Education Review, Australia: Cognizant’s Head of Digital Business in Asia Pacific Says Harnessing the Power of Virtual Reality will Help Reimagine Australian Education
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“Virtual reality (VR) is set to change the education landscape in Australia,” writes Dr. John Burgin. “VR can revolutionize education through immersive learning in both primary and higher education.” Excerpts:
“This immersion of experience and higher levels of engagement will supercharge what we teach today’s children. And we’re only just beginning to discover its potential.
VR eliminates the need for a person to be physically present in the environments that once depended on ‘hands-on’ expertise, meaning that new concepts can be introduced to the four walls of a classroom that were previously impossible. Teachers can now encompass the role of many different professionals as they open up new worlds to their students, including those of surgeons, astronauts, architects or historians.
VR is particularly suited to STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) because it helps students bring to life what their teacher is speaking about, be that other planets or parts of the human body. It makes a hitherto passive experience an active one, and assists students in understanding the more complex theories and subjects that STEM often encompasses.
But the technology goes even further beyond that. VR incentivizes students to take up not just STEM, but STEAM (A for Arts) subjects. To be more digital is to be more human, and this is never more evident than in VR, a technology that puts people first. VR allows people to experience anything and everything first-hand. It’s this democratization of experience that will allow people to cross borders, or virtually visit other planets, tapping into a deeply-held ideal that to learn from experience is the most effective way to learn.
This facilitation of better communication across the world will lead to a new enthusiasm for STEAM subjects, and ultimately provide a key means to address the skills gap that has long been a pain point in the Australian employment landscape.
VR programs such as the one at the University of Newcastle School of Nursing and Midwifery will continue to infiltrate schools and universities across Australia, as the hardware becomes more accessible, and as teachers become newly skilled and empowered to deploy the technology.
A re-imagination of Australian education is sure to occur if schools and universities harness the power of VR. Used effectively, it will become the new tipping point of achieving true innovation in the education sector, propelling Australian educational practices to a new global standard.”
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