𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑻𝒐 𝑰𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆 – 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚
We imagine change. We imagine the new, which comes with the future, and makes everything better. We imagine a better world, a world which can only dawn from creating an education that dares to imagine. An education that is not only creative and innovative, inclusive, and accessible by all, but also adaptable to all the challenges that arise. An education which shall develop the citizens of the future, forged by respect, co-existence, and innovation. We imagine. And after we imagine, we do something about it.
It is not a secret anymore, if it ever was, that education was hit hard during the Covid period, especially the first 2 years of the social and sanitary chaos. Schools and Universities were shut down, in fear of spreading the brand new virus, leaving educators and students alike, adrift into the vortex of the new reality. What came to be even more worrying probably, was the realization that, Covid was just the latter of the problems that are gnawing the foundations of Education worldwide.
The Era Of The Digital
Technology has invaded our lives, in numerous ways, positive and negative. However, it seems that this new world was basically meddling in entertainment, communications, and business matters, barely touching the microcosm of educational practices. Methodologies that have been overused, practices that seem aged and tired as hell, as if we could hear them asking to retire at last, if they had a human voice. It all became clearer as soon as Covid decided to show up, but it certainly did not begin there.
Education had not yet begun to embrace the digital arsenal, and shine in its full potential. Of course, many are the digital tools that have now been applied in education, such as learning platforms, online libraries and registers, as well as online courses of any kind, without really reinventing the wheel though.
What was, and is, needed, are new ways and paths, methods and practices, educational approaches, that shall change the way knowledge is given, fire up the students’ interest for learning, act as innovations for education to evolve. And for all things good in life, the need was answered.
Is It Just Fantasy? Virtual Reality In Adult Education
Yes, yes, yes. That is right. Education, along with knowledge, is the natural habitat of an explorer, the one that looks to grow through learning about the world. For younger explorers, that would be school, for the bit older ones, it is adult education. Of course, it is the world as a whole, that makes us who we are, our experiences, our very existence in everyday situations. Educational environments however are the space where people form their character, socialize, and set goals.
Creative Teaching – Virtual Reality is pretty much self – explanatory. It introduces the technology of Virtual Reality into the educational practices of adult education, thus revolutionizing the entire process. The old ways are certainly tested in time, but it feels that, in today’s world, they often bring the opposite result. Not to be thrown out of the window, certainly not all, but to be combined and blended with the new ones.
Virtual Reality offers endless possibilities. Imagine History students, sitting in their classroom but at the same time wandering among the greatest museums in the world, examining the exhibits, learning about the world; just by wearing the goggles. Medicine students performing a surgery testing all the possible alternatives, applying all their knowledge on an exact representation, lacking however the dangers and risks of a real-life surgery. A mechanic repairing an engine, an Archeology student exploring the chambers of the pyramids, or future Biologists examining new species from a different perspective. The possibilities are endless, as the technology of Virtual Reality can be applied on any subject, and take the user anywhere, anytime.
The wonderful things that come with CT : VR, do not begin and end with innovation, as innovation is not an end in itself. It is not about introducing something new for the sake of doing it, but for it to assist in the evolution and progress, by solving problems, inequalities, issues that keep education in our case, tied. Virtual Reality and its ways, offer the chance to remote educational centers to digitally travel in other places and times. It is an inclusive practice, as students socially or economically disadvantaged, now have access to knowledge and experiences, that would otherwise be impossible to approach. All the above, just by developing the respective software, and using the goggles.
Where Do We Go Know?
The last few years are probably the years of change. Massive changes take place worldwide, some colorful, others darker than black. It is apparent that the new is fighting to be born, tearing through the old. And if we consider younger generations to be the future of this world, and a healthy, inclusive, innovative, and accessible by all education, to be their provisions provider, then we see and understand, why investing in education is vital for the world of tomorrow.
