Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are technologies that fall within the Extended Reality (XR) realm. While these technologies are gaining traction in a range of industries, their uptake in K-12 formal education does not seem to have really gone mainstream yet. That being said, according to this market insight report from “Statista”, AR/VR technologies will make large capital gains from 2023-2027. Based on the report’s predictions, I believe that the use of XR technologies will grow exponentially in field of education. According to the report, revenue from these technologies will more than double by 2027.
Check out the report here: https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/ar-vr/worldwide
I feel like this market is waiting for the “must-have” application still. With a major announcement in this area expected from Apple the first week of June, I think we may start to see some movement away from the niche product that it currently is.
Within Education, I think that the main problem is that of scale: one student at a time can experience the Virtual Reality. Google Cardboard-like applications expand the possibilities, but at the expense of the overall experience. As I was working on my OER last term for AR, I found it difficult to find compelling uses for AR that would fit the technology available to classrooms, though we did our best to include some examples here:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2023/03/05/week-9-a2-augmented-reality-in-education/
When I can take a group of 25 students into a room, each person wearing a VR/AR headset, and we can experience a virtual world, or augmented reality TOGETHER like walking into a Star Trek holodeck, the time of educational-XR will have truly arrived. There will be steps along the way that will be exciting, profitable, and profound, but ultimately more trouble than following a QR code, or making a real model.
Having worked with VR from a research perspective, the type of program used in VR or AR remains the core issue ie. what is projected to the user.
Based upon our trials and feedback, what was reported back was the following; that seemingly innocent peaceful scenes evoked multiple secondary effects. The trial used our health care teams who consented to the research.
. The range of presentation via VR was seemingly innocuous, however the effects reported were multiple. All participants were healthy and functioned well. After this trial, many reported being dizzy for days, unable to sleep, abdominal pain and feelings of fear, ( assumed from a traumatic experience a very long time ago The trial lasted one hour for 2 consecutive days)
What this would indicate is the unknown aspect of VR upon our brain, whereabouts in the brain, our subconscious and past experiences being reawakened in this way. Ethically, although there are multiple gaming programs which are lucrative for the manufacturer, however, knowing that we really do Not fully understand brain functioning, the totally immersive experience through VR where one is really transported into another dimension, requires more research before a final application as a “must have application”
That is a fair assessment of the current state of VR technology and you bring up sentiments, especially concerning motion sickness, that could been seen as major barriers currently. Is the research you are referring to published? I’d like to look it over. In any case, perhaps AR provides more immediate opportunities as this does not immerse one’s brain functioning in the same way or to the same degree.
Hi Nick
yes, we have two publications and the third part of the research is presently ongoing. ie. findings stemming from first hand users who have been exposed to the specific programme.as well as follow up. This aspect is currently managed through psychiatry and psychotherapy for safety and competency in use.
This research has occurred over 4 years with consistent adherence to detail, analysis and cultural paradigms.
Here are the links.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/40236 and
Journal
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56(10), 1891-1902
DOI
10.1007/s00127-021-02057-1