VR Tools in the Classroom

The RobotLAB VR Expeditions tool is a classroom kit of VR devices and technologies allowing learners to “visit” various and engage in experiences that they would not have access to in a traditional classroom environment. The RobotLAB experiences include embedded Encyclopedia Brittanica content to help answer questions that may arise while students explore these experiences. The RobotLAB system is meant to extend the features of a previously popular educational VR platform, Google Expeditions. The premise of RobotLAB VR is to create engaging and immersive experiences for students to learn about culturally rich destinations paired with the Encyclopedia Brittanica information to build knowledge and meaning for these “trips”. This creates a well-rounded learning experience that promotes deeper cognitions about the world around us, from right within the classroom.

This technology could be super helpful in history, geography, or culture classes, as well as world language classes. In my high school Spanish classes, we would frequently use Google Earth to “explore” culturally rich places in Spanish-speaking regions. However, I always found myself wanting to know exactly what each piece of scenery meant to the overall culture of that location. With the Encyclopedia Brittanica extensions of RobotLAB, students are encouraged to seek answers to any question that may arise throughout their experience, promoting exploration that can be especially helpful in World Studies classes. Additionally, RobotLAB VR could even be beneficial in English, art, or music classes to explore where a writer or artist lived and dive further into how their geographic region may have impacted their creative process and life experiences. With many applications like these, RobotLAB VR technologies can be impactful in so many aspects of a student’s education.

When a student engages in culturally rich experiences like what this VR system can provide, they learn to question themselves and the world around them in a productive manner. Once a student’s mind gets used to these types of cognitions in one context (such as when they are using this technology), their mind will crave these immersive and cultural bits of knowledge in many other aspects of their lives. This creates a love of learning both in and out of the classroom, which can be amazing to help shape young minds into passionate and lifelong learners. Teachers could also benefit from using VR tools such as these in order to teach lessons about places that they were previously unfamiliar with in greater detail. This knowledge for teachers would be reflected in their lessons, and in turn, impacts their students’ learning experiences. The only downside to the RobotLAB system is that it can be quite expensive. However, if a school district bought just a few of these systems, they could share them among teachers at different times to ensure that a large number of students can experience it, making it a more valuable tool for the amount of money spent.