Could VR Field Trips Replace the Real Thing? (theindychannel.com)

turkeydance shares a report from RTV6, which cites a new editorial in the journal Science that explores the question, "Could VR field trips replace the real thing?" Virtual field trips have been around for a while, but they used to be pretty boring: some photos, some text -- basically a Wikipedia entry. But they've come a long way. Nearpod and Google Expeditions let students immerse themselves in places they couldn't normally visit, like Antarctica or even Mars. These virtual field trips are safer and easier to organize than real outings, and they might soon be cheaper, too. Douglas McCauley, assistant professor of ecology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says traditional field trips have already declined under budget constraints, so schools might be tempted to simply make a switch. McCauley says he's excited about the possibilities of VR. Taking students back to prehistoric times or forward to witness the results of climate change could be a powerful teaching tool.

Comments

Simpsons Did It

[samoht]

"You'll go where I go, defile what I defile, eat who I eat"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1_bp8YKUPU/

Just Because You See the Bathroom with the VR

[n329619]

Doesn't mean you're actually there. Please pull your pants back up and stop looking like you're about to do it in my living room.

Re:Fuck no

[Opportunist]

Fuck yes. By definition.

Let's see... boring, tedious, about as educational as watching the wall paint dry... if they now somehow first add a bus ride that makes you throw up, they're pretty much already on par with a real field trip.

And that should be easy in VR, most VR games already pull that off without even trying.