Virtual worlds can be used in aspects of society that one might not traditionally think of. Education can be greatly affected with the help of virtual reality googles. Students are able to take field trips to far away places to learn about how refugees live or how volcanoes work (Earle). This is more immersive because it is as if the student is in the situation and can experience it themselves. It can also be used for a cheaper entertainment option. During the recession, people spent more money on virtual worlds such as second life because it was cheaper to buy virtual goods than it is to buy real life goods (La Ferla).
Using virtual reality in the classroom can be good because the students are not just “consumers” of information and can actually interact with the world around them and the topic of which they are learning. The use of VR also can help teach students empathy with real world events that are not directly happening to them (Earle). However, it can be hard to separate education and entertainment. If a teacher does not know how to teach through this technology, the use of VR can be pointless. Virtual worlds can be good in an entertainment sense. It allows users to buy high end fashion and go on luxury trips around the world for a small amount of real life money (La Ferla). This is good in a way because people who are “shopaholics” would not run themselves into debt by spending all their money on pointless goods. However, this is not good because if people do not buy goods in real life, then those companies will not make enough money and will have to close down because people are not spending any money. This would lead to a worse economy and affect people in a domino affect.
Virtual worlds are made to be as a space for a person to be as creative as they want to be. This technology is basically telling users to create their own story. Some may be characters that are based off of their real life or they can be someone completely different. The choice is theirs due to the endless amount of options available.
I think that the future of virtual worlds will continue to grow. People are continuously looking for ways to disconnect from the stressors of everyday life. For example, people who play dungeons and dragons can easily spend hours at a time spending time in a created world, playing fictional characters, doing all kinds of quests. Since games like that are still very prevalent, virtual worlds can only get bigger from here.
Works Cited:
Earle, Joe (September 14, 2018). The Virtual World Moves into the Classroom. Reporter
Newspapers. Retrieved from www.reporternewspapers.net/2018/09/14/the-virtual-world-moves-
into-the-classroom/
La Ferla, Ruth (October 21, 2009). No Budget, No Boundaries: It's the Real You.
NYTimes. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/fashion/22Avatar.html
Hey Ellie!
ReplyDeleteYour point in regards to "shopaholics" was really fascinating to me! Despite not being something I'd have thought of, I understand where you were going with the notion that these shoppers could now, in a sense, live vicariously through an alternate entity in virtual worlds. And, like you mentioned, this could save them so money in real-life but it's a double-edged sword in the context of a seller's perspective.
Also, I think you brought up a great topic when you mentioned that if teacher's did not know how to effectively utilize these VR technologies, then it would be a moot point for schools to budget these supplements into their classrooms. Though not essential as in a core aspect of learning, VR sets definitely have the potential to act as an enhancement to student learning in respect to exposing them to situations to refine their empathetic inklings, as you stated. Ultimately, it's going to require some sort of balance that further research should definitely address.