 in 10 (83 percent) say it might improve learning outcomes.

"icture this: A student wears a set of goggles that transport her from a classroom in Athens, Georgia, to the Parthenon, 5,600 miles away in Athens, Greece. In an interactive, 3-D world, she peers up and down each of the 17 columns on the temple’s side and examines the fluted shafts. She notes that they have no bases. It’s easy to understand the differences between Ionic and Doric architecture here: rather than relying on textbook descriptions, those differences come to life before her eyes."

So virtual reality is officially back! With Facebook's Oculus Rift acquisition offering the potential of a mass-market Head-mounted display (HMD) device an

Simulation challenge looks to prepare students for the modern workforce.

With a little creativity, teachers and librarians can use Google Expeditions, Google's virtual reality system, with their students.

"Discovery Education has now begun to build virtual reality experiences into its digital content. Recently, the company announced the addition of three new VR components to its social studies products."

"Almost a quarter of teachers have already brought virtual reality into their classrooms, and 55% say they expect to do so in the future given the benefits of student excitement and deeper understanding."

Beyond field trips, headsets can enhance education like never before.

"With a number of consumer options hitting the market, 2016 may well be the year virtual reality goes mainstream. The consumer market isn't the only space the tech is poised to shake up, though: Education also stands to benefit from VR."

Virtual Reality is taking big leaps out of the gaming arena and is starting to show just how impactful the technology might just be. In the below video from Stevenson University, Assistant Professor of Digital Rhetoric Amanda Licastro shows how she is …

While the concept of virtual reality in the classroom seemed ideal in the past, this technology had very high overhead costs. Now things have changed; but is this enough to expect a comeback of virtual reality in the classroom?