Professional Documents
Culture Documents
OLIVIA A. M. FREEMAN
Introduction
In 1929 the first virtual reality system was made
to deliver flight simulations used in pilot training.
The advent of video cameras, mounted on the simulator, allowed pilots to see the ground move and
turn accordingly in real-time.
Military applications promoted virtual reality to the individual use
in a shared environment.
Microcomputers brought
the speed needed to recreate images from huge
mainframe computers to the desktop. Head mounted displays added the personal sensors needed to
create a sense of being there and a new industry
was born.
There are many things that make up virtual reality. This paper will discuss the components that
will allow its use in the classroom and provide
guidelines and recommendations for the academic
and home setting.
Teachers have had more and more piled on their
teaching day with nothing helping to add to the
knowledge base fast enough for the student to
make room for it. Virtual reality can put a user
in the scenario, such as piloting a boat. At the
bottom of the screen are the mathematical formulae of acceleration and vectors. The student navigates the boat across the river through a current.
The trajectory must be calculated to compensate
for the current. The user can change the speed of
the boat and watch the formulae change accordingly. As the learner experiences the changes,
learning takes place on many levels, several times
faster than hours or even days of lecturing does
because as the teacher talks, the learner does not
have the point of reference yet, not until his level
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several themes that expose the curriculum to students systematically. An interdisciplinary approach
to teaching has proven to give the student a better
understanding of the situation, the participants,
the vocabulary and relationships thereof. An enhancement of that idea is to include the shared
experience where small groups of students uncover thoughts and ideas about the material for themselves. This leads to a much richer understanding
(Walmsley, 1994).
Many modern classrooms are broken up into
centers, each one with its own theme. Each can
be thought of as its own neighborhood with unique
dimensions (Walmsley, 1994).
Virtual reality is
the medium that could transform a classroom into
any environment appropriate to the task, due to
its very nature of created world architecture. Exploration and uncovering in the virtual environment
is not limited to the realm of the possible. The best
part of education is learning from mistakes. In the
virtual environment, mistakes are not harmful and
experiences can be repeated.
Teachers must appreciate the fact that virtual
environments teach content and processes in the
same theme. While the current flight simulation
technology used with professional airline pilots does
not teach one to fly, it is used to ensure the integration of new sequences, thus new patterns and
situations are understood.
In this manner, educators could place the virtual reality simulations
either in the beginning of the lecture to build on
current vocabulary skills, with sequential data to
understand dynamic functions and relational information to take back to the classroom where the
teacher could begin to manipulate what was learned
in the virtual environment. Conversely, the teacher may wish to lecture first, then offer the virtual
environment to take the student where it may not
be possible to go. One system, designed by a group
of researchers at Georgia Tech University, lets students learn about the gorilla habitat first in class,
then enter the virtual world as an adolescent gorilla.
It is important to remember that this technology was first designed for instruction and should be
used as a tool to the educator not to dictate content to the educator.
FALL 1997
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basic attributes
examples and non-examples
relational identities
classification theory
definition
summation
This idea is intended to give direction and stability to students learning how to think. With these
skills they can examine their world. The inquiry
process can also be enhanced when ideas can be
layered upon until they reach the ability to formulate a model. Lester delineates the process as:
formulate model
experiment
formulate questions & hypotheses
make operational definitions
interpret data
communicate
measure
predict
infer
classify
observe
This model is taught from the bottom up. Observation is the first thing the student does, then
he classifies the observations into groups, etc. (Lester, 20). The game industry has integrated all these
attributes and students learn what is required to
win the game and live to fight another day.
FALL 1997
The hardware that makes virtual reality possible is extremely complicated in that many configurations are possible, just as with a desktop configuration. It depends on how many users are in the
simulation, if the signal goes from the computer
straight to the user, or if it be sent over a network.
Additionally, signals can be transmitted over the
Internet which require special adaptations and signals can even be microwaved such as with television signals.
The typical classroom configuration should consist of a platform fitted with multiprocessors, one
for each user. Each processor has its own video
and sound card attached to mathematically generate the images. The systems for home use can
be as simple as a family personal computer or as
elaborate as a computer to perform high-speed calculations such as a computer aided design system.
The configuration is the same: one processor, video and sound card.
The microprocessors are linked together with
intricate lattices of parallel port connections. In
some cases, each user is running his own piece of
software to offer him a personal experience in the
virtual environment. In other cases, the software
is running on the network and users are linked to
the network, each getting his view of the environment with other people in it with him.
High end computer hardware systems run at very
fast speeds and process millions of calculations per
second and are at the upper end of the spectrum
of $100,000 or more each. Mid-range systems are
currently extremely fast personal computer configurations which create enough high quality images to be suitable for education purposes at under $10,000 each. Low end systems are generally
house quality systems and can be bought for under $2000 each. The quality of these systems is
not much lower than that of mid-range systems
due to the speeds that most desktop units run at
and the mass storage capacities of the compact disc
which is standard in these units.
The software is specific to the platform in the
simulation just as it is on the type of desktop one
chooses to run. The question of which one should
be considered is decided by what outcomes are expected.
For general academic purposes the software should be considered after the hardware is
decided due to the need to link with the network to
create a system that is, perhaps, a stand alone one.
There may be considerations that require transmission of a signal which would change the basic
configuration of the hardware. Once that has been
established, the software that runs on that system
can be sought. Software currently takes 200 hours
to prepare one 20 minute segment. Each segment
consists of walls, floor, ceilings, tables, and light-
Goal
Pre test
Instructions
Remediate
Post test
Finish
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Classroom Configuration
Chemistry
Biology
Physics
Math
History
Users
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Recommendations
The first item to remember in building a system
of this nature is that each configuration will be different due to the needs of the education staff being different. The variables in these systems are
the number of processor/headset systems needed,
the amount of software development required, and
the level of sophistication necessary to deliver the
quality of virtual environment desired.
The first components researched were the head
mounted displays. There is quite a shakedown of
this manufacturing segment at the moment. Many
have gone out of business this year alone. Virtual
Reality Incorporated is committed to providing
wholesale to the education market. The product
line is mid-range and more than adequate for home
or classroom use. The price is less than $800 each
and systems are extremely durable.
Forte Technologies has a headset that is comparable at the
same price. They are entering the education market with a new product that is less bulky than the
conventional headset which allows the choice of
immersion or not.
The hardware needed to run school systems is
extremely complex and needs to be developed
school by school to ensure the needs of that facility are met. Software, on the other hand, may be
created almost generically as is done with textbooks. In fact, it is an extremely good idea to make
as many recyclable parts of the curriculum to cut
down creation times. Software houses use this
technique and Sonalyst is excellent at doing so.
When designing software, in accordance with the
wishes of the educator, it may be desirable to build
in an editor that allows student to create their own
documentaries to be the repository of what they
have learned (Aimtech, 1997).
In general Qubix has an excellent system and
is sold per unit as well as in bulk and they offer
significant discounts to educators.
A typical Qubix system is currently under $85,000 each for
over 30 users.
Educators have very special needs and are the
providers of the tax payers of tomorrow and deserve the very best virtual reality systems offered.
As such, the systems that are designed must be:
a) in line with legacy systems of today and b) must
be so far reaching as not to be obsolete by the time
they arrive at the school and the boxes are opened.
FALL 1997
Conclusion
I knew 30 years ago that children would benefit
tremendously from flight simulator technology. It
was too big, too expensive, and not even virtual
reality then. I watched the literature, the demonstrations, the expositions. I enticed developers to
go ahead and dream big so school teachers could
one day reap the benefits of this technology that
could put the student anywhere in time and space,
to explore, uncover and document. The virtual reality delivery system was designed for teachers to
use as their tool. This instructional aid will deliver
material consistently, with real-time interaction, to
provide students the opportunity to master vocabulary, and relational and sequential information using the paradigm teachers are most comfortable
with. When the student emerges from the simulation, he or she will have the appropriate points of
reference to discuss the topic as though he was
there because he had a synthetic experience of
being there. The technique of learning using this
synthetic experience may be 40 years old but only
now has technology been able to bring it to the
classroom, not in the near future, but today.
When building a system it is important to get a
design of what outcomes are desired by the educator as well as what is engaging for the user.
Enlist the talents of a development consultant and
programmer to complete the team and create that
virtual reality environment, complete with pretests,
instruction, post-tests, and remediation. Each simulation should be a journey, rich with experience,
just as life is with decisions and consequences.
The virtual reality delivery system is made of
many items that are highly integrated. Software is
by far the most complicated part due to the depth
of information needed to create the simulation.
After the hardware needs have been established,
software development can be accomplished.
The
decision as to what head mounted display to use
varies by what the teacher designed in the software with respect to resolution needs. These are
simply several devices to deliver those parameters.
The system then becomes an integrated unit, created by teachers for teachers.
National Curriculum Standards are coming
(Elmore, 1994). My vision for the future is that
virtual reality systems can fulfill the promise of
delivering these standards in a manner that is consistent with the highest levels of proficiency. Currently virtual reality is instructing airline pilots in
very similar situations where they must learn every permutation of every situation they may encounter, know what to do and have experiences in
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Works Cited
Aimtech, CBT Express, Nashua, NH: Aimtech Corporation, 1997.
Baker, Bruce (Personal Communication). Servos &
Simulations, Inc. Orlando, FL 1997.
Bestor, T. From Real-Time Globe. Wired Magazine, March 1996, 44.
Booth, Ed (Personal Communication), Independent
Consultant. Atlanta, GA, 1997.
Cardone, Martin (Personal Communication). Virtual Reality, Inc. New York, 1997.
Fabian,Gaddy, Wertime. The Fish Hatchery: A First
Grade Theme is Fish Hatchery, excerpt, Children
Exploring Their World: Theme Teaching in Elementary Schools. Portsmouth, NY:
Heinemann,
1994.
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Appendix
National Technology Transfer Center, (800) 678NTTC.
Suggested Reading
Burdea, Grigore & Coiffet, Phillippe, Virtual Reality Technology. Wiley-Interscience Pub. 1994.
Loeffler, Carl E. & Anderson, Tim, Editors, The Virtual Reality Casebook. Van Nostrand Reinhold,
1994.
Pimentel, Ken & Teixeira, Kevin. Virtual Reality:
Through the New Looking Glass, Second Edition.
Mc Graw-Hill, Inc, 1995
FALL 1997