Hello everyone! Inspired by my A2 on AR, I decided to look into using AR/VR wearables in education with a focus on how they can transform trades worker training. I work at a utility company, and I see tremendous opportunity for implementing wearable devices to improve training for trades workers on-the-job. The benefits of using AR/VR wearables can be extended to other educational situations.
For my OER, I created a wix website to explore wearable technology and its educational benefits: https://lindazhao6.wixsite.com/wearables
Please feel free to explore and comment below if you have any questions, comments, or feedback!
Over the past 3 years, I have been studying the use of VR for education and industry training. Having attended the BC Tech Summit in 2018 and 2019, and then presenting at the VR Global Summit in Vancouver in 2019, I was able to see some of the latest technologies and practices that surrounded VR. And my, what a surprise it was!
I would like to share a couple of the developments and innovations I have encountered through my work over the past 3 years which are heading in the direction of VR training for industry and education.
1. BCIT and the Hololens: For the past several years, BCIT has been developing and utilizing MR technology to create simulations students may encounter in their work. My favorite example of this practice involves their nursing program with a simulation of delivering a child. BCIT has a real life ‘dummy’ that is used on the delivery bed, which can create the simulation of delivering a child. However, the instructor has control over the AR simulation and what the students see through their headsets to create challenges or problems the students must solve during the child birthing process. One of the greatest challenges that students face is dealing with emotions and unexpected turns in reality vs in practice in a controlled environment. This training has allowed the nurses to explore challenges they may face in reality, when not simply working with a mannequin.
2. Patrick Owens, a Metro Vancouver Resident, built a virtual classroom accessible using the Occulus Rift, where students appear within a classroom space, can engage in discussion and learning, and the coolest part? Immerse themselves in scale models and simulations to explore historical situations. I invited him to the challenge program I was hosting at my elementary school to BETA test his program with a dozen students and learners. Immediately, we saw a massive increase in engagement from the students when they faced the new technology. Their questions and curiosities were endless in this simulation. There were of course some technical difficulties to work through, the primary one being: How can a teacher observe and monitor students in the same room if everyone is wearing a headset? However, what thee students saw in VR, they will never forget…
3. Burnaby School District and the Burnaby Simulation Center: As part of my work this year, I am working to build a VR center in the Burnaby School District which will feature HTC Vive headsets and specialized programs developed for Occupational Health and Safety Training. Our first project, WHMIS, enables the participant to learn how to read SDS sheets, sort and organize hazardous materials, put out fires, clean up spills, and problem solve when faced with spilt materials. We have not yet begun testing this application on industrial workers, but within the next two months, we will begin our user experience testing! This is all stemming off previous research that exists in using AR/MR/VR for industry training: creating a situation we hope they never encounter in real life, and building the hands-on skills to be able to solve it safely.
If we can create simulations and scenarios in AR/MR/VR, we can provide a safe place for students to explore the world without some of the consequences of performing a task in reality. We can better prepare students in education and industry to tackle the challenges ahead by providing seemingly real simulations to build very real skills.
A very interesting set of ideas to extend training practices!
Factory Worker Thoughts:
From my own past experiences of working in a factory setting and going through WHMIS and other safety training, I could definitely see a large industrial company using variations of these technologies to improve training and lower accident occurrences. Sitting at a desk and being lectured safety rules is just not the same as hands-on learning. The only memory that stands out from my training sessions from over 15 years ago was practicing to put out fires with a real fire extinguisher!
One aspect that might be worth mentioning or discussing in your project is the cost and time required to program and design customized software for the wearable technology for company that intends to use it (modelling would be one component of this process).
Educator Thoughts:
I have worked with VR in the past and their are several limitations to consider for a classroom setting.
Cost:
Without a technology grant or donation it can require a bit of work to get any additional technology into a public classroom. I met a socials studies teacher during a professional development day that was able to get her hands on a set of 15 VR headsets through a grant from National Geographic that included already created software that allowed her students to experience moments in history through a first person perspective. Without that grant this opportunity would most likely never have happened.
Maintenance & Troubleshooting:
Using devices that require charging often run into battery life issues, this is a big factor for technology purchases for schools as they look at the longevity of the hardware. Without extra support & time for the teacher to train, helping multiple students troubleshoot problems can eat up a lot of time.
Hi Linda;
This is a well-researched piece that is set out well and easy to navigate.
I got very excited when I saw your section on haptic gloves! Are you familiar with Miu Miu gloves? A British musician called Imogen Heap is on the development team for these gloves that are being designed to allow artists to gesturally control their digital tools in order to allow for a more aesthetically interesting performances. In this video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6btFObRRD9k) she talks about where the idea came from, and her frustration at trying to find a way to give her audience something interesting to look at when she toured. Imogen Heap produces and records all of her own music, and is VERY involved with tech and exploring how it can be used in the art-making process.
One direction that your project made me think about was how could wearable devices like the ones you describe not only be used to create pieces of art, but also how using them might change the art-making process, and the art itself. Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci-yB6EgVW4) she explains very clearly how they have developed from the earlier version from the first video, and this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oeEQhOmGpg) which contains two beautiful performances.
I wonder if you have any thoughts about how wearables like these gloves could impact art-making, and what the implications might be. For example, VR or AR seems to lend itself well to promenade theatre, where traditionally the audience wanders from scene to scene that would be in different locations. Perhaps something like Google Glasses (I know, I know) could allow students to create something quite special. I’m curious about your thoughts.
Suzzie
Linda,
This is a well-thought-out project. I enjoyed navigating the website and finding information about different aspects of your topic. The use of videos and the labelled diagrams from Genially made it fun to interact with your OER. The project was well-designed and comprehensive. I like that you brought to our attention a different perspective to AR/VR wearables. Very often in our course, we focus mainly on the applications of technology in formal education at schools and universities. It was refreshing to read how technology was also relevant and as important in training people on the jobsite. After all, educators’ main responsibility is to train and help students develop skills. Thank you for bringing up this different aspect of training.
Going through your project, I couldn’t help linking it to the A3 project that Melissa and I created. I see a few convergences and I think pairing the brain/cloud interface to AR/VR Wearables might be an excellent tool for training trades. The brain/cloud interface would augment the learning experience in an immersive virtual reality scenario and students wouldn’t need a headset to access this learning environment. Users might encounter a virtual dashboard in the cloud where they could select from an extensive menu that is composed of various experiential pathways. Transparent shadowing would link students who are thousands of kilometers away to a mentor to gain practical and hands-on experience. I expect some pushback for this type of technology and that’s where Wearables could be quite handy. By combining those two technologies, a wider audience of users could be reached. Wearables would be considered an affordable option for users, who are wary of B/CI interface, to tap into the same learning experience as B/CI users.
Hi Linda,
I enjoyed exploring your easy to navigate and clear site on AR/VR wearables. Although I have no experience, I could see the huge potential for trades skills training.
I design courses and can also see the benefit of integrating something like this into the classroom. AR/VR feels like a natural progression for eLearning tools. I would have thought they would be more commonplace by now, but I’m sure cost is a factor in why it is not (which I did notice you mentioned in your limitations section). Even if a school did manage to afford one or two of these devices, it would be difficult to share it in classes of up to 30 students easily. Nevertheless, I can see how it would be a great addition to a classroom. I would imagine something like a VR headset would get the students engaged and excited to learn – which is fantastic. There would also be so many endless options with students being able to bring virtually anything to life right in front of them. This would give them an opportunity to analyze anything, from anywhere.
Thanks for sharing!
Natalie
Hello Linda, this website is great. Loved the simple design and the concise information that you have provided on AR/VR wearables. I enjoy VR gaming, so you had me already when I saw VR wearables as the title.
I believe that your idea can be applied to many jobs including in dangerous industrial environments. While I was reading the site, I was thinking that this might also be used for aspiring educators. I can just remember how nervous I was doing my student teaching. If this wearable can be used for future educators to practice their teaching or maybe train them on the kind of questions or situations that they might encounter in class, it would be great. Of course, this would need to be carried out in some kind of VR immersive environment. This is a great idea that could be used in many industries. What might have been science fiction, is almost at the tips of our hands. Great Job!
Hi Silvia! What a great idea! Although it’s not exactly the same as practicing how to teach a class, in this PwC study (https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/technology/emerging-technology/assets/pwc-understanding-the-effectiveness-of-soft-skills-training-in-the-enterprise-a-study.pdf), they used VR to teach soft skills such as communication and found it to be more effective. Participants reported that they felt more emotionally connected and more confident to act after training in VR. Maybe we’ll see more types of training in different professional settings in the future!
Linda, thank you for this awesome A3 on VR/AR wearables! It is well-designed and captures the essence of how these technologies can be used in training and education. I appreciate that you used the 70-20-10 rule and also mentioned how though it is used as a guideline, there may not be the research to back it up. What’s important is companies and workers are calling for more on-the-job training and training that is experiential and VR/AR allows them this experience in high risk jobs. You’ve provided very useful information, the framework for implementation, and put all the pieces together for how VR/AR can also be used in other educational settings. Great job!
I love how you labeled the wearables with information using genially, but it was much easier to read the interactive labels on my laptop. For some reason, the haptic gloves interactives would not work for me on mobile but they did on laptop – might just be my phone.
Last semester in ETEC522 my OER group presented information on VR/AR at https://immersiveexperience2020.weebly.com/ – Would you mind if I added a link to your project to ours? Thank you again!
Hi Mel! Thank you for sharing such a great resource! I enjoyed your ETEC522 OER a lot as well. Feel free to link my project! Thank you for your feedback!
Thank you, Linda!!! Will add your awesome work! Best to you!