{"id":288,"date":"2019-04-14T18:26:30","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T01:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0051\/?p=288"},"modified":"2019-04-14T18:26:30","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T01:26:30","slug":"virtual-reality-vr-and-augmented-reality-ar-in-the-development-of-soft-skills-team-anonymous-dumbo-octopus-ask-about-the-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0051\/virtual-reality-vr-and-augmented-reality-ar-in-the-development-of-soft-skills-team-anonymous-dumbo-octopus-ask-about-the-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in the development of soft skills – Team Anonymous Dumbo Octopus (ask about the name)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our team, Alastair, Anita, Christy, and Jeff, will be focusing on the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in the development of soft skills. These educational technologies greatly impact each of our respective fields and each of us has performed our own research into how VR and AR affect the future. We are intrigued by how VR and AR evoke strong emotional responses through immersive experiences. The course that we will relate this to is MGMT1103 – Introduction to Project Teams and Technical Communications. The purpose of this course is to increase the ability of technology-based students to use soft skills and communicate both with other technological and non-technological peers. We will be exploring the value of implementing VR and AR to help facilitate immersive, empathetic, and effective learning. <\/span><\/p>\n

To facilitate the initial discovery into these delivery methods each member has partaken in individual exploration with the intention to help further the knowledge of the group. This has allowed a wider range of knowledge based on each individual and that has helped to shape this initial post.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christy: <\/strong><\/p>\n

I chose to read several journal articles and blog posts regarding the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in education and training. I am interested in the immersive power of VR and its ability to evoke strong emotional reactions in training situations. One article by Shin (2018) explored the way VR uses immersive storytelling and tested a VR experience framework for integrating \u201cpresence, flow, empathy, and embodiment\u201d (p. 64). Shin (2018) supported that VR can allow complex stories to be conveyed through complex interactions. The immersion in the experience blurs a line between reality and imagination, allowing a stronger engagement with, and reaction to, the story. Shin (2018) supported that the reaction is very emotional and incites empathy, which \u201cappears to be the most important factor in VR\u201d (p. 66).<\/span><\/p>\n

One <\/span>blog post<\/span><\/a> (Relias Learning, 2017) led me to a free 5-minute VR experience designed to allow an understanding of a day in the life of a patient with dementia. I found this to be a good example of a tool constructed out of a social need for a marginalized group of individuals. The video was effective and demonstrated how technology is actually being used in a real-world setting to empower a certain population. Selwyn (2010) would support this training as an examination of how digital technologies are being socially-shaped and used in real-world settings. Perhaps it is necessary to examine how the evolution of healthcare has resulted in a need for a technology to support compassion and empathy in that context.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As soft skills are becoming more important to industry it\u2019s also becoming more important in education. There are issues with teaching these skills in allowing learners to connect and understand the different perspectives that come along with teaching soft skills. This has been an area where technology such as Virtual Reality (VR) is able to supplement.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Gen Apps (2019) describes the VR learning experience in three ways. The first being 360 videos which provide an immersive experience to allow learners to see and be in the situation first hand. This allows for a deeper understanding of situations that may be difficult or impossible to recreate. The second being passive VR where there is little or no interaction between the learner and the experience. This works well for conferences or delivering a lecture. The final type is the interactive VR. This is where the learner can interact and manipulate the whole environment to feel fully immersed in the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bonasio (2017) describes the interactive VR as the best way for a learner to develop soft skills such as empathy and understanding. This allows the user to be placed in a wide range of situations that include a large number of different cultures, ethnicities, genders etc. While the passive VR allows for the development of soft skills it\u2019s not as immersive which makes things less impactful. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alastair:<\/strong><\/p>\n

When students achieve the flow state as described by Csikszentmihalyi (1975) they reach a point of optimal experience, where the students are so engrossed with the current activity that no distraction can interfere with the student\u2019s learning (Kiili, 2005). \u00a0Learning immersion is an effective method to achieve immersion which can increase the likelihood of the flow state (Fernandez, 2017). However, an institution cannot simply recreate a classroom setting in virtual or augmented reality and expect students to approach or achieve flow state. Researchers are working on models and frameworks to determine how to properly utilize AR and VR technology to enhance immersion and limit distractions from learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Georgiou and Kyza (2017), studied grade 11 students using augmented reality to facilitate an environmental science problem-solving activity at a lake. There were two cohorts of students and two iterations of the AR app used. The first cohort went through the activity and provided self-measurement on immersion\/understanding, answered questions based on the learnings, and provided feedback on the AR application. Georgiou and Kyza then implemented changes to the AR application based on the feedback and provided the second iteration to the second cohort of students. As a result, students found a better understanding of the materials, unrelated side-conversations decreased, and the students all scored 100% on the questions, whereas the first cohort only 1 out of 9 teams answered all the questions correctly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Georgiou and Kyza (2017) discovered 21 factors of immersion and themed them into four categories: interface, content, locality, and context (p. 6).<\/span><\/p>\n

This information follows closely what was concluded by Sanabria and Ar\u00e1mburo-Liz\u00e1rraga, (2017). Using Gradual Immersion Methodology (GIM) Sanabria and Ar\u00e1mburo-Liz\u00e1rraga found the three module framework of familiarization, digital creation and exhibition betters supports student learning using AR technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anita:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Virtual Reality (VR) and its use in education sparked explorations of inquiry into the effects of VR on the development and education of young children. This lead to the discovery of the article by Bailey and Bailenson (2017) who describe the use of VR as a physical rehabilitation tool for children who may experience increased motivation to use their bodies, modeling their virtual avatar\u2019s ease of movement (p. 108). The authors make a distinction between VR and a virtual doppelganger, explaining that a doppelganger is an immersive experience, able to produce a digital representation of movement and behaviour in real time, influencing \u201creal world behaviour [such as] exercise and eating habits\u201d (p. 108 \u2013 109) in children. This immersive experience of VR allows children to practice social skills in a safe environment, making it the perfect tool for children on the autism spectrum, and also supports the practice of behaviour in complex social situations, such as bullying (p. 108). This article initiated the investigation into the use of VR with children with support needs and the article by Padgett, Strickland and Coles (2006) introduces a case study on \u201cUsing a Virtual Reality Computer Game to Teach Fire Safety Skills to Children Diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome\u201d. In the article Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, now known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disease (FASD), is described as causing preschool age children difficulties in self-regulation, cognitive functions, response to dangerous situations and \u201cdifficulty in generalization from one learning setting to another\u201d (p. 65). The study focused on a group of five children with FASD, aged four to seven years of age, who participated in fire safety training using VR (p. 66). The results were astounding, as all children passed the training with 100% accuracy, and after one week four of the five children successfully implemented all safety rules in the real world (p. 68). It was intriguing to read that the VR game had been used earlier with a group of children on the autism spectrum and the game was adjusted to suit the needs of the children with FASD with the inclusion of specific cues that would support optimal learning for this group of children (p. 67). It will be exciting to continue research into the use of VR with children and its effect on their learning and development.<\/span><\/p>\n

After engaging in our individual research, we have the following questions.<\/span><\/p>\n