Page 17 - THE Journal, April/May 2017

V
RARand COME of AGE
For virtual reality and augmented reality to succeed in education, there’s more required than just cool experiences. BY DIAN SCHAFFHAUSER
DESPITE ALL THE headlines and conference coverage of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for education over the last year, the technology is still gaining speed — residing at that sweet spot in the hype cycle where, when you place headsets on people and gently guide them to turn around to gain a full view, they tend to gasp and say, “Oh, wow.” So imagine how your students would respond if, in that next geography lesson, instead of handing them a flat map of Peru, you pass out pre-loaded smartphones to each table along with a $15 Google Cardboard and ask them to pull up a walking tour that places them in Machu Picchu.
APRIL/MAY 2017 | 17
FEATURE | IMMERSIVE EDUCATION
Carlos Castilla; Robert Adrian Hillman/Shutterstock/THE Journal staff