VR for Remote Learning
How viable is this option for educators & students?
As Google Meet, Zoom, Adobe Connect & Blue Jeans all enter our vocabulary as tools to support students in a distance learning environment through synchronous class meetings, I started to think about how virtual environments have the potential to create a different and possibly more impactful virtual connection.
While there are still obstacles to VR adoption at scale in education, the two most prominent being price point for high end head sets and meaningful use of the platforms, I wonder if we are at a moment where VR can be applied in an exceptionally meaningful way. Additionally, there are platforms available now that don’t require high end head sets, that load quickly across devices and allow for an entirely different type of interaction when compared to a tiled head experience in a traditional video conferencing platform.
Framevr.io
In terms of creating a multi-user VR environment that can be customized and built specifically for an educational experience with very little of zero experience, Framevr is definitely the best option.
Rooms can be built instantly with a unique name / URL. Once a room is created, there are additional controls to determine who has access. This would allow a teacher to create a VR room, open it to guests (students) and close it down once the class meeting is done.
Once the room is up and running, educators can add various file types, including PDFs, images, and video to a room. Further, rooms can have multiple scenes that users can navigate through to create a layered experience. There is also a screen sharing feature that allows users to share their desktop or their camera and the experience is projected on a wall of the room as a flat screen monitor experience.
To interact with other users and engage in a class experience, guests can use their microphone, chat in a text environment and use a built in laser pointer in the tool bar.
To get guests into the room, simply share the URL and guests can join on a laptop, phone or iPad. All guests will appear as gray orbs and once they are in the room, their name can be customized.
There also an update coming next month that lets a room creator poll guests…
Hubs by Mozilla
Similar to Framevr, Hubs by Mozilla allows anyone to quickly create, share and populate a virtual space that requires no additional VR hardware or headsets. When building a new experience, there are a number of scenes to choose from & the location can be changed live during a virtual meeting as well.
Once a room is built, there is a quick sharing option from inside the experience and any guests an be managed by the experience host.
Once your guests are in the virtual space, images, files and objects can be added to the environment. There is also a very helpful feature to do a live webcam share to the space. In the screenshot below, there is a setup where a PDF was added to the scene that guests can read as well as a live screen share of the host webcam to simulate discussion or instruction.
Between the two platforms, I think it really comes down to personal preference as the features available in each cover the basic needs that educators might have when facilitating virtual class interaction.
Final Thoughts
The setup process, user experience, navigation and features in Framevr & Hubs by Mozilla make them both exceptionally usable. The important questions then become:
- Should I use VR to connect with students remotely?
- Can I use VR to connect with students remotely?
- Do I and my students feel comfortable connecting in this environment?
- Is there a value added to connecting in VR?
How might you use VR to connect with students? Let me know on social media: @gregkulowiec
