2016 is the year that educational technologies are predicting that Virtual Reality has the potential to be the next major ed tech innovation.

So far the signals are good with Oculus Rift, due to be released on March 28, showing pre orders are higher than expected. Its rival, the HTC Vive, sold more than 15,000 units in 10 minutes when it went on sale last week. These headsets are not cheap, HTC costs £425 and an Oculus is £560 and yet sales are healthy. The real question though is whether Virtual Reality offers a credible alternative as breakthrough educational technology platform.

Firstly the quality of technology is now ready. VR has entertained huge expectation since the 90’s early adoption in gaming industry but the mainstream adoption has disappointed. Today computers are now powerful enough to render realistic virtual worlds and, combining this with smart phones improvements to displays and sensors, make VR a much more powerful and compelling experience. Upgrades in technology across the board have made VR more conducive to adoption this time round.

Costs alternatives. At the low cost end, dominated by Google Glasses, costs are minimal making it easier to implement encouraging adoption. It is also likely that new range of headsets dominated by Oculous, HDC and Sony will fall in price further overcoming the hurdle of price. Ease of use and application in the classrooms. Teachers can use VR for students to interact with objects in a 3D environment. For examples students can learn about the solar system or the fish in the Great Barrier Reef by interacting with those in virtual worlds. Google is responding to this obvious need by offering cardboard for schools for free and has already developed over 100 virtual fields trips as shown here. In high education, VR is now being tested for doctors who are learning new advanced skills.

360 Content creation is becoming easier to create. Fully immersive learning experience is already showing a clear cost benefit for highly skilled students like surgeons or pilots. Immersive Education’s ground breaking VR content for Air France, Gold winners at the 2016 learning Technology Awards, proved the dramatic cost benefits of VR to Air France for their language courses. In conclusion, Virtual Reality has the potential to be a standard tool in education and could revolutionise the way students are taught. There are challenges ahead, notably the cost of content creation but it is likely that as cost falls then adoption will accelerate.

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