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Jonathan Naranjo

Professor Shaffer

Eng 1B

27th, April 2024

Virtual Reality and the Classroom

Since the beginning of education, there have always been improvements and changes that

have been made, that allowed for the realm of education to be ever-growing and all the more

efficient. The initial implementation of chalkboards then grew into whiteboards, and now the

majority of schools use a combination of whiteboards with videos, computers, and other pieces

of technology. As with any change, there is the question; is this change ultimately the wisest

decision? The newest bit of technology that is being tested and considered for teachers and

students is Virtual Reality. There has been an increasing interest in virtual reality being used in

the school system and there are people on all sides, there are some who say it is dangerous and

potentially even will expose kids to harm one way or another, and those who say that it is too

expensive, and those who would argue that ultimately virtual reality should be adopted into the

average classroom.

The concerns that people have for the implementation of virtual reality are extremely

valid and need to be addressed, it is on the other hand also understandable for the people who

would say that it is a great idea to use this technology to teach students more effectively and

perhaps have them more engaged. We will address these issues throughout this paper, personally,

I am of the mindset that though virtual reality may have some potential drawbacks and concerns

that do need to be addressed and dealt with, it has positive affects that I think make it worth it.
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Before diving into the topic, it is important to understand what is meant by terms like;

“virtual reality,” “A.I.” and “augmented reality.” At HAI Standford University, professor

Christopher Manning states what John McCarthy defined A.I. as. He states; “the science and

engineering of intelligent machines.” (Manning pg.1 par 2). Manning then goes on to say: “Much

research has humans program machines in a clever way, like playing chess, but, today, we

emphasize machines that can learn, at least somewhat as humans do” (Manning pg.1 par 2). The

Oxford Dictionary describes A.I. as: “The capacity of computers or other machines to exhibit or

simulate intelligent behavior”

The other technology at hand is virtual reality. This technology has been around

surprisingly for a while now but has only recently gained traction with the release of headsets

such as the Oculus and the Playstation VR. Robert Sheldon is a technical consultant and a

freelance technology writer, and he defines virtual reality as: “a simulated 3D environment that

enables users to explore and interact with a virtual surrounding in a way that approximates

reality, as it is perceived through the users' senses.” (Sheldon pg.1 par 1) The Oxford Dictionary

describes virtual reality as: “A life-like artificial environment with various online applications,

for example in computer games, simulations for training purposes (pilots for example), virtual

tours, animation, architectural design, and advanced advertising.”

Lastly, the Oxford Dictionary defines augmented reality as: “a technology that combines

computer-generated images on a screen with the real object or scene that you are looking at.” So

one can see how all three of these can and do occasionally intermingle and are important to

discuss. It is also worth noting that augmented reality and virtual reality are very similar with the

main difference being that in virtual reality, you go into the virtual world, in augmented reality,

the virtual world comes to “real life.” The most well-known example of virtual reality right now
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is Pokemon Go which allows the player to catch Pokemon that appear in “our world” through the

use of a smartphone.

The scope of this topic is relatively small but I suppose may have a huge impact in the

long run. At first glance really who is affected here are schools, students, teachers, and parents.

For teachers, it impacts them as they would have to be trained and do lessons that are based on

this technology. For the students either this will benefit them and help them to learn more

efficiently and help them retain information or it may cause them to lose a sense of reality or

maybe expose them to dangers that can come with the virtual world. Parents of course care about

their children and want what is best for them, and lastly, the schools have to decide whether to

implement this technology, what will the costs be? Will it be the safest, wisest decision for the

good of the school and the students? That being said, other groups would be involved such as

the companies as well as the government. One of the issues that will be discussed later on is in

regards to the right to privacy and the potential damage psychologically that virtual reality could

have on the kids.

According to a group of researchers at the National Library of Medicine quoted in their

research; “The concept of VR could be traced at the mid of 1960 when Ivan Sutherland in a

pivotal manuscript attempted to describe VR as a window through which a user perceives the

virtual world as if looked, felt, sounded real and in which the user could act realistically

(Sutherland, 1965). (Cipresso et al. par 5). Since then the mere concept has turned into the ever-

impressive technology that we have today where it is most well-known for its ability to allow

people to play well-made video games as well as even allowing people in the medical field to

take advantage of the technology.

In the realm of education, virtual reality can be traced back to the year 2000. Chris Daily

from the Agile Meridian states: “In 2000, a mainstream study by researcher Alessandro

Antonietti and his team proved that VR could benefit learning. Children were given a virtual tour

using VR headsets of a complex painting and, after being allowed to examine all aspects of it,

were better able to describe it than the non-VR-using control group.” (Daily, par 11). This was

the beginning of asking the question and studying whether this technology was suitable for the

classroom. Daily continues to say that in 2010, when the more contemporary virtual reality

headset began to emerge, the VR's adaptation into the classrooms became more common as they

allowed students to sort of interact with the equivalent of a film. (Daily, par 12).

This leads to where we are at today. He notes that: “…educational VR continued to

develop to include today's augmented reality technologies. 2014-2017 saw the progression of

PC-connected VR headsets to console and mobile-tethered alternatives. Eventually, the

standalone VR headset made VR into the independent platform that it is today.” (Daily, par 13).

So virtual reality has come a long way from where it initially started as a technology and how it

is used in the school system. Even with the technology itself improving there are still important

factors to consider when addressing the topic of whether or not we should wholeheartedly

embrace virtual reality as a sufficient tool for teaching/ learning.

One of the main concerns toward these types of technologies in the classroom is the issue

of the cost. Is it worth it when headsets can cost a couple hundred dollars per set and there are

not a whole lot of companies that do bundles? According to Zac Amos at Axonpark, which is a

company that focuses on virtual education states that: “For mid-range technology, they should

expect to spend $299 to $499 per headset — not counting the other associated expenses.” (Amos,

par 2). He goes on to say that K-12 institutions can get away with using free resources but in the
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realm of higher education, more expenses would have to be made. He admits that: “As of 2024,

an average VR headset costs about $427 and will likely still be $424 by 2028. In other words,

prices aren’t going to drop substantially any time soon. Betting on affordability will likely not be

effective in the short term.”

If the cost seems to be extremely pricey, with some exceptions that I will discuss later on,

what about the effectiveness of this technology? Do teachers see a positive reaction in the way

the kids are learning and their ability to retain that information? According to the writers at i3-

technologies, which is an IT company states that virtual reality creates immersive learning

experiences and even allows students to: “carry out dangerous experiments or explore

challenging environments from the safety of the classroom.” (i3-technology, par 11). They go on

to say that virtual reality can increase students’ problem-solving skills, and may even help

students who have a hard time retaining information or paying attention in class. (i3-technologies

par 12,13).

They also state that some research has been done by Standford University and others that

show that virtual reality at least in the short term so far has had positive impacts on the students.

They state: “Using VR in specific educational settings can be beneficial and even outperform

traditional teaching methods. A significant improvement in learning gains was also found in a

meta-analysis by Villena-Taranilla and colleagues (2022).” (i3-technologies, par 14,15). They do

confess that more research is needed on the topic to see the true impact that virtual reality has on

students.

John Bailey at Education Next addresses some of the concerns that bringing A.I. (or

virtual reality) into the classroom may cause. One of the concerns is will these technologies

cause students (I would add teachers as well) to be too dependent on the technology. (Bailey, par
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44). For the educator, virtual reality (and maybe even A.I.) may cause the teacher to not plan as

well and be as creative in lesson planning and the way they teach because they see the

technology as a sufficient replacement and an easy way for them to teach. The students, might

get too attached to learning through a headset and perhaps begin to lose interest in things like

reading literature.

Going back to the people at i3-technologies, in the same article they address the potential

drawbacks of virtual reality. They warn that it was: “found that using VR in specific educational

settings can be beneficial and even outperform traditional teaching methods. A significant

improvement in learning gains was also found in a meta-analysis by Villena-Taranilla and

colleagues (2022).” (i3-technologies par 20). So the key thing here is to remember that virtual

reality should be a supplement and not the main tool in the classroom. It seems to be useful and

maybe even effective but it cannot become the main resource that is used lest both parties end up

relying on it too much.

They also warn that with something like virtual reality, there are going to be some

students who are not able to use that technology for one reason or another like in the case of

someone who struggles with motion sickness. Things like this have to be taken into account

when adding virtual reality.

While I understand the concerns and I think these concerns need to have a close eye kept

on them, I do not think it should completely hold people back from embracing the idea of virtual

reality in the classroom. People such as those at i3-technologies or Standford University show us

that there appear to be more positive impacts than negative ones. A team of people at

Frontiers.org did a study on the impact that virtual reality had on students in the form of taking a

test. The participants were ninety-four first-year engineering students at a large private
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university. The results ended up showing that: “In the dimension “Learning tool,” students

evaluated whether they agreed or disagreed with 10 statements about using VR as a learning tool.

We found that over 90% of students agree that VR helped them learn” (Campos, et al par 33).

The study also showed that the students agreed that using virtual reality helped them in their

studies and that they could see themselves using this more and would recommend it to their

friends. (Campos, et al par 33). This is demonstrated by the graph that they provided as well.
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Some solutions that can help make sure that we are addressing some of the valid

concerns include doing what i3-technologies suggests which is to take time to train educators on

how to use virtual reality in the classroom. Amos from Axon Park also gives some pointers on

how to help schools budget virtual reality into their schools including things like raising

awareness on the effectiveness of virtual reality and why it should be. He also suggests that there

are low-budget options like Google cardboard, which only costs about $10 per person. It allows

students to put their phones into it and while not nearly as flexible and enjoyable as a normal

headset it is still effective and useful. Researchers at research online put together a helpful paper

on just discussing virtual reality, and something they sort of stress is that parents should be

actively involved in helping their children understand what virtual reality is and helping them

navigate any questions they may have. Similarly, it would be helpful for teachers to help their

students understand. One of the things they suggested that would greatly benefit schools to

implement is simply to: “Remind children that if they see content that scares them they can look

the other way, close their eyes, or take off the headset.” Also: “If a child is upset during a VR

experience, engage them in a conversation about their feelings to understand what has affected

them.” (Yamada, et al pg. 16 par 4,5).

So overall, where we are currently at, it would seem that while there are disagreements

everyone seems to agree that it is just too early in the stages of testing to know what the long-

term impacts are for virtual reality, both when it comes to their education and psychologically

how it affects them. It would seem that it is best to continue researching this topic and letting it

go for now as the studies show that it has at least positive impacts on students and schools can

even use inexpensive products like Google cardboard in the meantime. So as research continues

let us continue to welcome this new technology while treading with caution.
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Works Cited

“All about the History of Virtual Reality in Education.” Robust, 8 Apr. 2020,

www.agilemeridian.com/blog/all-about-the-history-of-virtual-reality-in-education#:~:text=In

%202000%2C%20a%20mainstream%20study,%2DVR%2Dusing%20control%20group.

Amos, Zac. “How to Implement VR in Education on a Budget.” Axon Park, Axon Park, 27 Feb.

2024, axonpark.com/how-to-implement-vr-in-education-on-a-budget/.

Bailey, John. “Ai in Education.” Education Next, 20 Dec. 2023, www.educationnext.org/a-i-in-

education-leap-into-new-era-machine-intelligence-carries-risks-challenges-promises/.

Campos, Esmeralda, et al. “Impact of Virtual Reality Use on the Teaching and Learning of

Vectors.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 1 Sept. 2022,

www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2022.965640/full.

Cipresso, Pietro, et al. “The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality

Research: A Network and Cluster Analysis of the Literature.” Frontiers in Psychology, U.S.

National Library of Medicine, 6 Nov. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6232426/.

i3-Technologies i3-Technologies i3-Technologies is

one of the world´s leading manufacturers of interactive technologies for group collaboration and

education. We ensure you can leverage you. “VR in the Classroom: Benefits and Drawbacks.”

I3, 28 Feb. 2023, www.i3-technologies.com/en/blog/stories/education/vr-in-the-classroom-

benefits-and-drawbacks/.

Manning, Christopher. Artificial Intelligence Definitions,

hai.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/2020-09/AI-Definitions-HAI.pdf. Accessed 2 May 2024.

Virtual Reality Noun - Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes | Oxford Advanced

Learner’s Dictionary at Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.Com,

www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/virtual-reality. Accessed 2 May 2024.

Yamada-Rice, Dylan, et al. “Children and Virtual Reality: Emerging Possibilities and

Challenges.” Royal College of Art, Dubit, 12 Sept. 2017, researchonline.rca.ac.uk/3553/.

Yasar, Kinza, and Robert Sheldon. “What Is Virtual Reality? Definition from TechTarget.”

WhatIs, TechTarget, 25 Apr. 2024, www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/virtual-reality.