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New Report on Virtual Reality in Education
The Smart Connected Classrooms pilot project, coordinated by European Schoolnet and funded by Qualcomm Incorporated through its Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ Initiative, has released its latest report on the integration of virtual reality (VR) in education.
This second phase of the project, conducted during the 2023–2024 academic year, engaged 37 teachers and 607 students from two schools in Spain and Portugal, aiming to assess VR’s impact on teaching and learning.
The project unfolded in two stages: a preparatory stage (October–December 2023) during which teachers received technical and pedagogical training, followed by an implementation phase (January–May 2024) in which VR was actively integrated into classroom activities. Teachers used a variety of VR content, including the resources from ClassVR Portal and Avantis World, along with tools like CoSpaces, Tinkercad, and ThingLink to create their own content.
Research Methodology and Key Findings
A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating both qualitative and quantitative data collected through pre- and post-research questionnaires, as well as feedback meetings with teachers.
The project yielded the following key findings:
- Enhanced Teacher Confidence: Teachers reported significant gains in their self-assessed VR skills.
- Positive Attitudes Towards VR: Post-test results showed a slight increase in the belief that VR was fun for students, enhanced interpersonal skills, and was important for improving digital literacy.
- Impact on Student Learning: Teachers observed that students were curious, highly focused, and able to apply the knowledge they gained through VR. More than half of the teachers believed that VR enhanced students' knowledge retention. However, VR was less effective in aligning content with students' needs or improving overall teaching performance.
Insights and Recommendations
To make the most of VR in education, the report suggests:
- Involving students in creating VR content.
- Improving the usability of VR materials to make them more interactive, encouraging gamification and active learning.
- Making VR scenes more adaptable by designing them for different age groups and offering lesson plans to help adjust the content accordingly.
- Creating professional learning communities for educators to share their experiences and resources.
Explore the Full Report
The findings from this pilot project highlight a promising future for the integration of VR in education, providing valuable insights for educators, policy-makers, and technology developers alike. For a more in-depth understanding of the pilot's findings, including detailed results, teachers’ learning stories, and recommendations, access the full report here.
What’s Next?
The Smart Connected Classrooms project has embarked on its third phase this academic year 2024/25, which will continue investigating the impact of virtual reality on learning outcomes, with a focus on 5th grade science topics in Spain.
Keen to learn more about the pilot? Check the project’s website!