Virtual reality can be incredibly beneficial in the classroom, there is evidence to show that hands-on experiences with VR can increase motivation and positive outlooks for students (Di Natale et al., 2020). CoSpaces Edu is a website and mobile app that teachers can use in class to help foster students' creativity.
CoSpaces Edu offers a gallery of pre-made spaces to explore, such as a Roman house or the Amazon Rainforest, which students can interact with either through their phone/laptop, or using VR to fully immerse themselves in this world. CoSpaces Edu also allows for students to create their own spaces, selecting from a variety of environment scenes that they can add characters to. Students also have the ability to animate their characters through coding, or to play with physics allowing the characters to move differently.
CoSpaces Edu could be used in a socio-constructivist manner, with students working together to create or interact with spaces. It could also be viewed as a connectivist tool, as students collect information from a variety of sources, and share that information with their peers.
There are many activities that teachers could use to foster creativity in their students through CoSpaces Edu. In the NSW Science and Technology Syllabus, ST3-10ES-S requires Stage 3 students to explain “regular events in the solar system” (NESA, 2017, p. 18). Students could create a space set on the moon and play with the physics to show what would happen in a zero-gravity situation. Similarly, in the NSW PDHPE syllabus, PD1-1 requires Stage 1 students to “describe the qualities and characteristics that make them similar and different to others” (NESA, 2018, p.14). Students could create a space in CoSpaces Edu that shows how they are similar and different to the people in their lives.
Despite the benefits of using VR in the classroom, there are certainly limitations that may impact a teacher’s decision to use VR. Gaining access to a VR headset may be difficult, as some of them are incredibly expensive; even when purchasing more cost-effective options, a large number need to be purchased so that there is enough for everyone. Similarly, CoSpaces can be frustrating to use; there are a number of different tools to use to animate the space, some of which are confusing, and many of which are time-consuming.
CC by Ashleigh Norsa
References
Di Natale, A. F., Repetto, C., Riva, G., & Villani, D. (2020). Immersive virtual reality in K-12 and
higher education: A 10-year systematic review of empirical research. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(6), 2006-2033. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13030
NSW Educational Standards Authority (2017). Science and technology K-6 syllabus: NSW
syllabus for the Australian curriculum. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/ portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/science/science-and-technology-k-6-new-syllabus
NSW Educational Standards Authority (2018). Personal development, health and physical
education K-10 syllabus: NSW syllabus for the Australian curriculum. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/pdhpe/ pdhpe-k-10-2018
Hi Ashleigh,
I really enjoyed reading your blog, as i gained some insightful information on how we can use CoSpaces as a form of VR to foster student creativity. I appreciate your links to the Science & Technology NSW syllabus and how you provided a range of activities that we can use to teach stage 3 and stage 1, this is very beneficial for us future teachers.
I agree with the limitations you've listed, however i would recommend to maybe use academic references that also support those points.
Overall, this was an amazing and well organised vlog.
Djoumana Aoun
Hi Ashleigh,
Really engaging blog post about VR. I have never used VR until this tutorial and I found your blog post very helpful to gain ideas on how I can use VR according to the syllabus. I think the inclusion of spaces also highlighter how VR has become versatile and used in many ways and technologies.
Good work.
Amanda
Hi Ashleigh,
Amazingly written blog post, I have found all your posts very engaging, well written as well as aesthetically pleasing! All images have been well used and it can be seen that you have put a lot of effort into this blog! I really like how you liked VR to syllabus outcomes highlighting ways in which educators can use VR specifically within classrooms.
I would have loved to see more ways in which it could foster students creativity though.
Great work!
Charlotte (10/4/23)
Wonderful blog post! It has been very helpful for me as a future educator to understand how I can implement CoSpaces and virtual reality within a classroom whilst also fostering creativity. I like how you have touched on the pedagogy of learning to highlight the benefits of the technology. Furthermore, highlighting multiple perspectives of how this technology could be used to promote students' skills was interesting and insightful to learn.
You have listed some very interesting limitations, ones that are very beneficial for teachers & educators to think about before implementing this technology within the classroom. I would have liked to have known your views on possible solutions to these limitations.
Zoe Lennon (46615687)
Hi Ashleigh,
Thank you for providing such rich perspective to introduce VR for us.
The use of virtual reality in the classroom, as described in the passage, can indeed have numerous benefits. CoSpaces Edu, in particular, offers an engaging and interactive platform that allows students to explore pre-made spaces or create their own, while also enabling them to animate characters through coding or physics. Also, CoSpaces Edu can be utilized in a socio-constructivist or connectivist approach, encouraging collaboration and information-sharing among students.
Using CoSpaces Edu's various tools can be challenging for some students and teachers. So, it is crucial for educators to carefully consider these limitations before incorporating VR into their lesson plans.
Xin Li
04/04/2023