Research

This week’s post focuses on virtual reality, how it is experienced and used today, and how it might be used in the future. Most people are familiar with virtual reality with respect to gaming and entertainment. However, virtual reality has great potential for use in education, training, and healthcare, and could change the way in which education and training are delivered in the not so distant future.

Virtual reality allows users to experience and interact in computer-generated environments. The experience may be purely visual in nature, or more robust, giving the user a richer experience, including sound and sensation. The experience may be lifelike, or pure fantasy.

In Second Life: an overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education, Boulos, Hetherington, and Wheeler (2007) discuss how Second Life is being applied in medical and health education. Second Life is one of the most popular and recognized virtual reality games available today. Second Life users create avatars, travel to user created destinations, interact with other avatars, and contribute to a unique economy. Second Life also hosts a number of medical and health education projects including Healthinfo Island which houses a library and a breast cancer research center. There are other environments in Second Life that enable the user to experience what symptoms of certain diseases or disorders might be like. Out of curiosity, I visited Second Life to view and experience some of these locations for myself. I witnessed the audio and visual hallucinations that a person with schizophrenia might experience after my avatar donned a schizophrenia badge in Second Life. It was an unsettling experience, to say the least.

Virtual reality is becoming popular with the growth of distance learning, providing an environment for collaboration and encouraging reflection. Boulos et al (2007) point out that the way that avatars move and interact in virtual environments makes learning more synchronous and rapid. Virtual learning environments create a safe place to practice new skills without the risk of harm or injury to others.

Although virtual reality may have had its roots in gaming, its reach is no longer limited to a gaming experience. The United States military has a long history of using simulations for training. The Army uses virtual reality to train soldiers. The adoption of virtual reality allows for training session to be repeated and replicated as needed, with minimal expense of time or money.

Papp (2010), in Virtual worlds and social networking: reaching the millennials, suggests that the adoption of virtual reality and social networking in the classroom creates a collaborative and diverse learning environment. An entire generation of individuals, the millennials, often called digital natives, grew up with technology. These adults are comfortable with technology, consider it a normal and expected part of their lives, and are most likely to be early adopters. They readily incorporate social networking and virtual reality games in their daily lives. The growth of virtual reality and social networking in the future may well rest on this generation.

Responding to demands for greater accessibility and to gain an edge on the competition, both businesses and educational institutions are embracing the use of virtual environments like Second Life. Business organizations use Second Life to hold virtual meetings, conferences, and job interviews. Papp (2010) notes that IBM saved over a quarter million dollars in travel and location expenses by holding a virtual meeting in Second Life. Colleges and universities use Second Life in a variety of ways. Educational institutions may offer virtual campus tours, college fairs, and advising. Other institutions have virtual classrooms on Second Life. Still others have educational kiosks, host guest lecturers or conduct seminars and workshops.

Nursing is a specialized field where virtual reality can be effectively adopted as an educational strategy. Kilmon, Brown, Ghosh, and Mikitiuk (2010), discuss Immersive Virtual Reality Simulations in Nursing Education as a potential educational strategy for nursing student practice. Simulation based training is commonly use in highly technical, dynamic, and high-risk scenarios. The military as well as the aerospace and nuclear power industries use it. Kilmon et al (2010) cite experiential learning theory and deliberative practice to support their support of the use of virtual reality in nursing education. Learners use experimentation and reflection to internalize what they have learned. Such experimentation, which can be so important to learning in that it shows the learner the results of in incorrect response, is unacceptable in a clinical setting where the lives of patients are affected. Learners become more proficient as they deliberately practice skills to achieve desired outcomes. Repeating demonstration of skills with combined with accurate assessment and feedback help learners to improve their skills.

Virtual reality simulations can help prepare individuals for crisis situations such as disaster response, mass injury triage, bomb threats and other such highly charged and dangerous scenarios. Simulations make these scenarios seems real. Performance can be easily monitored and recorded, making it useful for learner assessment. This technology, supplemental to traditional clinical instruction, will help nurses learn the skills they need to perform in clinical settings.

The articles collectively consider thoughtful approaches to the use of virtual reality in education. The technology can be expensive to implement. Collaborative teams comprised of technology professionals along with educators and content experts should work together to develop meaningful educational programs. Scenarios must be realistic and interactions and responses must be authentic. Standards of technology must be established so that quality education is maintained, and best practices need to be identified. Applications should be developed and supported so that this technology can be more widely utilized. The authors all agree that more research is needed in this field, especially in its application in medical and health education.

Virtual reality can provide students with synchronous, realistic, educational learning experiences. The experiences are immersive and engaging. Medicine, health, mathematics and science are just some fields where virtual technology is utilized. Members of the military, surgical residents, and firefighters train using this technology. Its use will grow as research demonstrates its effectiveness in education and training.

References

Boulos, M. N. K., Hetherington, L.,  & Wheeler, S. (2007). Second Life: an overview of the potential  of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 24(4), 233-245. doi 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2007.000733.x

Kilmon, Carol A., Brown, Leonard, Ghosh, Sumit, and Mikituik, Artur. (2010). Immersive Virtual Reality Simulations in Nursing Education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(5), 314-317.

Papp, Raymond (2010). Virtual worlds and social networking: reaching the millennials. Journal of Technology Research, 2, 1-15.

Theory

Multiple Intelligences Theory

What is intelligence? Is it the ability to understand and use language? Is it demonstrated by skill in mathematics and logic? Intelligence is not a single entity. Multiple Intelligences Theory challenges the traditional definition of intelligence and how it is measured.

The theory of Multiple Intelligences, proposed and defined by Howard Gardner in 1983, suggests that every individual possesses a number of distinct forms of intelligence, and to varying degrees. Gardner is a psychologist and professor of neuroscience at Harvard. His theory was influenced by his early work with gifted and autistic children and with brain injured adults.

The theory defines intelligence in broader ways than intelligence is traditionally measured and defined. It recognizes the impact of culture on intelligences, acknowledging that some cultures value some forms of intelligence more strongly than others. Intelligences change with an individual’s maturity, experience, and education, so they can be learned. Teaching and assessment can be attuned to learners’ strengths. Instructional techniques can focus on learning preferences. Gardner argues that individuals learn best when specific intelligences are activated.

Gardner defined eight primary forms of intelligence: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, body-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and naturalistic.

Linguistic intelligence is demonstrated through speaking, writing, reading and listening. Teachers can foster linguistic intelligence by tasking students to journal or write short stories, and then post the writings to a blog or wiki. Students can use electronic dictionaries and encyclopedias, or story creation software. Teachers can use applications like iBooks to create their own books, including pictures, video, and other interactive features, and then share these books with their students.

Musical learners learn best through sounds, rhythms and patterns. Lessons can include writing a song or composing music and presenting it to the class. Students can explore music sharing sites and music generation software. Interactive books with audio elements can foster learning for musical learners. Assignment might include exploring music connected to history or geography lessons.

Logical-mathematical learners are good with numbers, reasoning, and problem solving. These learners can collect, organize and measure data, and conduct experiments and research projects.

Spatial learners learn visually and organize thinking spatially. Lessons incorporating photographs, charts, graphs, diagrams and tables are suited to these learners. Students could create slideshows, three-dimensional projects, or explore and design maps.

Body-Kinesthetic learners learn best through physical activity. Hands on tasks work well with these learners. They learn by moving around and being actively involved. Educators can use dance, plays, skits, and role-playing. Classroom activities, like moving around the room to various stations, or going on field trips, even virtual ones, help these learners learn.

Intrapersonal learners are aware of their own feelings and motivation. They can focus their concentration and set and meet goals, and they are good at working independently.

Interpersonal learners learn best interacting with others. Discussions, collaborative work, and social activities help these learners. They are aware of and sensitive to the feelings and motivation of others. These learners are good at peer group activities. The Flat Stanley Project is one that would benefit these learners.

Naturalistic learners learn through interacting with the environment. Outdoor activities, interactions with plants and animals, help these learners. They see patterns in nature and the world, and adapt to them. Activities for these learners might include field trips, recording the environment using digital cameras, and observing and journaling about these experiences.

Learn more about how educators are promoting Multiple Intelligence Theory in the classroom with multimedia.

Multipleintelligencesandmultimedia from Liz Wernig

Watch this video about the eNota Multiple Intelligences Academy in Gainesville, Georgia. The school’s curriculum is based on Multiple Intelligences Theory. Gardner himself talks about how his theory may be applied in the classroom.



Multiple Intelligence Theory is prompting educators to assess and teach students in ways customized to their intelligences and learning styles. Schools adapting their curriculum to this theory have created culturally and individually sensitive and student-centric learning environments.

References

Cherry, K. (n.d.) Howard Gardner Biography. About.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013 from http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesal/p/howard-gardner.htm

Gilman, L. (2001) The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Human Intelligence. Retrieved March 16, 2013 from http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/mitheory.shtml

Educational Broadcasting Corporation (2004). Concept to Classroom: Tapping into Multiple Intelligences. Thirteen Ed Online. Retrieved March 16, 2013 from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/mi/index.html

Johnson, L., and Lamb, A. (2007). Technology and Multiple Intelligences. Eduscapes. Retrieved March 16, 2013 from http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic68.htm