How This Teacher Tapped Virtual Reality to Pump Up Student Engagement
How This Teacher Tapped Virtual Reality to Pump Up Student Engagement
How This Teacher Tapped Virtual Reality to Pump Up Student Engagement
By Alyson Klein
June 27, 2023
Summary
That's what Kosek, a teacher in the West Allis-West Milwaukee school district in Wisconsin set out to answer when he turned the science unit into a virtual reality, project-based learning experience.
Over about three weeks, students worked in teams and dreamed up all sorts of imaginative scenarios, Kosek said.
Kosek got calls from parents curious about what had gotten their kids coming home so excited about school, a rarity in the high-poverty community where he teaches.
The students "Wanted so desperately to try that they were so patient," Kosek said.
A couple of students got headaches after using the VR headsets, a problem that sometimes happens for people using virtual reality.
The school generally urged students not to spend too much time navigating in virtual reality environments, since it can cause sensory overload. Those challenges are common when schools try VR. Though some ed-tech experts predict VR will be used more widely in schools in the near future, the technology can be glitchy and difficult to manage.
Kosek spent up to an hour getting each of his 15 VR headsets ready for classroom use.
Reference
Klein, A. (2023, June 27). How this teacher tapped virtual reality to pump up student engagement. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/how-this-teacher-tapped-virtual-reality-to-pump-up-student-engagement/2023/06