VR

Virtual Reality in the Classroom

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is heading for the classrooms as more schools and universities look to integrate VR into their course offerings. Business schools, in particular, are looking to leverage this technology to enhance the learning experience for their students. 

One of the schools that has taken an early lead is INSEAD. To get a better understanding of their experience and lessons learned, we reached out to Ithai Stern, who directs the VR immersive learning initiative at INSEAD. Stern highlights two specific applications where VR has been effective in the classroom - exploring nuanced situations and difficult-to-access environments, or as he calls it: people and places.

With respect to people, VR allows participants to experience difficult and nuanced situations, particularly those characterized by complex and emotionally-laden interactions. There is much non-verbal communication that occurs in such situations, and the ability to practice detecting and responding to it is important for future leaders and managers. VR provides a safe and controlled environment for students to practice and develop these skills.

As for places, VR allows participants to be transported to hard-to-access locations and unfamiliar environments that would otherwise be difficult or expensive to visit. This makes it possible for students to experience real-world situations without leaving the classroom.

Table. Benefits of using VR in a classroom (adopted from INSEAD’s materials)

MULTISENSORY AND ENGAGING

INNOVATIVE

ANALYTICS & PERSONALITY
  • Effective: Learning by Doing
  • Sense of presence
  • Impact: perspective taking
  • Undivided Attention: Minimal preparation
  • Cost effective: brining the world to class
  • Unique user experience: Adaptive scenarios 
  • Data driven learning
  • Records implicit measures (gaze, timing, strategy)
  • Immediate feedback
  • Effective data collection (for research)

 

Not only does VR provide a unique learning experience, but it is also popular with participants. They report being more focused and feeling less tired after participating in VR programs compared with regular classroom instruction and reading materials. They also feel more confident about what they have learned. In a world where attention spans shorten, VR can help students stay engaged and retain information better.

While the cost of VR remains a concern for many schools, it is coming down as the cost of VR sets and material production decreases. For many graduate programs, the cost of a headset (around 400$) is still cheaper than transportation and accommodation to visit a specific location, not to mention the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The good news is that there are more and more sources of free or cheap VR content to choose from (see the list at the end). Interested schools don’t need to develop their own content, but instead can use the existing libraries made available by the school (see the links below).

VR technology is a promising tool for business education, and as costs continue to decrease and the availability of content increases, it will become even more accessible to a broader range of schools. By leveraging VR, business schools can provide students with a unique and engaging learning experience beyond traditional classroom instruction. It will pay off to watch this space more carefully.

For those interested to learn more about using VR in your classroom, check the following websites: