Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Donald Thomas
Long gone are the days that students are confined to their classroom. Students can now be
transported to worlds beyond their wildest dreams. Students can get a glimpse of outer space,
the wonders of the world, and the deep sea. All of this can be done with the use of virtual (VR)
At first glance augmented reality and virtual reality are easily confused. But as you begin
to truly understand these tools you see there are incredible differences. At the most simplistic
level both AR and VR need a device in order to operate. Both AR and VR can foster learning.
Depending on what activity is being performed one could be more useful than the other. The
true difference lies in how the world of the user is altered. AR takes the user’s current reality
and incorporates something new into it. Augmented reality is a world that has computer images
superimposed into the real world. (McDermott, 2016, pg. 27). AR does not transport users to a
new location, rather it alters the current location to include a new facet. Augmented reality is
VR generally includes a headset. When the headset is placed over the user’s eyes, they
are taken out of the physical world and begin to experience a whole new environment. The
senses of a user begin to take on the feelings of their new surroundings. Users are immersed in
an entirely new world. True virtual reality environments have no real inclusion of the
perceiver’s senses. (Ortiz et al., 2018, pg. 24). Ultimately, the person is immersed in an
PEER REVIEW FEEDBACK 3
experience that is controlled by the creator of the program. VR has the ability to transcend
geographic distances and allow people to learn from each other no matter their position in the
real world.
Students love opportunities to gamify their learning experience. Instructors generally see
opportunity to get students excited about their learning is beneficial. The key to gamification is
that designers take a historically non-gamelike activity and turn it into something exciting. VR
allows students to be swept into games in a non threatening environment. They can take chances
Gamification and VR are enjoyed by a wide variety of learner types and styles. Just like the real
world environment, students are given choices and control within the game. If this is done in a
VR or AR setting, students will have a more in depth understanding of decisions and can have
AR App Review
My students have been using an AR app called WWF Free Rivers in science class. The
app allows students to manipulate landscapes and understand the impact that rivers have on
landscapes, organisms, and humans. To access the app you can click the following link: WWF
Free Rivers. In addition, the app allows students to experience the impact of creating a dam on
both nature and energy. As students click through the landscape they watch as a dam is created,
the land floods, and can see tangible evidence of the impact humans have on nature. The more
PEER REVIEW FEEDBACK 4
students zoom out, the more they realize that a river is a delicate balance that supports life forms
foresee this app being useful when discussing geography, ecology, and meteorology. It is also a
beneficial representation of how energy decisions can hinder or help the environment. Students
can see augmented evidence of the water cycle and learn the reasoning behind where farmers
plant their crops and begin to understand the areas of a river that possess the most fertile land.
around my home were flooded with players of all ages. This game is an example of augmented
reality (AR) because the computer images are superimposed into a real world environment. IN
order to access the game, please click the following link: Pokemon Go. Users would encounter
computer generated Pokemon as they ventured around both indoors and outdoors. It was
reported that in the United States alone there were 21 million active users the first month the
game was released. (Howell, 2017, pg. 729). This AR game was not created with education in
mind. Instead it has been adapted to meet the needs of particular learners.
values. Students are required to make decisions and develop skills for a digital world. The
inclusion of Pokemon Go also resulted in numerous students seeking out information. This
discussions, and information regarding rules, strategy, and game play components. Pokémon
GO provides with teachers an authentic way to get students to research questions that genuinely
PEER REVIEW FEEDBACK 5
impacts their lives and allows them to learn about online question writing. (Howell, 2017, 730).
Instructors can take a skill that needs work within a group of students and adapt Pokemon Go to
meet their needs. If a student is wondering how to catch a Pokemon, they can use an online
search to discover associated information. This requires the ability to search, sift through
multiple websites, and be digitally literate. In this example, students are learning how to ask
questions, research information, and find valuable sources online. Students can practice this skill
As you can see, research questioning was not an intended purpose of Pokemon Go. But,
the AR game was adapted to meet the needs of this group of learners. Furthermore, the real
world application and level of engagement will help these skills become more concrete for
students. I am once again realizing how an instructional designer needs to have an acute
awareness of their audience. By knowing that students are interested in Pokemon Go, the
Conclusion
In order to access the reviews I made for these particular apps, you can visit my
instructional design website. Click the following link to access: App Review. I also posted the
engaging educational environment. These tools allow students to have powerful learning tools at
their fingertips. All these creations support highly successful e-learning classes as well.
PEER REVIEW FEEDBACK 7
References
Howell, E. (2017). Pokémon Go: implications for literacy in the classroom. Reading Teacher,
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=edb&AN=1228
48511&site=eds-live&scope=site&authtype=sso&custid=ns083389
McDermott, I. (2016). Fun with virtual and augmented reality. Online Searcher, 40(6), 27–29.
Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=ccm&AN=1194
86793&site=eds-live&scope=site&authtype=sso&custid=ns083389
Ortiz, Kalia, Nguyen, Vogler IV, Morey, Lall, Sarkar, (2018). The ABCs of AR and VR.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=ccm&AN=1319
47328&site=eds-live&scope=site&authtype=sso&custid=ns083389