Buy a VR headset and add some content? Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy. However, it is absolutely worth the relatively small amount of effort needed to get it right. There is enough benefit to warrant the effort. Some of these resources are a bit dated, but still relevant.
I am not a gamer, nor a typical VR enthusiast. I don't play games in the VR, watch movies inside the environment, or so on. It's not my thing. I still have a hard time understanding the value of putting on a headset to give a virtual presentation. Face-to-face Zoom is good enough for me. So who am I?
I've been a teacher for over 3 decades. I have a pragmatic approach to education and seek value and efficacy. VR in education is unique and absolutely needed in every classroom in the world. A bold statement, but I will try to back that up. If done right, it is also attainable by all.
There are subtitles for each of the videos below, in the following languages: English, Chinese (Simplified), Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish. These are important concepts to fully understand, so every effort has been made to make them accessible to all.
Educational Needs (basic)
Basic requirements should include the following: - 3 DoF VR headset (your budget will decide how many) - A wealth of pre-loaded content, across ages and subjects - Interactivity, and content for higher cognitive needs - In-environment assessment reported back to the instructor (requires a minor amount of internet connectivity) - Users stand, or sit in a swivel chair (use anywhere, such as in a classroom, outside of a class, at home, in the hospital, or in a park) - Easy setup and an offline solution, meant for an individual
The Sensible-VR headset is a very good entry point for real, everyday VR usage, with multiple headsets in action across any institution.
If being used for lower elementary students, it's possible to buy a cheaper headset, with lower specs. Children who are 4-8 years old will benefit from a lighter, less advanced headset with less horsepower. They will be viewing static images and will likely be lead by a teacher, so WiFi will be required, and smaller files sizes will also be necessary. The learning needs are far different. This is NOT what is on offer at Sensible-VR. We are focused on heavier cognitive needs.
Educational Needs (advanced)
When used specifically for highly specialized training, such as surgery, welding, fine-tool manipulation, spray painting, and jewelry making, among others, you should consider: - 6 DoF, 2 controllers with over a dozen buttons - Be careful if the device is connected to a social media company - Content will likely be added over the air (WiFi), but since there will be far fewer content pieces, this will get realtively easier to manage - Be mindful of privacy and security of data (tracking is a part of 6 DoF, both in good ways, and bad)
6 DoF will heighten the immersiveness, but does come at a cost. Make sure to balance these two things.
Learn about VR in education
VR in Education - Basics (2021)
It's always a good idea to start with WHY. What is the reason for wanting to get your school or institution involved in VR in the first place? It's great to engage and excite learners, but why not use other means? VR does afford certain opportunities that others don't. A distraction-free, safe (from peers) environment that encourages focused concentration is a great place to start.
VR in Education - Research (2021)
It's always a good idea to start with WHY. What is the reason for wanting to get your school or institution involved in VR in the first place? It's great to engage and excite learners, but why not use other means? VR does afford certain opportunities that others don't. A distraction-free, safe (from peers) environment that encourages focused concentration is a great place to start.
3 and 6 Degrees of Freedom (DoF) Superimposed
VR (virtual reality) headsets come in 2 types, 3 DoF (degrees of freedom) and 6 DoF. Both allow immersive experiences, and both serve specific purposes. If someone says that one is inherently "better" than the other, without explanation, then it's the first indication that they simply don't understand. There is far more to the discussion as "better" is a relative term, judging something against something else. Immersiveness only? Sure. But add to the following to the discussion: usefulness, efficacy, accessibility, privacy, security, attention to learning outcomes, ease of setup, cost, and more, and "better" takes on a whole new meaning.
Somewhere In Time, Part 1 (VR in Education)
Distraction-free is more than a quaint term used for learning with VR, but an extremely important part of the entire idea. Removing distractions encourages a deeper connection with the content, and gets students on their way toward higher order thinking skills. That commitment to an idea, as shown by Christopher Reeves' character in Somewhere in Time, is the difference between surface acknowledgement of a idea or concept, and a deeper, more powerful, belief.
Somewhere In Time, Part 2 (VR in Education)
Part 2 takes a brief look at the cost of distraction. The cutting of learner focus means:
1. Reduced attention and concentration 2. Increased time required 3. Poorer comprehension and retention 4. Lower quality of work 5. Greater mental fatigue
Crawl-Walk-Run-Swim-Dive... The SCILS Of VR In Education
SCILS = Self-Contained Independent Learning System
We often hear the phrase "you have to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run." Mastering the basics is important. Virtual reality in education takes this concept even further by adding two more levels - swim and dive. Using VR for learning is incredibly valuable, but it needs to be implemented in a systematic, step-by-step way to maximize its benefits.
VR in Education and Privacy Issues
There are potential dangers of data collection from 6 DoF virtual reality headsets. 3 DoF headsets are different and don’t need to track your body position, and don’t collect the information that 6 DoF headsets do. While this technology creates incredibly immersive experiences, it also collects an unprecedented amount of data about our movements and behaviors. Research out of Stanford University has shown that with just a few minutes of this data, AI can identify individuals with over 95% accuracy from a group of hundreds of seemingly anonymous users. This is shocking, but very telling... and very worrisome.
3 vs 6 DoF VR Space Requirements, For Education
To fully appreciate the issue of space requirements, real estate, and movement when using virtual reality, let’s look at a user of a 3 DoF device in black, versus that same person using a 6 DoF device, in white. In both cases, this student is fully engaged in learning, and fully present in the virtual environment. The girl in black remains in one small area, simply turning around to experience the virtual world. She can be standing in one spot, or seated in a swivel chair. If she has mobility issues or is confined to a wheelchair, she is still capable of using this device. Easy. Adding movement, as needed with 6 DoF, lowers inclusiveness, and could take the use of VR out of the classroom and into the gym, or other large space.
Oculus/Meta/Facebook and education
(6 yrs of unanswered questions)
Oculus Go (2019)
Educators and developers seem to be increasingly frustrated with Oculus, before you plunge into VR in your classrooms there are several issues and concerns you may want to hear out.
There has been a lot of hype in VR spaces about the Oculus Quest, and Quest 2, and its impact on the market. It is generally accepted, based on a great number of articles and postings, that the Quest has had a significant and positive effect on the VR market.
I would like to go even deeper into the issues to illustrate how the Quest may not be the right platform for educational purposes. This has become a long article, but will give you a clear-eyed look at what buying an Oculus Quest will mean for you, your school, district or institution.
Meta Quest and education - Does it make sense? (2025 update)
The Meta Quest, and the Oculus Go before it, is a wonderful device for gaming and entertainment. This is not at question. It is a great device! Being a very good device does not confer status as an appropriate hardware choice, especially in the educaiton space, which can logially include healthcare, military, and corporate training, where data privacy must be properly thought out. The tracking of data is not a foregone conclusion or necessity, but a choice. That choice is on the user side. This is not about advocacy against the Quest, but about what non-monetary costs are involved in using the Quest.Be better informed. Presentation with relevant facts about the Quest in Education (PDF)
Meta Quest and education - A cautionary tale (2024)
This is an updated video expressing a point of view that the Meta Quest is not a device condusive to usage in a classroom, or in other instances such as corporate soft skills training, language learning, or hard skills such as those of an electrical lineman. While the Quest is a wonderful device for gamiing and entertainment, it was built for a single user, attached to a social media platform. Education and learning in general, is a completely different area, with very different expectations and needs.
Meta Quest and education - A cautionary tale (2021)
The Quest is a wonderful VR device, and great for gaming and entertainment. However, when it comes to education, it is a far different story. Although I have a Quest and am a fan of the device, I cannot find a way to sensibly use this in a meaningful way in a class, school or district. I am unable to justify such a purchase, for education. None of this information is new, but still very relevant.
More about VR in education
Online vs offline
There is a huge benefit to having heavy VR content resident on devices. This is not simply a streaming issue, nor about your institution having WiFi access or not. This is about a practical, sensible means of getting the most out of your VR devices. If you only wish to do 1 task with the VR, then connectivity is not a big concern. However, if you wish to have a variety of things to do, by users of different ages and for different reasons, and don't wish to burden the overseers (teachers, managers) of this technology, then it's important to understand why "offline" can be a monumentally important point.
Offline-ish (ask, and listen carefully to the answer)
There are interesting gymnastics that some VR companies will do, when talking about being offline. When it means that some small part of their offering is located on the device, ready to go, but the rest of the library is cloud based, you will run into a managed content issue. At some point, someone needs to be responsible for moving that content onto the device. The IT staff? The teacher? The burden needs to rest with someone, so be careful, be mindful, and seek a sensible solution.
3 vs 6 dof (degrees of freedom) (2021)
The term dof refers to Degrees of Freedom, which is an indicator the level of movement afforded a VR (virtual reality) user. The greater the number means the more immersive the environment. Of course, most would consider that to mean it's "better." That's not always the case. For education, or other large deployments, 3 dof may be desirable over a 6 dof device.
Better is very much a relative term.
Ease of use
When educational content is resident on a VR headset, it greatly increases the usability and practicality of VR in education. The base of what you want to do over a semester or longer should reside on the device. Of course, adding things along the way should never be disallowed, but those moments mean that WiFi needs to be set up and high bandwidth needs to be very reliable. The far majority of schools in the world have WiFi... that's not at all the issue. VR content is particularly large, and sending that out is not an easy task.
Filmed vs created
There are two main ways to create VR content... you can film a scene or create a scene. Filming is cheap and easy, and photorealistic. But it is plagued by extremely high file sizes which either take up a lot of room on your device, or is very difficult to manage (download to a device from the cloud, for example). Created content is more expensive to make, which is the downside, but can allow for more interactivity and a different (albeit less photorealistic) view of a scene.
Accessible Content for VR and Special Needs Students
Katie Nieves Licwinko: My last question is how do you think Veative is making schools and classrooms more inclusive and accepting of all learners and all learners’ needs? Dave Dolan: Right now on that front, like I said, we're looking at a way of adding the controller to a chair and identifying that there are other devices out there that kind of look maybe fancier or very cool. But the problem is that they might have two controllers and they won’t be suitable for every student. Sometimes, you have to step back a bit and get to the core of what it is that you’re trying to do.
Veative Learn develops immersive technology solutions that have shown an incredible ability to educate, train, and solve real-world problems. This augments the performance of individuals and improves their grasp of technically-challenging concepts, enabling them to work better, smarter and safer. Chief Product Officer Dave Dolan joins me in this segment from 'Innovators'.
Language Learning in VR
Building confidence is an extremely important part of language learning. All language learners start from a place of vulnerability, and the very real expectation of being ridiculed or laughed at. That is a tough thing for anyone. But when a good teacher can provide a safe environment for learning, motivation is seriously affected. VR is the next best thing. By nature, it is a safe, judgment-free environment in which a student can learn.
Education Disruption and VR
Education disruption began to happen in the mid to late 20th century, from teacher-centric instruction to a learner-based model. VR did not cause that disruption, but can support the ideals of such a shift in educational ideals. Differentiated learning, in a distraction-free, safe environment is all possible via virtual reality, and is another powerful tool in the toolkit of teachers across the globe.
The Virtual Reality Podcast (June 21, 2019)
A deep dive into VR in education, and uses in the classroom. This podcast, hosted by Amanda Fox, Steven Sato, James McCrary, and Alex Chaucer tries to go beyond the headlines of virtual reality, and its implementation into schools. Though recorded in 2019, it is no less relevant today.
What Would You Rather? (2021)
An animated look at what a VR classroom can end up looking like, and a suggestion as to how it should actually be. Don't get stuck in a mindset of how you "think it has to be." The VR is a uniquely personal connection with difficult ideas, and as such, should be used to facilitate that personal, distraction-free connection. There is little value in turning that into a class-wide experience, which then creates a wealth of issues for a teacher.
A note about SVR
Sensible-VR has a singular mission of ensuring that you learn how to critically judge the various options in the market, and get the most out of your learning dollars. Our mission is to bring real educational value to schools. VR should be about connecting students with concepts, connecting teachers with students, and connecting districts with useful data and analytics.
