I have been working in schools for more than ten years. I have noticed that the general thoughts regarding STEM, at least in the UK, is that it is a 'bit-on-the-side'. It bears no real importance in general learning as a whole. Split down into Maths, and then the other bits, it then becomes something important. Maths being the captain within a metaphorical ship's crew of four.
This brings me onto my point! Although Maths is of great importance, I am not sure that shunning the STE is such a good idea. In the past twelve months, Science has returned to being a core subject in UK Primary education. Engineering and Technology remain on the back burner, showing up in Design and IT across, but not exclusively in the classroom topic. As a nation, and I believe as a global society, we are short of people who can fill these skilled posts. We need to build! We need to create! We need to expand and become better humans!
I'm not saying that engineering will solve the ultimate issues that humanity is facing, but we can get close enough to make a difference!
Enough of this rant, less of the crumbs and more of the biscuit. We have been told that games are bad for us, they cause violence etc. Is this really true? There are many that argue every day of the year over this question. What is most apparent, is that games are fun and hold a hidden gateway to learning. We have many educational opportunities online, ones that are digitally ready for us and that children are eager to learn from. Why can't we extend this? The thought that a game can become a valuable asset to the classroom is a belief that I have long held. I want to find a way that children of all abilities can find this accessible.
As a teacher by profession, I notice that there are pupils that don't listen. They don't want to know the theory behind a number sequence, or the outcome of an experiment. However, show them a BBC Bitesize mini-game, and BOOM, they want a part of it.
Many might argue that this is due to the fact that they spend most of their time on screens, not going out, not interacting. What if interaction is the key? Mixing the concept of learning through a virtual environment could be the key to the gate. This was the purpose behind Bjarg.eu. I wanted to find a 'digital' approach to learning, helping people to 'Reach Their Peak!'
(Bjarg - Translation: https://glosbe.com/is/en/bjarg This tells you the rough translation from Icelandic, but is also said to be that of a mountain.)
I have been into Virtual Reality since the early 90s. I was obsessed with the launch of the VFX1. A headset that is somewhat crude by HTC or Oculus' standards. It was amazing, though it was not bought by many. The idea of the 'Virtual-World' died off very quickly. The release of movies such as The Lawnmower Man, tried to keep the dream alive, but alas, it wasn't to be. Once Oculus released the idea of a new wave of technology, I was on board. I pre-ordered my Oculus DK1 with pride.
One of my later forays into VR, was with a new system that hoped to make it big. It was called VRML, and was set to be used extensively online. It was a great idea and was easy to construct, it was not disimillar to '3D Construction Kit' that I used to build with on my C64. Look at VRML some more, the concept was interesting, but there was very little hype about it overall. There are still some that play about with it, though when did the term 'VRML' last show up in the modern era?
What am I leading to? I have claimed that the purchase of the DK1 was to follow up on this idea. What if the learning can still come from interaction? What if it is a digital pupil they are with, or maybe, a secondary 'real' person in the world with them. How about Autism? The dawn of the VR room will help this, many academic institutions are seeing to this as I type. Think about the possible formula:
My Model for VR in the New Learning:
I write now, in the hope that you might be a part of this. Someone who can supply ideas and be a part of a new way of using VR. One that can help us, rather than give the doubters more ammunition to slam the digital industries down.
I certainly don't believe that anyone will take the industry down, the matter is to big for even the strongest of politicians to effect. What about laws though? Where could they go with the obesity 'crisis'? They may use this as an excuse to outlaw games or even administer new rules for schools. We need to act now, with great effect, and with the an eye on drawing those that don't believe, to see a balance.
Nothing is ever 100% bad. We can be the ones to find the good and use it to support a better future.
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