As more technology is used every day in classrooms, students can immerse themselves in different scenarios that enhance their learning.
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Virtual reality headsets are taking that a step further - whether it's a personal guided tour of the cramped surroundings of the International Space Station, experiencing first hand the claustrophobic living quarters of Anne Frank and her family as they hid from the Nazis during World War II, or specially designed educational computer games.
As the use of virtual reality in school classrooms is increasing, so too is the use of them in universities to train the next generation of teachers in the new technology.
Bachelor of Education students at Australian Catholic University's Ballarat campus will explore the emerging worlds of virtual reality as part of their studies so they can use the technology in their classrooms in the future.
ACU Ballarat deputy dean of education Professor Bridget Aitchison said virtual reality offered immersive experiences for students, and options for children who learn differently.
"Not all students learn well by just listening or reading, some do better with experiential learning and this offers a whole new world, being completely immersed in learning as if you are there," she said.
There are two types of virtual reality - computer-generated experiences like games where you can pick objects up and explore them, and virtual reality movies which are educational and insert users in to a scenario.
"With the VR movies it's like you really are there," Professor Aitchison said. "I've tried one about the International Space Station and it's amazing because you are there, you look down, you look behind you, you look up, you are surrounded and the astronaut is talking to you."
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Professor Aitchison has also trialled a virtual reality tour of Anne Frank's house, admitting that even though she had read Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl and knew the cramped conditions she and her family hid in, it was not until the VR tour that she fully comprehended how claustrophobic their living conditions really were.
"Even though it's a computer-generated walk through space I didn't realise how cramped and claustrophobic it was," she said.
"As technologies emerge our schools are using them so teachers need to be prepared for new ways of learning and new technologies."