10+ virtual reality apps transforming education
According to recent reports, virtual reality technologies are expected to cause major distruptions in the video game industry followed by health care, live events and engineering. However, there is also one other area that may have the most pervasive impact; education.
VR can provide low-cost, low-risk and effective methods of training that may benefit many industries today and in the future. Here are some early examples fueling this transformation.
Thinglink — Virtual reality lessons
VR Lessons by ThingLink is a collection of interactive images and videos on a variety of topics including science, language, and arts. The lessons are designed for elementary-aged students and are available as a stand-alone app on Apple Store. VR lessons can be viewed with iPhones using a virtual reality headset such as Google Cardboard.
Through the app, students are shown different places like French Alps, the archipelago of northern Australia, a Norwegian tundra or a cold winter forest in Finland. When students look around, they are able to spot additional links within their field of vision, and unlock further information.
Titans of Space — A tour around the universe
Titans of Space is an experience that takes the user for a virtual tour around the planets and earth. It is developed for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive,
Samsung Gear VR, and Google Cardboard. The aim is to give youngsters a good idea of how each planet is positioned in our Solar System. The app has been partially translated into 15 languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Dutch, Danish, Swedish,Portuguese, Chinese-Simplified, Chinese-Traditional, Russian, Korean, Turkish, and Greek.
Egyptian Mysteries — Explore the ancient Egypt
As you may guess from the title, Egyptian Mysteries is a game that teaches users about the ancient Egypt. The game is based on a quest for the hero’s disappeared brother. The quest takes users to see the great Sphinx, the pyramid of Giza and the Ramses II’s temple. The game is available on Google Cardboard.
House of Languages — Learn a new language
Developed by the Estonian game company Fox3D, House of Languages is a virtual reality app to learn Spanish, German or English. The VR experience puts players in a cartoon house with a cute raccoon named Mr. Woo. When players look at objects within the game environment, they are able to see their names and hear the pronunciation. House of Languages is available on Gear VR.
Woofbert — Art virtually anywhere
Woofbert is designed to transport to virtual museums where users can have an art tour with a virtual guide narration. The co-founder of the project Elizabeth Reede used to be the curator of the Museum of Modern Art, actor Kevin Spacey is one of the investors of the project. Woofbert is a a free download available in the Gear VR store.
Unimersiv — Education app bundle
Unimersiv is a bundle of educational virtual reality apps, including 3 educational experiences at launch: 1. The discovery of the International Space Station 2. Human anatomy 2. Travel to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, as it was 5000 years ago. The app is available free of charge via the Oculus Store.
MoleculE VR — Virtual expedition into the cell
MoleculE VR is a virtual reality app introducing some basic concepts about cell communication. Users can experience how cells receive and respond to messages from their environment, interact with other cells and coordinate their biological processes. MoleculE VR is available for download in the Apple App Store, Google Play, Amazon Apps & Games and Windows Phone Store.
InMind — Explore human brain
InMind is a scientific game for virtual reality. It allows the player to experience a journey into the patient’s brains in search of the neurons that cause mental disorder. The game is a free download on the Apple App Store, Android Google Play, Windows Phone Store, Samsung Gear VR, Oculus and HTC Vive.
Discovery VR — A new way to see your world
Discovery VR is Discovery Channel’s virtual reality network. It is not designed as an educational platform, but provides a brand new way to enjoy and learn about the world we live in. Discovery VR app is available free of charge on Apple App Store and Google Play.
Altspace VR — Be in Virtual Reality together
Altspace VR is an app that aims to turn virtual reality into a social experience. It is currently compatible with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. Altspace VR app lets users call their friends and family in virtual reality. Users can create virtual classrooms, practice new languages or organize virtual talk events. You can explore Altspace VR events here.
Apollo 11 — One small step in virtual reality
Apollo 11 VR is the story of journey to the moon. Users can experience this journey by becoming Neil Armstrong and boarding the Saturn V Rocket. The aim of the app is not only educate users about space but to leave a lasting impression and deep respect for the men and women who worked on the program. Apollo 11 is a paid app, you can download it from Steam.
TiltBrush — Painting in a new dimension
Google’s TiltBrush is one of the “VR killer apps”. It basically allow people to paint/design in virtual reality and walk through their sketches in 3D as they design them. Since the app came out, people already started creating incredible artwork, and the possibilities seem limitless. The app is available to use with HTC Vive headset and can be purchased from Steam.
Curiscope — Educational VR/AR startup
Curiscope is an educational startup founded by London based creative agency Hamilton+Kidd. The goal is to use immersive technologies to make learning fun and memorable. One of the early works of Curiscope is a 3D Virtual Reality adventure called “Great White Sharks”. Created in CGI, this impressive short video provides a glimpse of the most infamous and mysterious predators on the planet. Another project is Virtuali-Tee, an augmented reality t-shirt to explore the anatomy of the human body. The project is successfully crowdfunded at Indiegogo and Kickstarter.
Discovr Labs — VR Classroom
Discovr Labs is a startup to bring virtual reality it into the classroom. Currently the company offers creative solutions to increase the engagement of K12 students such as Discover Egypt and Chem Foundations. They are also working on a software called Discover Toolkit that provides VR simulations to train medical personnel.
EON Experience AVR — Gamified AR/VR lessons
EON Experience AVR is a library of educational materials based on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. The aim is to engage students with gamified AR/VR lessons. The app is available on Google Play and features various 3D learning environments and objects.
CoSpaces — 3D visualization tool
CoSpaces is a 3D visualization tool that makes it easy to design virtual spaces. The goal is to make VR available for everyone, and not only developers or designers. With CoSpaces users can create their own 3D and VR content and explore others’ work. The web application is open for beta testing and the iOS and Android apps are ready to download.
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