Virtual Reality Field Trips: Worth the Investment?
1 All you can hear is the sound of your own breathing as you gaze out of the airtight helmet. The rocky terrain is unfamiliar under your booted feet. You wonder if you would float away if your boots weren't weighing you down. Suddenly a classmate call out, "Look!" Your breath catches in your throat when your eyes land on the large blue planet---Earth. Then the school bell rings. You carefully lift the virtual reality (VR) headset off and place it on your desk. You turn to your teacher and say with a smile, "Best field trip ever!"
2 This scenario might seem like science fiction. However, virtual-reality field trips are quickly becoming a popular new way to help students become interested in learning about the world around them. VR refers to a computer-created experience that mimics real life. A student can take part in the simulated experience through the use of special equipment, such as headsets. There are many opportunities that this technology offers to enhance learning. VR field trips should be an option available to teachers and students in all classrooms.
3 VR trips have many advantages. For one, students seem to enjoy the immersive experience. Brooklyn student Taylor Engler took a VR trip to a farm in early 2018. She states, "It's different than watching video because you can have more than one perspective; you can actually move." These trips allow students to experience places they might otherwise never get to visit.
4 The possibilities for classroom use are endless. For example, history teachers can use VR to help students understand historical events. During a VR experience, students might find themselves standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. This is where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. In science classrooms, students could explore marine life deep in the ocean or the surface of a far-off planet.
5 Additionally, VR field trips have the ability to gain students' attention like no other experience. "It instantly grabs the students," New York teacher Colin Jones reports. Corrine Hoisington, a professor at Central Virginia Community College, believes this type of experience is important for learning. She says, "You only remember 10 percent of what you read. You can recite usually about 30 percent of what you hear. But 80 percent is what you remember when you're immersed." Some experts also suggest that creative approaches to learning can improve grades and test scores. This is because students are interested not only in what they're learning but in the way they are learning. Moreover, organizations like NASA and the Smithsonian are now providing interactive educational experiences. Teachers are sure to find VR programs that capture students' interests.
6 There are also practical considerations that make VR field trips a good option over traditional field trips. Students and teachers don't have to spend hours on a bus traveling to the field-trip location. The school doesn't have to worry about transportation or student safety on a VR field trip either. In addition, students who have disabilities can more easily participate in VR field trips. Some of these students may have been unable to participate in traditional field trips because the location was inaccessible to them.
7 Of course bringing VR into the classroom presents some challenges. The initial cost may be prohibitive. Although VR technology is slowly becoming more affordable, it can still be costly to set up the average classroom with VR hardware. Some programs are dependent on students having access to smartphones. Still, advocates of VR field trips argue that purchasing the necessary equipment up front is less expensive than the cost of organizing several field trips each year.
8 Some people also worry that VR field trips will further contribute to the substantial amount of time young people spend glued to the screens on their electronic devices. Many teachers and parents are already worried that their kids spend too much time in front of computer and television screens each day. Adding more screen time to their day has some critics concerned.
9 Despite these problems many people believe the advantages of VR field trips outweigh the drawbacks. Schools need to strongly consider ways to implement and fund the regular use of this remarkable technology in their classrooms. Students and teachers will reap the benefits of VR technology. The walls around them will expand as far as their imaginations, and the virtual-reality technology, can reach.
Which sentence BEST supports the idea that virtual-reality field trips provide engaging experiences?
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A) Your breath catches in your throat when your eyes land on the large blue planet---Earth. (paragraph 1)
B) A student can take part in the simulated experience through the use of special equipment, like headsets. (paragraph 2)
C) These trips allow students to experience places they might otherwise never get to visit. (paragraph 3)
D) For example, history teachers can use VR to help students understand historic events. (paragraph 4)
1 answer
The sentence that BEST supports the idea that virtual-reality field trips provide engaging experiences is:
C) These trips allow students to experience places they might otherwise never get to visit. (paragraph 3)
This sentence directly highlights the unique and immersive nature of VR field trips, emphasizing that they offer experiences that are not easily accessible in traditional learning environments, thus underscoring their engaging aspect.
