Virtually Real Education and Second Life

 Hello everyone, today we'll talk about VR and how it can be used in education. Let's dive in!

Virtual Reality, or in short VR, is a means of simulating real life experiences in virtual environments. In order to access these environments one can use either a standard monitor on their PC or a head mounted device. These environments are designed to simulate real life emotions as closely as possible. For example, there are games in which one can feel like they are on a rollercoaster. Some research show that even the physiological responses of the human body to VR is very close to those experiences in real life. The hormones created in the body as a result of excitement are very similar in a VR rollercoaster and a real one.

As a teacher, this brings about a question. Can we use virtual environments for educational purposes. It turns out, not only is it possible, but also it has been done before many times. For example, there's tool called Second Life with which you can create maps and environments compatible with VR devices. People have created classrooms, conference halls and even entire universities in this application and held classes. I have tried the app myself and it is incredibly immersive. You can create and customize your own avatar and attend events in these virtual environments. Check my avatar out, I took a selfie: 

Imagine me, looking like this, attending concerts.... or even better, lectures. There are so many maps and active events in second life it virtually is....well.... a second life. Check this application out!