The Advantages of a VR-Based College Education
What if we decouple the goal of getting diplomas from college experience altogether by using VR? What will be the social and economic implications of VR in higher education?
Imagine a world where students spend $600 to $1500 for buying the most premium quality of VR tools and devices to replace the in-class learning with remote learning instead of spending thousands of dollars per year for getting physical seats in classes for a diploma. VR could take home schooling to a whole new level. Students learn from their teachers, ask questions, collaborate and engage with their peers and do assignments in a virtual classroom at a fraction of the price they pay to do the same things in a physical classroom.
After absorbing the material, students take nationally recognized tests whose results certify that the students have a grasp of what they claim to know and get the stamp of approval of competence. This puts everyone, regardless of where he or she went to school, at the same level. This opens up the same access to career opportunities for those that do not go to school altogether.
Currently, a college experience is not just about getting a diploma. Of at least it shouldn’t be all about getting a certificate. It constitutes the social experience, an environment of engaging with diverse groups and a ground for building relationships. Students that value going to college more than the value of getting the credentials and that can financially afford a college experience will end up going to college despite having the option of VR education.
A majority of students that cannot afford to go to a school will be able to get a diploma by spending a fixed cost of the VR device and variable costs of buying the relevant learning material.
A large portion of the students think that going to college is a mandate since colleges gives a diploma that is a ticket to a good job market. What is fundamentally wrong with this line of thinking is the fact that “learning” does not fit into this equation. “Learning” out of genuine curiosity has nothing to do with going through four years of college. One could get a diploma by doing the bare minimum in all the classes and without actually “learning” much.
One can learn regardless of whether he or she goes to college. Most of the time, going to a college is associated with increasing the chances of getting a job. With such mindset, students lose the sight of the actual purpose for which colleges were originally set up. The actual purpose was learning. But the goal has somehow morphed into getting a job. So, when one graduates with such wrong mindset, without really learning much, and does not get the dream job, he or she wonders what exactly was the point of going through college and ending up with thousands of dollars in debt. This leads to frustration, emotional stress and financial struggles. The cost of realizing the college experience is not all about the getting a job is very high. It’s about the journey meant for social, collaborative and educational experiences. Getting a job is one of the many consequences.
The reason why graduates of Wharton, MIT, Stanford and other top schools are much more likely to get the jobs they wanted easily is not because they are pure geniuses. Most of them are not. Most do not know much about the jobs they are getting themselves into. But, they still get the best jobs because the employers deem such graduates to be “learned”. It is assumed that these students know how to learn constantly. And this is precisely why an Ivy League history major is more likely to get an investment banking job than a financial major student from a second tier school.
Now, changing such deeply rooted wrong mindset of so many students is not a cake walk. It’s the hardest thing to convince a person to disapprove his or her hardly held belief. But, such mindset is much more likely to change drastically if that person goes through some adverse consequences of holding that misguided mindset.
When I graduate from a second tier school and struggle to find a decent job, I end up with pretty much the same amount of debt on an average that a student graduating from a top school does ( Assuming the costs and our financial conditions are similar). The cost of not truly learning and merely graduating by doing the bare minimum is too high for me.
Now, imagine if I had a VR based education, my cost of education would be so much lower. The cost of not learning would be lower. The cost of doing the bare minimum would be lower. I get the documentary approval that the conventional college system would give me. So, it is much emotionally and financially simpler for me to really start learning even after having technically graduated with a diploma. I do not end up with thousands of dollars in debt for being naive enough to think that a diploma means a guaranteed job. The cost of realizing my mistake is lower.
On the flip side, lets says I am a very hard working learner. Getting a VR based education makes me much better off. I have no big debt. I had the right mindset of learning. I am more more likely to get a good job.
I got into this chain of thoughts when I tweeted this at Alex Danco and Ashley Carroll of Social Capital this morning.
I am really interested in getting new perspectives of how VR could be impactful in education. Please comment here or tweet me @sarthakgh with your thoughts.
