Blog 5: Virtual Reality and CoSpaced EDU

Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of three-dimensional environment which can be explored using a 3D headset (Cipresso et al., 2018).

CoSpaces Edu

CoSpaces Edu is a cloud-based platform that allows users to create and share interactive 3D content, it was designed for educational purposes giving students the opportunity to explore virtual worlds (Al-Gindy et al., 2020). CoSpaces fosters creativity in students by allowing them to explore new worlds, design and create their own worlds in 3D allowing for students to develop their creative and critical thinking skills, it allows for collaborative learning by allowing students to work together on projects, encouraging teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills (Eguchi & Shen, 2012).

Figure 1: CoSpaces and how it can be used in schools (CoSpaces Edu for Schools - Explainer Video, 2019).

Figure 2: Creating my own VR environment using CoSpaced Edu

CoSpaces Edu is beneficial for students with special needs. Students who suffer from Autism have the opportunity to learn visually which is particularly helpful for students who have difficulty with abstract concepts. the freedom of customisation in CoSpaces Edu can also help meet the needs of individual students with autism, such as adjusting complexity levels, providing support tools, and incorporating specific student interest to increase engagement. The collaborative feature in the app also allows students with special needs to develop necessary social and communication skills such as teamwork and problem solving. This interactive learning experience provides a dynamic and engaging platform for student’s cognitive skills including spatial reasoning, problem-solving, attention and focus, memory and recall, and collaboration which in turn fosters creativity in students (Herrero & Lorenzo, 2019).

Furthermore, CoSpaces Edu can be used amongst most KLAs to foster creativity in students. It can be used in history lessons to recreate historical events or places, allowing students to step back in time and experience historical events in an immersive way. It can also be used in maths lessons, allowing students to create 3D geometric shapes. Particularly students can watch the texts they read in English lessons come to life. English syllabus outcome EN5-6C (NSW Education Standards Authority, 2012) can be met, stage 5 students can be taken on a virtual journey to experience the texts they read in class come to life such as Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. This visual journey will allow them to develop a better understanding of the complex texts they read, stimulating their critical thinking, and enhancing their text analysing skills in a non-conventional, creative way (Gong & Georgiev, 2020).

Figure 3: My CoSpaced environment I created of Shakespeares Macbeth Act 1 Scene 7

Limitations

Despite the benefits, CoSpaces Edu does have limitations. These includes the limited customisation; schools need to purchase the full version of the app to unlock all its features which is costly. The app also has language limitations and is only available in a limited number of languages which is not culturally inclusive.

References

Al-Gindy, A., Felix, C., Ahmed, A., Matoug, A., & Alkhidir, M. (2020). Virtual Reality: Development of an Integrated Learning Environment for Education. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 10(3), 171–175. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijiet.2020.10.3.1358

Cipresso, P., Giglioli, I. A. C., Raya, M. A., & Riva, G. (2018). The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality Research: a Network and Cluster Analysis of the Literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. frontiersin. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02086

CoSpaces Edu for schools - Explainer video. (2019). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv0uXADAVtI

CoSpaces Edu: Make AR & VR in the classroom. (2018). Cospaces.io. https://cospaces.io/edu/

Eguchi, A., & Shen, J. (2012). Student Learning Experience through CoSpace Educational Robotics. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/39534/

Gong, Z., & Georgiev, G. V. (2020). LITERATURE REVIEW: EXISTING METHODS USING VR TO ENHANCE CREATIVITY. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Design Creativity (ICDC 2020). https://doi.org/10.35199/icdc.2020.15

Helsel, S. (1992). Virtual Reality and Education. Educational Technology, 32(5), 38–42. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44425644?casa_token=fSGibUWdO6AAAAAA%3ADMPZrlsBBRcDNBKp3rfj9gskLcHzibqKSJ65NlrVqZ3yGTxM0GFCg644fwU7tTD9s4IbpPG6vQvvRjNSgrr87Jx3I3t0a0S8lMpvA96K_by86l9_6H3Y

Herrero, J. F., & Lorenzo, G. (2019). An immersive virtual reality educational intervention on people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) for the development of communication skills and problem solving. Education and Information Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-10050-0

NSW Education Standards Authority. (2012). English K–10 | NSW Education Standards. Nsw.edu.au. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/english-year-10/english-k-10

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