Entry #5: The Reality of Virtual/Augmented Reality?

Virtual reality (VR) usually refers to a 3D world that probably need special glasses to see, whereas Augmented Reality (AR) takes our real world and puts 3D like objects into it. I never stopped to really think about the difference, but once both terms were mentioned together, I realized that there was a difference, and it was obvious to me, because POKEMON! (I played the game obsessively for the first few months that it came out, battery draining and all before I switched phones and decided to save my battery. You could often find me in Central Park, Union Square, or Bryant Park trying to level up and find rare Pokemon with the other load. Yes, I was part of those crazy runs that you might find on Youtube, where someone announces that a ____ was in X-location, and so everyone else would hear, and everyone would run to that said location. Sometimes I would also run with the crowd without knowing what Pokemon we were running for. It was great.)

When I first saw this area of technology on the syllabus, I thought, “Okay… I don’t think I’m really interested…” Because above (i.e., Pokemon) was how I experienced AR, and VR World NYC (https://vrworldnyc.com/ - groupon available!) is how I experienced VR. It’s fun. Also, Netflix’s original Korean drama, Memories of the Alhambra (https://www.netflix.com/title/81004280) is about an AR video game become a little to real—I liked it (I like the actors) but the premise was only medium to me… since my feelings towards video games are just okay. (I’m distinguishing videogames with simple puzzle game phone apps.) But I ended up really liking it and couldn’t stop watching it still (hahaha). Also, note - in the drama, it IS crazy and more attractive that in a future world, you won’t need GLASSES, but just contacts that would show everything. But we are moving towards that, huh… as Oculus glasses keep getting more compact with each new release…

So, anyhow, I was wondering when I first saw the topics, with my experiences in mind, how can VR/AR be educational?

In this sense, Ibrahim et al. (2018) really stuck out to me. Especially because language learning is something that I’m interested in. It turns out that somehow, AR experiences are more meaningful for some learning experience (i.e, vocabulary) in short bursts of time. Obviously, this experiment conducted was a one-time/short period thing, and not something that would be conducted overtime. One thing that comes up is the novelty of new technology. Perhaps the ability to be able to use AR tools seems cooler, and thus there is a higher amount of interest; using flashcards on a computer screen has been around for a long time and it’s not as "exciting” to most people. (Although if you gave this program/website to someone who has never owned a screen and has always been making paper flashcards, perhaps computer flashcards are quite novel indeed.) What would the effects be, long term, if, say, there comes a time when a majority of college students had a set of AR glasses and this program lying around their dorm rooms?

Furthermore, the idea of online VR-like/video game spaces to conduct classes or meetings is pretty cool. For me, it sounds more interesting than just using a simple module like blackboard or whatever course website schools may use, and clicking on recorded podcasts of lectures. Putting a “gamelike” mask onto learning is so creative and clever that it really may enhance learning. On the other hand, no matter how advanced we become in the future, I think people STILL need to also face the real world and do things the “normal” way once in a while (i.e, physically walking to class for lecture and reading and TOUCHING paper readings..)