Jaime Donally wants students to experience what it鈥檚 like to hold a beating heart in their hands and walk among the planets in the solar system鈥攚ithout leaving the classroom. As a former pre-K-8 math teacher turned technology-integration specialist, Donally spends her time thinking about how educators can practically use augmented, virtual, and mixed reality.
Immersive-reality technology is slowly creeping into the education world, whether as a tool for training new teachers or . Virtual reality is an interactive digital environment, while augmented reality projects digital images or text against a viewer鈥檚 real surroundings. Mixed reality is a combination of the two. The tools continue to get more life-like and more affordable.
Yet for all the hype, many educators and parents are wary of crossing realities, especially because there is little research so far about the technology鈥檚 effects. In 2017, with students, according to a survey of 38,000 teachers by the nonprofit Project Tomorrow. Parents are particularly worried about potential , especially for young students who have a harder time separating what鈥檚 real from what鈥檚 imagined. Others wonder how to make such technologies meaningful for student learning.
Donally, who is based in White Oak, Texas, left her district-level technology coordinator position in 2016 and will move into independent education consulting in June. She runs a weekly about AR/VR education. Her book , released last month, tackles the fears and hurdles of immersive-reality integration and aims to get teachers on board with implementing these new technologies.
Using AR/VR is not just about entertainment, Donally argues鈥攊t鈥檚 about (that virtual beating heart could go into a science discussion, for example), broadening students鈥� experiences through immersive , and helping them glean practical computer-science skills. The technology, she says, isn鈥檛 going away, so students should learn how to leverage it responsibly.
In a phone interview with 91制片厂视频 Week Teacher, Donally shared her advice for harnessing the technology that teachers already have at their fingertips.
Work with what you鈥檝e got.
鈥淢any of our classrooms already have the resources and devices that they need to get started. We have Chromebooks in the classroom, PCs, laptops, mobile devices, and there鈥檚 so much we can do with those devices. It鈥檚 just a matter of being informed. I don鈥檛 think we start with big purchases and these crazy developer tools. While those tools may be cool, they鈥檙e not classroom appropriate. Should there be classrooms that are developing and coding, then that makes sense to go for developer tools, but they鈥檙e not made for all of our classrooms.鈥�
Collaborate with school leaders to figure out learning goals.
鈥淲e need to scale back and look at our objectives in using this technology. Oftentimes, we start with the tools first and then backtrack to, 鈥極h, wait, what鈥檚 our goal here?鈥� We [should be] looking at standards, students鈥� expectations of their future, the future skills they鈥檒l need to have, and then how to set this up in a way that we鈥檒l have progress and success. Until we have teachers and principals and administrators sit down to have a collaboration, it鈥檚 always going to be a one-time thing. You also need to have a buy-in from [the school鈥檚 technology team] in making sure you have the bandwidth to handle what you want to accomplish.鈥�
Pick multi-platform tools that adapt for all ages.
鈥淟ook at tools that cover all subjects, all grade levels, and all skill levels. Something that鈥檚 multi-platform, so if you have iPads or Chromebooks, you can hit all of those things. is a very good starting point for classrooms. A kindergartner can do it up through a high schooler who鈥檚 coding and using [coding language such as] Blockly or JavaScript. Students can go in at all levels and create virtual reality, animation, characters, and you can invite people to join in your world. does a fantastic job making VR accessible for teachers.
On the AR side, there鈥檚 a mobile-based 鈥攊t鈥檚 like holding a hologram in your hand. It can become many different things based on the apps that you download. Students can also be the developers of the content, make apps, and see their products come to life in augmented reality. Getting our students to see the practicality of what they create digitally come to life is very relevant to their future.鈥�
Give students ownership.
鈥淲e need to look beyond experiences toward our creation tools for our students. Students are beginning to see a necessary skill of how they鈥檙e going to handle their digital world, and creating digital content is what we鈥檙e looking at. So digital content is no longer just a PowerPoint鈥攚e鈥檙e looking at things in 360. Creating 360 images can be done through Google Street View with any mobile device or tablet.
As students progress and learn these skills, they鈥檙e able to develop an understanding of how this can be applicable for their life and their world. Being the authors of their content鈥攖hat鈥檚 relevant and important because they created it. A lot of this seems scary because it seems complex, but there are simplified versions to get started. It鈥檚 really getting buy-in from your students and allowing them to take that learning and customize it for what fits to them.鈥�
Find the right balance.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 going to put a student on a VR for hours, yes, that鈥檚 not good, just like watching TV for hours is not good. I think once teachers are able to first identify where our students struggle and how this technology can be a bridge for their learning, that鈥檚 when parents and teachers are going to start seeing the practical usage. In my classroom, I don鈥檛 have the option to bring you to the moon, but I can bring you to the moon in this experience. When you think about how mind-blowing that is, it is scary because we don鈥檛 understand what that means for our future.
But I鈥檓 also practical. I have three children of my own. I just went out and bought an [virtual reality headset], and it is addicting. I have very open-ended and honest conversations about how long we should be on it. What鈥檚 healthy for our brains? When you come out of this VR world, how do you feel? We have these conversations as opposed to saying, 鈥楾echnology is bad.鈥� It鈥檚 going to be in their face for the rest of their lives. It鈥檚 more powerful for us to be going on this journey together in a common-sense, practical way.鈥�
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Photo credit: A student uses a virtual-reality viewer at Chapelwood elementary in Indianapolis last year. 鈥擜J Mast for 91制片厂视频 Week