Multiple players have been offering Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in the education sector. In January 2021, the world’s first educational virtual reality theme park was opened. The park consists of six educational Virtual Reality (VR) areas, covering different aspects of the educational curriculum. By using a web-based learning platform, students can consolidate and review what they have been learning during their virtual visit.
Next to the existence of virtual theme parks, the VR@School project, which was derived from the Erasmus+ programme, aims to promote the use of VR in European classrooms. The project’s goal is to produce and market a virtual classroom and use VR to innovate and add value to education. The use of VR can help students feel to immersed in an experience, delivering interactions that are either not practical or not possible without VR, like experiencing historical events or doing a scientific experiment. Adding VR to the traditional way of teaching enhances and extends the way in which students can learn and develop.
According to the VR@School project, the use of ICT in teaching and learning activities in the EU is currently applicable to about 50% of students, whose teachers use ICT in a minimum of 25% of their lessons. To further develop and market the use of VR in classrooms, the education system needs a deeper connection with digitalisation and the capacity to develop new learning programmes that involve VR.
The Advanced Industry for Technology (ATI) project recently published a report on technological trends and policies in Europe. For more information and news items and reports on augmented and virtual reality, consult the ATI project website.