Virtual Realities
Virtual Realities
Jason Lamb, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Definitions and background
Virtual Reality is a “technology that enables users to enter a world generated by a computer and allows them to interact with it through sight, sound, and touch” (North, Hill, Aikhuele, & North, 2003, p. 34). By creating a three-dimensional world, users are able to manipulate virtual objects in real-time via the use of computer systems that interface with a number of specialized peripheral devices. (Nadan, Alexandrov, Jamieson, & Watson, 2011).
Largely used in the fields of automotive/aerospace design, medical training, entertainment, and military training (Abulrub, Attridge, & Williams, 2011), Virtual Reality has also begun to find its way into many higher-education engineering programs (Abulrub et al., 2011). The use of Virtual Realities can also be found in gaming applications, and more specifically, interactive game-based learning solutions (Psotka, 2013).
Historically, Virtual Realities have been influenced by the development of television, 3D graphics, animation, display technology, human-computer interfaces, and remote control (Barker, 1993). The Virtual Realities also incorporate many of the principles of those individual technologies. The technology itself can conceptually trace its history back to the 1950s, with Morton Heilig’s Sensorama project which allowed users to participate in a 3D movie that reacted to riding a stationary bicycle (Barker, 1993).
Affordances
Abulrub et al. (2011) indicate that the use of Virtual Realities enhance the learning experience of students, as they provide the user with both realism and interactivity. When used in an application such as training engineers, it allows the instructors to recreate “various kinds of real-life engineering challenges that cannot be produced in traditional classroom or laboratory due to cost or health and safety” (Abulrub et al., 2011, p. 6).
By combining Multimedia with Virtual Reality, educators can successfully design learning environments where students feel more comfortable and focused (Sampaio, de Freitas, and Cardoso, 2009). This is due to the fact that data indicates that Virtual Reality can ease communication apprehension in a classroom environment (North et al., 2003).
Virtual Reality also allows users to “acquire better space perception” (Sik-Lanyi, Lanyi, & Tilinger, 2003, p. 291). It can provide visualization on a large scale, where one can see miniscule details which cannot be seen by the human eye alone. It also allows us to present a field of view greater than the eye allows in real life, which increases the way our mind processes what we see (Nadan et al., 2011).
Students are also able to interact with objects and situations they would not be usually able to. For example, they would be able to reach out to 'touch' the atoms of a complex molecule (Barker, 1993). Barker concludes that Virtual Reality can also create mobility in situations where there is immobility. This is achieved through the use of specialize peripherals which can create auditory, physical, and visual sensation where none may have been present beforehand.
“Virtual reality and games have the potential of embodying abstract concepts in concrete experiences” (Psotka 2013, p. 72). As an example, Psotka (2013) illustrates how a perpetual motion machine could be built within a Virtual Reality to demonstrate the force of gravity. This could be done without the drag of air or any other friction, as the virtual reality is completely customizable, and does not need to adhere to the physics of the real world.
In addition, a study by Passig (2011) demonstrated that the use of Virtual Realities allowed an understanding of the concept of sequential time in a group of mentally challenged teenagers, where little to no understanding existed beforehand. This advanced the teens cognitive abilities, which assisted their sense of reality and could allow them to take on a greater role in society. Previous research by Andolsek (1995) has also found that since virtual realities are completely engaging, they affect the student cognitively.