At Barberton High School, we have a VR class focused on education. Students are trained to setup, troubleshoot, evaluate apps, and create mini-lessons focused on educational VR apps. These students are mobilized to setup and work with other classes in our school. I asked them to give me their views on why this classroom model is a logical way to implement VR technology in K12 education. Here are some of their responses.
The Top 10
Reason 1 – Enables instructor to focus on content and course flow while students manage technology
Reason 2 – Gives students a clear project with responsibilities and practice teaching others.
Reason 3 – More people to set up = less time
Reason 4 – Students serve as in house tech support, which reduces downtime/ time lost to tech issues
Reason 5 – Students become an important part of the educational process
Reason 6 – It’s closer to 1 on 1. Students learn more with 1 on 1 instruction
Reason 7 – Students are freely available – a.k.a free manual labor 🙂
Reason 8 – Teaches students to be self-sufficient
Reason 9 – It allows students to view learning from a teacher’s perspective
Reason 10 – The equipment is less likely to be mishandled and broken if a well-trained student can set it up with no complications
Still not sure of the benefits of utilizing student expertise?
The NEXT 10
Reason 11 – Aligns with the mission of the school – learning – learning for both the students in the class and the peer teachers with VR
Reason 12 – The trained VR students learn how to communicate effectively.
Reason 13 – Mixes up the voices in the classroom/ provides role models
Reason 14 – Relieves teachers of the burden of tech support and maintenance.
Reason 15 – Division of roles allows teachers and students to specialize in certain tasks, specifically, students can focus on maintenance of technology
Reason 16 – Peer teachers have a similar viewpoint/can relate to the students in the class.
Reason 17 – Teacher ramp up time is longer than students, who have time to tinker with technology
Reason 18 – Students often have patience and more flexible thinking about technology.
Reason 19 – One teacher in a room is limited to the amount of time they can spend with each student and the wait time a student may have for a question or issue. Student experts in close proximity can answer most questions
Reason 20 – Inspires student initiative and ownership
