Some students may feel motion sickness, fear, or heightened emotions while playing. Motion sickness can come from several problems including the program freezing, glasses not fitting properly in headsets, generalized motion issues involving the inner ear, and player movement in the virtual space. Discuss these types of emotions beforehand, so they can communicate why they needed to leave the virtual environment. Working on mindfulness programs can also help to understand these emotions. 

If a student injures themselves and you need to put your attention on the well-being of this student or there is an emergency, it is important that all students leave VR at once. Be sure to practice this audio cue several times before diving into a full experience.

Depending on the headset type, alongside the type of experience you are choosing, you will want to set appropriate behavior guidelines. Be sure to reflect on the VR experience before setting the guidelines and discuss these expectations with your students before entering the virtual world.

Here are some questions which can assist you with this:

• Does this experience involve physical movement? Should students be in a single position or moving around a physical space? Should students be standing or sitting?
• Are students allowed to call out during the experience? Or under specific circumstances only such as questions or comments which are contained to the experience? 
• Is there any specific content within the virtual experience students should forewarned about? Is this experience age appropriate?

If students are sharing a headset, you will need a form of disinfectant wipe which can be used between students to wipe the head-mounted display and controllers if applicable. It is common for students to sweat more than normal when in virtual reality due to adrenaline and excitement. Maintaining your equipment will help it last longer and will also ensure students have a more enjoyable experience. For deeper disinfections, there are UV light boxes which head-mounted displays can fit inside. As an example, look at Cleanbox Technology. 

Many students have a smartphone in this day and age. If you have a limited budget, polling students to determine the types of cell phones they have and whether or not their parents feel comfortable with other students using their device for learning experiences can help to reduce initial costs. This will help you verify the HMD for smartphones you are looking to purchase will work for the majority of your students. 

VR can be a very useful tool when it comes to supporting students with very diverse learning needs as well as physical abilities. VR has been used to increase motivation, facilitate interactions, improve short-term memory, and improve communication skills in students with varying abilities. Studies have also shown how VR has effectively helped improve social anxiety, language deficiencies, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), physical or motor disability, cognitive deficits, dyslexia, and Down syndrome, among other disabilities (Zitter, 2020). Additionally, most programs are designed to function without audio, using subtitles for audio captions to engage deaf students.

For physical disabilities, WalkinVR is a software designed to offer an all-in-one solution to aid those who love or want to enjoy VR gaming but don’t have the necessary physical movement to play a lot of the experiences available. It can be found on Steam and is supported by Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. The software offers a wealth of support for various disabilities such as those who have suffered a stroke, are in a wheelchair or have spinal muscular atrophy, for example. These can cause a range of issues when playing a VR videogame, from turning to holding motion controllers at the required height to interact with the environment. If a player has weak hands or spastics then hands can be tracked with the help of a Kinect or Azure device. Should pressing buttons pose an issue then a third-party can assist through a gamepad, pressing the required button where required.

For various cognitive and social learning support, SignAloud gloves is a software that allows students to communicate in sign language and then translates it into human speech for them (SignAloud, 2016). Additionally, Floreo is a software designed for youth with autism, and offers simulations of various real life situations that may be overstimulating or stressful such as being approached by an officer or going through airport security (Floreo, Virtual reality therapy 2021). For more VR software supporting specific physical and learning needs, take a look at the apps mentioned on TechLearning: “Supporting Students with Special Needs”. When setting the learner up on the headset, it will also be important to ensure that the headset fits the learner well. Encourage breaks if the learner finds the headset uncomfortable or overstimulating, and establish a VR set-up routine with the learner to help them get familiar with the equipment.

References

Zitter, L. (2020, August 7). How VR and AR can be used to support students with special needs. TechLearningMagazine. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/how-vr-and-ar-can-be-used-to-support-students-with-special-needs.