Virtual Reality (VR) has shown its incredibly immersive potential in arts and entertainment, but can it be an equally powerful, and cost-effective, educational tool? In part one of this article we heard from Scott Likens, emerging technology leader at PwC, discussing a recent report by the analyst that found VR can be faster, more effective, and more engaging than classroom learning or digital training exercises, at least when used to teach ‘soft’ human skills such as diversity and inclusion.
To dive deep into the educational capabilities of this technology, I talked to Dr. Anna Carolina Muller Queiroz, researcher at Stanford University, to find out about her research into schools, and the effects that VR can have on childrens’ ability to learn and their confidence to gain new skills and self-belief.
Virtually proficient
Dr. Anna Queiroz is a post-doctoral researcher at the Lemann Center at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and also at the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University. Alongside PwC’s report, Dr. Queiroz gave me a more comprehensive picture of VR’s effectiveness as an educational tool, and offered some fascinating insights from her own research. Dr. Queiroz runs two research studies at a middle school in California using students from sixth to eighth grade (ages 11-13) to compare the effectiveness of computer-based learning and VR on their conceptual knowledge.
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