Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the uses of virtual reality in education. It draws particularly on three projects, the West Denton High School in Newcastle, the Human-Computer Interface Technology Laboratory's summer school in Seattle and the Shepard School for children with special needs in Nottingham. In each of these projects, there is distinctive relationship between the learning experience and the experience of virtual worlds. Here, the concern will not be with the pedagogical value of these projects, which have been documented elsewhere, but with the wider contribution that they can make to our understanding of virtual environments. To do this, it examines in each case how the virtual reality systems are integrated into the curriculum, how these systems relate to the learning process, the usability of the systems, and the possibilities and constraints of the virtual worlds. By comparing these with other emerging virtual reality applications, such as entertainment games, it can be seen that different systems present a variety of possibilities for constructing presence in, and interaction with, virtual environments.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
Adam, J.A. (1993). Virtual Reality is for Real. InIEEE Spectrum, October, 22–28.
Aukstakalnis, S. and Blatner (1992).Silicon Mirage — The Art and Science of Virtual Reality Berkeley: Peachpit Press.
Bricken, M. (1990). A Description of the Virtual Reality Learning Environment.Human Interface Technology Laboratory Technical Report No. HITL-M-90-4.
Bricken, M. and Byrne C. (1992). Summer Students in Virtual Reality: A Pilot Study on Educational Applications of Virtual Reality Technology. (Unpublished paper).
Brown, D. (1993). Virtual Reality, Virtually Unlimited. InBritish Journal of Special Education,20(1): 12.
Brown, D., Cobb, S. and Eastgate, R. (1994). Learning in Virtual Environments (LIVE). InProceedings of the British Computer Society Displays Group Conference ‘Virtual Reality Applications’. No pp.
Buckert-Donelson, A. (1995). Interview with Dean Inman. InVR World,3(1): 22–26.
Burdea, G. and Coiffet, P. (1994).Virtual Reality Technology. New York: Wiley-Interscience.
Byrne, C. (1992). Students explore VR Technology. InHIT Lab Review, (ed. Bill Wiseman),1:6–7.
Clark, M. (1992). Virtual Reality in Education and Training — Willing Prisoner of Its Own Flawed Metaphor. Unpublished paper relating to a presentation made at the VR92 conference in London, May 1992.
Cleal, B., Giles, W. and Schroeder, R. (1994). Virtual Reality im Sprachunterricht für Sprachbehinderte. [Virtual Reality as a Tool for Teaching Language to the Learning Disabled]. Warnecke H. J. and Bullinger H. J. (eds),Virtual Reality: Anwendungen und Trends, Berlin: Springer.
Garland, R. (ed) (1982).Microcomputers and Children in the Primary School, Brighton: Falmer Press.
Gay, E. (1994). Virtual Reality at the Natrona County School System: Building Virtual Worlds on School Budget.Virtual Reality World,2(6): 44–47.
Giles, W., Schroeder, R. and Cleal, B. (1994). Virtual Reality and the Future of Interactive Games. Warnecke H. J. and Bullinger H. J. (eds).Virtual Reality: Anwendungen und Trends, Berlin: Springer.
Haddon, L. (1993). Interactive Games. Hayward P. and Wollen T. (eds)Future Visions — New Technologies of the Screen, London: British Film Institute, 123–147.
Jones, A. (1995). Constructivist Theories of Learning and IT. Heap N.et al. (eds)Information Technology and Society, London: Sage, 249–265.
Kalawsky, R. (1993).The Science of Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments, Reading MA: Addison Wesley.
Moshell, M. and Hughes, C. (1994). Shared Virtual Worlds for Education.Virtual Reality World,2(1): 63–74.
Robins, K. and Webster, F. (1989).The Technical Fix: Education, Computers and Industry, Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Schroeder, R. (1994). Worlds in Cyberspace: A Typology of Virtual Realities and their Social Contexts. InProc. of the British Computer Society Displays Group Conference ‘Virtual Reality Applications’.
Schroeder, R., Cleal, B. and Giles, W. (1993). Virtual Reality in Education: Some Preliminary Social Science Perspectives. InInterface to Real and Virtual Worlds, Paris: EC2, 147–158.
Stone, R. (1994). A Year in the Life of British Virtual Reality.Virtual Reality World,2(1): 48–62.
Stytz, M. (1994). An overview of current VR Research and Development Projects by the United States Department of Defence. InProc. of the fourth annual conference on Virtual Reality, 152–159.
Walker, M. (1987). The Makaton Vocabulary: Uses and Effectiveness. Paper to AFAISIC Symposium.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schroeder, R. Learning from virtual reality applications in education. Virtual Reality 1, 33–39 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02009711
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02009711