An important tool for creative learning is Virtual Reality (VR). The technology engages users in digital environments completely separate from the users’ real-life surroundings (Southgate, 2018, p. 3). The presence of such virtual environments provides students with means of reconstructing and transforming the knowledge obtained from teachers, thereby fostering their creativity (Papanastasiou et al., 2019, p. 431). Though there are two means of VR environment display, Immersive VR, which projects VR environments in place of users’ surroundings through VR headsets (Southgate, 2018, p.4), is acknowledged as being generally more effective for improving learning (Wu et al., 2020, p. 13), so this blog post will be discussing an immersive VR application for creative teaching rather than a desktop VR one. The technology being evaluated is CoSpaces Edu, a platform for creating VR environments (CoSpaces Edu, n.d.-a).
What is CoSpaces Edu?
CoSpaces Edu is a program for students and teachers to design immersive VR scenes (CoSpaces Edu, n.d.-a) capable of being projected into a variety of immersive VR display devices (CoSpaces Edu, n.d.-b).
With CoSpaces Edu, students have the ability to design and manipulate every element in their unique VR creation. This is possible through CoSpaces Edu’s diverse VR design capabilities, notably its wealth of VR design canvases (blank 3D scenes, portable VR cube, VR tour), VR elements’ sampling graphics and coding commands.
CoSpaces Edu Interface
(CC BY 2.0 Emilia Nguyen)
Why CoSpaces Edu for Creative Learning?
CoSpaces Edu offers countless functions for students’ own representation of learned concepts, thereby fostering student creativity (as affirmed above). The program goes beyond the capabilities of Augmented Reality and 2D design tools by allowing students unrestricted abilities to modify the environments in which they express their learning. This enables teachers to most comprehensively assess students’ creative capabilities.
Therefore, CoSpaces Edu should be used for capstone learning projects towards the end of each subject content block, when students have obtained holistic understanding of subject matter concepts for teachers’ evaluation. Below is an example of such learning tasks.
CoSpaces Edu Classroom Task
(CC BY 2.0 Emilia Nguyen)
Teaching Precautions for CoSpaces Edu
Designing a VR experience requires manipulation of various 3D elements, which may be challenging to students with low spatial awareness capabilities. Teachers should not introduce CoSpaces Edu to students without first familiarizing them with other, less complicated 3D design programs.
References
CoSpaces Edu. (n.d.-a). CoSpaces Edu for kid-friendly 3D creation and coding. CoSpaces Edu. https://cospaces.io/edu/
CoSpaces Edu. (n.d.-b). CoSpaces Edu tech check. CoSpaces Edu. https://cospaces.io/edu/tech-check.html#vr
Papanastasiou, G., Drigas, A., Skianis, C., & Papanastasiou, E. (2019). Virtual and augmented reality effects on K-12, higher and tertiary education students’ twenty-first century skills. Virtual Reality, 23, 425–436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-018-0363-2
Southgate, E. (2018). Immersive virtual reality, children and school education: A literature review for teachers. In University of Newcastle, DICE Report Series. University of Newcastle DICE Research. http://dice.newcastle.edu.au/DRS_6_2018.pdf
Wu, B, Yu, X., & Gu, X. (2020). Effectiveness of immersive virtual reality using head‐mounted displays on learning performance: A meta‐analysis. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(6), 1991–2005. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13023
Hi,
Good job! You gave a brief overview of CoSpaces Edu and highlighted its potential for promoting creativity and enhancing learning. However, including a connection between this technology and the current curriculum would be fantastic. Furthermore, as you didn't mention CoSpaces Edu's cost or accessibility, its applicability to schools or groups of students may be restricted.
Yuanyuan Lv
(11/4/2023)