experiences as a minimal investment to policymakers (Image: http://nationaldailyng.com/)
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he way in which we live and do business is rapidly changing in 2018, and the next frontier for rapid evolution is education. The next generation of the Caribbean family will face new opportunities and challenges in equal measure, and an education system that prepares them for the future will see them seize upon the promise ahead.
The best thing about this new era is the potential for it to be truly affordable, accessible, and engaging for students across a variety of nations, institutions, and interests. And at the heart of it is the promise Virtual Reality (VR) offers in this space.
VISUALIZING THE FUTURE
For many years now a big shift has been underway in education. We’ve already seen the first wave as the rise of the online arena has brought a world of resources to our doorstep. Universal access to information has ensured education is contemporary and dynamic. Historically it could take months or even years to receive textbooks locally; today downloads happen in minutes.
But for all the pace and scale of change so far, we’ve really just scratched the surface. Education in 2018 is now online, but not yet truly digital. The shift towards a new era will see the Caribbean drive towards blended and hybrid learning, and the versatility each offers in turn.
HYBRID LEARNING AND VR
Blended and hybrid learning share similarities, but are ultimately independent of one another.
Blended learning provides for learning online and offline. Hybrid learning emphasises learning across a wide variety of mediums. It’s here that hybrid learning makes a natural fit with VR tech.
VR may still be in its relative youth but already its potential for education is clear. This begins with the most elemental requirement of education: being present for instruction. Already VR is being used in sports, business and elsewhere to replicate an environment for a user sitting at home. Right now this tech is being used chiefly for a basketball game or sales conference. But soon, it could have real applications for the classroom. Not only would it remove the need for students to be present all the time, but also provide an ongoing experience outside of it.
Homework that involves memorising data out of a textbook may not set a student’s heart racing, but bonus ‘after hours’ content that features guest lectures from renowned teachers could.
The benefits are not only apparent for what VR could add, but what it could remove. Chiefly, lost time. While our world may be rapidly globalizing, the reality of kilometers and miles remains. Students freed from a long commute could spend time studying instead of travelling.
For now this may largely be the domain of higher education as the youngest years of a student’s life also emphasises the importance of growing social skills alongside reading, writing and maths. But even so, the possibilities are exciting as, via VR, students from the Caribbean could easily sit in a VR class at Stanford, although they are not in California, or the Sorbonne, even though they are not in Paris.
For educational institutions this is also a win-win: many of the world’s most respected universities expand their online offerings but there’s also a growing tension between the high costs and length of traditional university education when considered alongside the rapid evolution of our global economy.
This dynamic can quickly render existing knowledge dated, and require ongoing learning throughout a career as opposed to a ‘one and done’ period of education to serve as a foundation for a lifetime of work.
LET’S TALK TEACHING
At the heart of education, VR also allows for the reshaping of the teaching experience. From the world’s newest schools to its oldest, teachers invariably teach the same content in the same structures each year. Time has shown this is a reasonable approach, but far from the ideal one.
The best students in these courses can quickly disengage from the material as they seek something more challenging.
The students who struggle find that the limited time and little personal instruction they get with their education sees them fall further and further behind.
Because VR provides a pathway for teachers to record content in an interactive and engaging way, its benefits are numerous. It can see teachers freed from explaining the same content year in and year out, as opposed to spending time elsewhere like developing new curriculum.
It also allows for teachers to spend class time working on a greater one-to-one basis with students. Students leading the field can be assigned new material to challenge them. Students struggling can see time devoted to them without stalling others in the class from progressing.
AFFORDABLE EDUCATION
Among the most exciting things about VR is the affordability of its technology. When Google first released its Cardboard product in 2015, many thought for a while they were joking. After all, this at a time when other tech giants had already signalled their intention to deliver the cutting edge when they released their VR headsets. But as VR is ultimately a visual experience, the same flexibility in price points can be pursued just like a pair of sunglasses.
Presently, a Google Cardboard can be purchased for as little as US$2 online. It’s true that VR also requires the use of a smartphone but, given the growth of mobile phone use within the Caribbean and globally, the barrier here is small. More expensive VR headsets do exist but, for the purposes of education, access to the tech is universal.
The great work of many not-for-profit groups developing VR content is the icing on the cake. If the right vision is defined and policy put in place, the future of education with VR could be universal in access and boundless in opportunity. And all this with some cardboard at its core.
SEEING IT CLEARLY
Though VR is exciting technology, it comes with some hurdles. Often, using the technology for long periods (multiple hours) isn’t possible without developing some mild form of nausea. This isn’t that different from someone experiencing eye strain after staring at a computer screen but new tech should ideally solve problems, not create new ones.
Also some evidence suggests the transfusing of information via digital means that less learning is retained than via non-digital learning. Though VR may be more immersive, if the ultimate aim is to see a student learn information and retain it, then VR may not be the ideal choice by itself.
Ultimately, these issues are far from insurmountable—or even significant—but they are important to note for anyone who’d otherwise think momentum for hybrid learning and VR is unstoppable.
BRIGHT FUTURE
Ultimately VR is one part of many areas that will see us have a revolution in the Caribbean. From blockchain and cryptocurrency that change how we bank and store data, to TeleCarib Labs and how it seeks to deliver on education.
The most exciting idea of all is how these technologies will combine in ways we don’t yet imagine, but will delight in. And it will happen – it’s virtually guaranteed.
