How Immersive Experience Provides Extra Edge to EdTech
Immersive learning is still budding around us currently. However, given the pandemic situation, demand among the educators to improve online education, and with increasing awareness of the benefits of immersion in learning, the day is not far away when every student will learn through immersive technology, not only from home but in schools too!
Most of us are still unaware of how immersive technology can revolutionize the education sector. Before we dive into the benefits of immersion in learning, let’s study what is immersive technology. Immersive technology includes the technological advancements that help a student create a virtual world. It uses the help of technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), live 3D interactions, physical world simulation system to create a simulated world so that a student can get a feeling of being in the physical world of the subject. For example, with immersive technology, you can take your students on a trip to a university campus or chemistry lab to conduct experiments and even to Mars!
With this picture in mind, it is not surprising when reports predict that the worldwide spending on VR and AR would reach a whopping $160 billion by the year 2023. Not only schools are taking advantage of immersion, even corporates are turning away from their traditional methods of training to immersive technology for the purpose of training and communication. How immersive technology will enable better learning in students is the next question that many of us need to understand. Let’s discuss how immersive-experience-induced education can enable enhancement of cognitive, emotional and behavioral capabilities in students. It is not surprising that the future jobs will demand high levels of emotional, negotiation and collaborative intelligence in their respective employees. For this reason, it is imperative to add immersion to learning right now.
Studies show that certain cognitive factors are triggered by the introduction of immersive learning in the education system.
- Immersive learning offers students a safe and accurate surrounding to practice and perfect their skills.
- Immersive technology is the ultimate means to bridge the gap between practical and theory classes.
These learning method has resulted in a 22% increase in test scores! Traditional learning overwhelms and creates a cognitive load. That is, it requires the brain to retain, transform, retrieve and generate the visualization of the object. This can be tough on a student’s brain due to the reduced comprehension and retention caused by it. Replacing conventional learning methods with MR or 3D interactive learning will:
- Reduce the cognitive load on the pupils’ brains
- Allow students to directly interact, manipulate and visualize complex subjects using the real-world simulation
Managing emotions is important to achieve great things in life. And that can be mastered with the help of immersive learning technologies.
- They have the ability to break through the barrier and help students achieve the emotional maturity they require
- Through visualization of real-world problems, one can learn to be empathetic to others.
- MR encourages students to collaborate with other students leading to embracing the team spirit.
- Through learning life from other’s perspectives using immersion, students learn to embrace diversity and inclusiveness!
Studies show that immersion exposes students to situated learning. VR, AR and MR can be successfully utilized to create a powerful situated learning experience for students. Through this method, students can understand and learn from real-world problems in a safe virtual environment. The theories learnt in this immersive learning arrangement will stimulate students to apply the theories in the real-world scenarios. In addition, immersion exposes the students to people who have other set of skills. This results in skill exchange and thus, a potential of creating problem-solving communities.
To conclude, It is time for the education sector to replace traditional learning methods with immersive technology to make students better learners. Through this, you can improve your students’ cognitive, emotional and behavioral abilities. That will enable students to be equipped with the knowledge to solve real-world challenges with high levels of empathy and understanding! As Brian Grantham, Director of the Educational Technology at Mid-Pacific Institute, rightly says, “As kids turn to more individualized education, identifying their strength, weakness and fears is important and immersive tech can help achieve that.”
