Virtual Classrooms for Virtual Learning
The Virtual Classroom in a Virtual World
The world is on the verge of another major shift in how we work, play, and interact with society. This was happening slowly as new technologies have pushed their way into business, entertainment, and education. While being thrust into this virtual world can be frustrating and scary, we can still take this as an opportunity to further our chance to grow as learners and educators. According to UNESCO, 9 out of 10 children are out of school worldwide. So while many of you are jumping headfirst into the deep end of video calls and learning how to navigate the complex world of real-time virtual learning through tools like Skype, Google Meet, and Zoom, there is another option. Enter the true virtual learning space of virtual reality.
This may sound intimidating to some of you. It isn’t any harder than learning new video platforms, and there are several benefits that your students will find engaging and you too might love. Using virtual reality platforms is less invasive than video calls. It doesn’t require you to show video from inside yours or your students’ houses, nor does it require you to personally be camera ready. Using a virtual reality meeting space also seems more like a video game for students, but one where the people are your teachers and classmates and the challenges are learning-based. Research has indicated that while the virtual reality learning space is often preferred by students, there is not a decrease in learning compared to the traditional setting.
Before we jump into using a VR classroom we need to know more about what’s available. There are dozens of virtual conferencing tools that are in place already which can be used to create a quality VR classroom experience for your kids. There are several for which I will offer pros and cons here and allow you to decide what fits your students’ needs best.
RUMII (Tutorial Video)
Rumii which is created by Dogshead Sims offers very good graphics, can be run from most computers that are less than 5 years old, VR headsets, and more. It offers simple controls, a wide variety of settings and the ability to share pictures, videos, pdfs, and even upload and manipulate 3D objects for the audience. It also offers a sound setup that makes it seem as though you are talking to the people specifically in your vicinity rather than everyone feeling like they are the same distance away. The biggest downside with Rumii is the consistency across platforms. You have to make sure each version of the app is the latest for it to work, and when users exit a room you have to restart the program to ensure audio quality. Overall it is a good platform that I have used to help students with anxiety for public speaking to present in my class. They complete the presentation in a virtual room while sitting in a different physical room.
ALTSPACE VR
AltSpace VR is another excellent platform that can be accessed by anyone with a VR headset or a Windows computer. AltSpace has decent graphics, customizable rooms, the ability to hold thirty people in a room with no trouble, quality controls for speaking and listening, and the ability to present, share, and create a bit within the space. This platform was excellent as a mainstay during the Educators in VR virtual conference which connected thousands of educators and developers in VR for nearly four straight days around the world. It is also most similar to the social platform that your kids probably know best in VR, VRChat. The one real struggle with AltSpace is that it only works on headsets and Windows 10 or better computers. That’s not asking much within a classroom, but for at-home learning, it can be a challenge.
Mozilla Hubs (Tutorial Video)
Hubs has some of the more basic graphics of the VR Meeting Room groups, but it is by far the most accessible. You can add people just by giving them a link, they select an avatar and you are in. Unlike most VR platforms, Hubs allows for nearly any device to work to get kids into your virtual classroom directly through the internet. The controls take a few minutes to adapt to by comparison to other platforms, but this space has increasingly grown in functionality. Hubs allows for up to 30 users in a room at a time, which is the maximum recommended for virtual environments that contain social aspects. We cannot process much more than 30 people interacting within one space. This is the most accessible platform for your kids to start virtual learning in a virtual reality classroom and the one I have tried using to meet with clubs or my classes during this COVID19 crisis.
These are just a few of the many tools out there. There are tutorials linked to this article that can help you navigate these platforms and are available to help get you started. There are plenty of other platforms as well, from High-End platforms like Engage that are great but require more powerful computer systems or headsets, or platforms built-in WebXR (browser-based virtual reality) the benefits are clear, building quality connections and instructional time through the use of Virtual Reality for virtual instruction.
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