November 16, 2021 | Suzanne Schriar: Guest Blogger, Associate Director, Library Automation & Technology PI, Targeting Autism, IMLS Grant Project, Illinois State Library
For over three decades, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have been ubiquitous in the world of gaming. Increasingly, these technologies have become more widely applied in educational settings. The following information provides an explanation of AR and VR, their use in schools, libraries, as well as their value for teaching empathy and potential applications within Project ENABLE.
Simply put, AR merges real elements of the physical world with virtual computer generated images, enabling users to interact with virtual objects in a real-world environment. In other words, AR is presented as an overlaying of the virtual over the physical environment. VR, as an extension of AR, simulates a 3D immersive sensory experience that engages the user as if the imaginary world was real. This direct and visceral experience is achieved through the use of VR headsets, which block out any visual input that is not artificially generated. In essence, AR supplements reality, while VR immerses the user in an artificial reality.
By enhancing or simulating a natural experience, both AR and VR technologies have been successfully employed as teaching tools that improve learner attention and motivation. Examples abound that demonstrate how traditional models of education are being replaced by these more robust and engaging methods. Today, VR and AR are experiencing widespread use in educational settings, allowing students to explore a wide range of academic subjects in a context that is both interactive and visually rich and enticing .
A recent article in Forbes highlights selected examples of how educators and researchers are using AR and VR to help students learn and connect with subject content both in and outside the classroom. One example of an AR application is Google Play’s SkyView. By using AR overlays of the night sky, users can point their device to identify stars, constellations, planets and satellites. Another example includes the 2018 production of the 1943 Berlin Blitz in VR. Produced for the BBC by an Irish studio, Immersive VR Education, real-life footage from a nighttime raid of Nazi Germany is used to help students understand what it was like to live through one of the most terrifying events in our history.
An exciting immersive application for learning foreign languages comes from a Romanian company, Mondly. With VR headsets, users enter Mondly’s simulated worlds to take part in real conversations with people, making language learning easier and likely to endure.
LifeLiqe, a San Francisco based company founded in 2015, developed the world’s first digital K-12 science curriculum using AR and VR technology, enhanced with 3D models and aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core. Using a combination of interactive 3D, AR, VR, microscopic zooms and holograms, LifeLiqe has amassed an enormous body of resources for teaching students about subjects such as human, animal and plant biology; chemistry; physics; geology; geometry, astronomy and culture. These resources have been used in school and academic libraries to more fully engage and supplement classroom course content.
Immersive technologies have also achieved success in helping to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. According to demographic research from Cornell University, as of 2018 in the United States alone, over 40 million Americans reported as living with at least one disability. Ranging from hearing or visual limitations to cognitive, self-care, or independent living challenges, VR offers new possibilities for socialization, adventure and experiences unavailable to many in the physical world.
Increasingly, companies are employing AR and VR devices and virtual elements as assistive technologies for people with disabilities. Many visually impaired users report their ability to see more things than they are able without VR. Microsoft, in its mission to make VR accessible to everyone has developed numerous tools to grapple with issues of visual impairment. Some examples include magnification; bifocal, contract and brightness lenses; text augmentation, text to speech and depth enhancement. In addition, Microsoft recently patented a braille displaying controller to enable blind people to work with many VR applications.
There are many examples of how VR impacts people who struggle with communication, social engagement or are burdened by sensory overload. One example shows the action taken by the Danvers Public Schools in Massachusetts when autistic students expressed their anxiety around visiting new environments with unfamiliar sensory experiences. School district staff created virtual tours, using a 360-degree camera that were viewable with virtual headsets. The lives of these students began to transform through their ability to explore new surroundings in a low stress simulation of the real environment (Castelo, 2020).
Computer applications like Floreo use virtual reality to teach social, communication, behavioral and life skills to individuals on the autism spectrum and others that need assistance in developing these skills. Users have an opportunity to rehearse social interactions and go through otherwise, anxiety-inducing situations in a safe controlled space. The self-confidence gained through immersive practice provides great preparation for success in college, work and ultimately, independent living.
Today, the increasingly diverse populations within our communities demand a greater understanding of people whose daily lives and challenges are different from our own. Some of these differences include cultural, religious, ethnic, language, nationality, sexual orientation, class, gender, age, disability and health related differences. As such, the need for developing our capacity for empathy is crucial for creating a healthy and inclusive society. VR has had success in the area of empathy training by building avatars, whereby users can transcend their first-person viewpoint and inhabit the mindset of different avatars. This immersive role play enables users to fully focus on and experience the stories of other individuals (Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2018).
Over the past year, Project ENABLE has been exploring the potential of VR applications to help libraries better serve their patron populations who live with one or more disabilities. The numerous technology applications throughout this article show immersive VR to be an effective training tool that can be applied throughout a variety of fields and educational settings. However, the use of VR applications in training library staff is minimal.
Since 2010, the Project ENABLE team has been committed to educating librarians to better serve individuals with all types of disabilities. Open access to comprehensive online training modules and access to extensive resources and video scenarios have been largely responsible for widespread reach and success of Project ENABLE over the past decade. As immersive technology evolves, the scope of Project ENABLE will include researching the viability of immersive technology to train librarians to be more empathetic to patrons with various disabilities, both physical and invisible. VR technology shows tremendous promise in providing a safe environment for library workers to practice and improve the quality of interactions with patrons who exhibit unfamiliar or unusual behaviors, thus alleviating the discomfort and avoidance of relating to neurodiverse people. Ultimately, this exciting new trajectory for Project ENABLE will make inroads to ensuring the future of libraries as institutional icons of inclusivity and community.
