VR and AI Prototype: A Conversation with Newton is a fully immersive VR experience where the user can visit Isaac Newton in his recreated study room at Woolsthorpe Manor and have an unscripted conversation with him on any topic related to his life and work.
A new year is starting to unravel itself. With it, the usual listicles of trends and prognoses about the future of different aspects of our lives are beginning to be abundant. With a focus on education, and instead of going down the usual path of what 2023 could have in store for us, I decided to focus on one aspect that started to make its presence felt and which, most likely, will continue to impact the way we learn and teach. However, there's a catch to my limitation to one subject article – bear with me.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a fascinating technology that allows the user to be transported into a synthetic world they perceive as real and in which they can move and interact. The impressive potential of VR goes far beyond entertainment. As it evolves rapidly and becomes more accessible, it will stand out as a highly prized technology of the future in many fields, including medicine. It has its place as a simulation training tool and as a safe and effective therapeutic device to treat or complement the treatment of various types of health problems, including pain management. Here is where we stand in terms of applications and what we know about the effectiveness of VR for acute and chronic pain and pain anxiety.
In the immersive experience that virtual reality (VR) allows, "presence" can be defined as the authentic feeling of being in a world other than the one in which one is physically located. Even if some researchers propose nuanced versions of the notions of immersion and presence in VR, many tend to describe the first as the objective dimension of the experience, the one induced by the technological tools, and the second as its subjective dimension, the one constructed by the user.
The applications of Virtual Reality (VR) in education can create active experiences in increasingly immersive worlds and provide a safe environment for learners to test and practice situations otherwise stressful or, in some instances, dangerous. In this context and working closely with a team from Concordia's Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) unit from the Department of Education, we created a VR experience where students can prepare, in a safe and customized virtual environment, for their assessment interview with their mentor (either classroom teacher or university supervisor).
Virtual reality (VR) is a fascinating technology that allows users to immerse themselves in a dynamic and adaptive 3D world of 360 degrees. In this digital universe, they can move and interact with tactile and sensory feedback by simply wearing a visor and, if necessary, haptic gloves. Primarily associated with the world of video games, VR is increasingly becoming a training tool.
Initially associated with the world of video games, virtual reality (VR) is becoming an essential training tool in specific fields, including medicine and paramedicine. Its advantages are enhanced by the fact that it has evolved rapidly in recent years in terms of performance and ergonomics while becoming more accessible.
In the early 2000s, researchers Geoffrey Hinton, Yann LeCun and Yoshua Bengio decided to re-examine the potential of digital artificial neural networks, a technology abandoned by research from the late 1990s to the beginning of the 2010s. The trio of researchers “invents” deep learning, which is now the most promising branch of AI, reviving the interest in this field of technology.
Increasingly powerful, ergonomic and accessible, virtual reality (VR) is making its way into the world of learning. This modality, which invites the user into an immersive and interactive universe, can be adapted to reproduce the conditions of very diverse professional environments that are difficult to access or far away. Learners can thus practice complex tasks in complete safety until they are fully mastered. To give you a better idea of the potential of this fascinating technology for learning, here are 10 of its assets!
How real can the virtual get? Quite real. Photogrammetry is a technology that allows us to recreate real-life objects and spaces in the virtual world while retaining photorealistic qualities and life-size scales. This article will explore how this technology works, why it can become a powerful tool for educators, and how you can leverage it in your curriculum designs.
