This week, I read ‘Augmented Versus Virtual Reality in Education: An Exploratory Study Examining Science Knowledge Retention When Using Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Mobile Applications.’ The article spoke about the increased usage of AR and VR in education settings. I found this article surprising because when I think of VR, I mostly think of the headsets people get at Best Buy that they use to play games or run simulations. I don’t generally associate VR, AR, and education together. I mostly correlate VR to leisure.
I’ve heard of the term augmented reality/AR before but was interested to see the article define it as “a technology that blends digital information with the information from physical-world environments, enabling users to interact with virtual objects and view the physical environment” (Huang et al, 2019). VR is a more immersive version of AR, thus the creation of VR headsets that can simulate rollercoasters, horror movies, video games, etc.
A large clarifying moment I had when reading the article is when it said, “AR integrates virtual objects into a physical space, whereas VR blocks out information from the physical environment that subsequently transports users to another world” (Huang et al, 2019). It was interesting to learn that VR results in more psychological and cognitive responses and retention, but AR resulted in more auditory retention.
After reading this article, I started thinking about uses for AR and VR in school and other settings that don’t revolve around science. The first thing that popped in my head is using AR and VR for interior design. I know that most designers use online tools to mockup designs for spaces, but what if they could show their clients their design plans through an immersive VR experience? After researching more, it seems that many others also thought that VR/AR tools would be helpful since there are multiple apps and online tools for it already.
Then I started wondering if there are any untapped ideas for AR/VR. Something that came to mind is using VR for sorority and fraternity recruitment during COVID-19 outbreaks. Two summers ago, I went through recruitment virtually over Zoom which meant I wasn’t able to interact face-to-face with each chapter or see much of their chapter houses. This past summer, I recruited in person while COVID-19 concerns were still present. We were able to give potential new members (PNMs) tours and see them in person, but the masks were still a limiting factor. My idea is that PNMs and chapter members could connect using VR to give their conversations a more in-person feel. Or, if recruitment was over zoom again, there could be an AR house tour that PNMs can go on to see what the house looks like.
With AR and VR tools becoming more prevalent, the options are truly endless for technological advancements in multiple aspects of life. I would not be surprised if workspaces and schools started heavily incorporating AR/VR technologies so that they can do more work remotely. Personally, I know my internship this summer will be remote because the company has not returned post-COVID. It could be a great opportunity for the company to use AR/VR to give their employees some semblance of an in-person workspace.
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