Virtual Reality

   A few months back, the New York Times sent me information about a new project. The paper was seeking to reinvent the way it produced video content to accompany online stories.
   To date, many stories online were accompanied by a short video. These were quickly produced and did not in any way introduce viewers to new technology. These videos simply took the place of the photographs that for decades have accompanied stories in newspapers' print versions.
   The new project would produce immersive video content.  These videos would be created with the use of a 360 degree camera. To access these videos, viewers would need a phone, an app and a viewer.
   This new project is an example of virtual reality (VR), defined by Wikipedia as "immersive multimedia or computer-simulated reality, which replicates an environment that simulates a physical presence in places in the real world or an imagined world, allowing the user to interact in that world. Virtual realities artificially create sensory experiences, which can include sight, touch, hearing, and smell." With VR, viewers get the experience of being in an environment even though they are not physically there.
   The Oculus Rift made a big splash by bringing this technology to consumers in the form of personal entertainment. But what about this technology for educational purposes? Is there a future in schools for VR?
    The NY Times project suggests so.  For instance, imagine a history class examining the conditions in Syrian refugee camps. Accounts, pictures and video would offer information, but an immersive video might offer a more visceral understanding of conditions in these camps. These types of 360 degree videos are being produced as supplements to NY Times articles, but there is every reason to expect the technology to migrate to classroom environments.
    Google is another major promoter of VR technology as a learning tool. The Google Expeditions Pioneer Program is specifically designed to deepen students' understanding of world geography and cultures through virtual reality.  The program is in a beta stage as of this writing, but look for the program to gain traction in the months ahead.
   In the video below, there is some brief description about how the technology works and, with the help of a student volunteer, a peek at what the experience is all about.  If you're interested in checking out the technology, just let me know and you can try it for yourself.