Module 4: Immersive Learning and the Educational Benefits

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Immersive Learning gives many opportunities to expand education into an experience that allows students to explore visually and physically without leaving the school!

There are many benefits to Immersive Learning, but three of the most commonly used benefits of Virtual and Augmented Realities within a classroom environment are:

• Reusable Resources (Mulders et al., 2020)

• Learner Differentiation (Sanders & Scanlon, 2021)

• Collaboration (Mulders et al., 2020)
  

Reusable Resources allow for districts to save on yearly costs. This is because budgeting, although may seem expensive as an upfront cost, will level out and even become a cheaper option than disposable resources. Immersive Learning is a resource that is reusable year after year. This allows for the district to eliminate yearly classroom and field trip costs.

Differentiation looks different for any student. Students benefit from learning visually, auditory, and collaboratively. Virtual reality allows students to learn in these ways. Learners can apply the knowledge that works best for their understanding. This also bridges the gap between applying knowledge and those who have physical and learning disabilities. Students are now able to create experiences that they were not able to experience before.

Collaboration can be seen in many different ways through Immersive Learning. Students can work together within a virtual world, they can assist each other learn something new, and the can gain communication skills based on different experiences happening at the same time. A great example, that is also cost-effective, is having Pair Partnerships. Having partner work with utilizing just one Immersive Learning tool among two people have roles. A driver can work with the technology and experience the virtual or augmented world while the role of the navigator asks questions, makes suggestions, or communicates about the experience. Switching roles often allows for the experience to be seen from different view points.... literally.

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In order to determine if an Immersive Learning tool is beneficial for your classroom setting or district as a whole, it is important to check what you feel is important. Using a checklist, similar to the one that I developed below, can help make the connections between the learning content and objectives and the capabilities of the Immersive Learning tool.

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References

Bhatnagar, S. (2024, January 18). Immersive learning: Implementation, best practices,

benefits. KnowledgeHut. https://www.knowledgehut.com/blog/learning/immersive-learning

Calvet, L., Bourdin, P., & Prados, F. (2019). Immersive Technologies in Higher Education.

Proceedings of the 2019 3rd International Conference on Education and E-Learning. https://doi.org/10.1145/3371647.3371667

Mulders, M., Buchner, J., & Kerres, M. (2020). A Framework for the Use of Immersive Virtual

Reality in Learning Environments. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 15(24), 208–231. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v15i24.16615

Sanders, C. K., & Scanlon, E. (2021). The digital divide is a human rights issue:

Advancing social inclusion through social work advocacy. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 6(2), 130–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-020-00147-9