Virtual Reality (VR)
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VR...
As an educator, you would like to think that you have plenty of job security right? That is exactly what educators were being told 10 years ago when the internet was still just a "fad" and most parents still didn't have a personal computer, much less really care if teachers had one or knew how to use them.
So, what if someone told you that in 10 years from now, computers will have progressed so much that what we nowadays call "Virtual Reality" will have become the norm when interfacing with websites, gathering information for educational programs, and when designing curriculum? Wait a minute, aren't these things that you do from time to time now without VR? Aren't these functions part of your job? You might want to take a look at virtual reality software uses in education.
One of the most fascinating areas of virtual reality right now is the use of VR technology for the establishment of learning spaces for students. These can be like learning exhibits with assigned lab students are required to complete, simple 3D walkthroughs with interactive tours, or they can be formal meeting areas for lecture or guided discovery. Many Universities (and some public institutions) have already begun to setup such places in one type of VR world called Second Life (SL).
You will notice that there are some linked videos in the menu to the left of this article, which provide some examples of how other are using SL for educational purposes. I don't personally have a site/location inside SL right now (yet). For anyone who has trouble finding the software, here is the homepage for Second Life: http://secondlife.com
I would recommend that if you want to find out more about the uses of this site in education directly from them rather than watch the videos and other links I posted, then go to this page, which also links to these additional resources:
- Join our Education Mailing List (SLED)
- Additional Education-Related Mailing Lists
- Second Life Education Wiki
- Campus: Second Life
- Permanent Education Space
- Teen Second Life Important Reminder
- Education & Non-Profit Organizations
Here are two lists of other Universities holding virtual classes in SL, or otherwise setting up shop in SL:
REFERENCE WEBSITES
- How VR Works (Article by "HowStuffWorks")
- Overview of VR (Article by "WikiPedia")
- Annual Conference (Use of VR in Medical Education)
VR RELATED TERMINOLOGY
| Artificial reality | Mixed reality |
| Augmented reality | Augmented virtuality |
| Interactive Art | Virtuality Continuum |
| CAVE - Cave Automatic Virtual Env | Consensus reality |
| Computer graphics | Computer representation of surfaces |
| Cyberspace | Dotsoul |
| First-person shooter | Geowall |
| Geoweb | Head Mounted Display |
| Hyperreality | Metaverse |
| Methods of virtual reality | Narrative environment |
| Omnidirectional treadmill | Parallel rendering |
| QuickTime VR | VR Photography |
| Second Life | Simulated Reality |
| Virtual artifact | Virtual Boy |
| Virtual tour | Virtual Reality Modelling Language |
| Virtual retinal display | Virtual globe |
| Virtual facility | VirtuSphere |
| V-business | X3D |
* the above list of terms is available at WikiPedia with links to further articles here.