iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Virtual reality could be a dream come true, or a nightmare in the flesh. It could be anything that it is programmed to be with no real limitations. 

ASU, with its everlasting call to innovation, has started to utilize VR goggles for an online biology lab. 

ASU has partnered with Google and Labster, a virtual lab simulation company specifically dedicated toward education STEM subject matters, to give students in an online Biology 181 class the ability to view traditional lab situations. 

The students can purchase their own VR headsets or borrow a pair from the school. There are currently 30 students in the course, and there's potential for expansion. 

"With virtual reality being one of the biggest trends to hit edtech in years, educators need to know as much about this technology as possible. As a matter of fact, education futurists are predicting that this technology will be instrumental in the future of education, right up there with personalized learning. In a previous article, we provided our readers with a list of the best virtual reality games on the market. As a follow-up, this article will teach them all they need to know about virtual reality headsets, goggles, and glasses. The first thing that you need to know is that when people use the terms virtual reality headsets, goggles, and glasses, they are mainly talking about the same thing.

For the purpose of this article, we decided to use the term headset, because it is the most widely used term to refer to an apparatus used to power a virtual reality environment. Think of the games as the software, and headsets as the devices that run the software. These parts make virtual reality possible."

When I wrote about my high hopes for edtech back in August, student-created virtual reality was near the top of my list. I envisioned student

Kate Wurzbacher has pioneered VR live-action capture since the earliest days of Here Be Dragons, FKA Vrse.works. As Head of Camera, she’s been on-set for over 30 shoots in locations spanning from Raja Ampat to Islamabad. Leaning on Kate’s extensive experience and unique toolset, Dragons was among the first companies to utilize custom rigs and incorporate camera movement in 360 films. Whether prototyping 360 stereo rigs or designing unique on-set viewing solutions, Kate’s extensive experience in customizing cameras has propelled Dragons to the forefront of creative, experiential storytelling in VR.

See how Kate Wurzbacher works in this video from Mashable’s ‘How She Works’ series: Making The Impossible Possible in VR. The video also features JR’s A Walker in New York City project and a fire stunt clip from GE’s ‘Unimpossible Mission’ series.

Recently, the world of virtual reality was shaken up when the popular Merge Cube by Merge VR dropped in price from $15 to just a dollar at many Walmart stores. When using specific apps, these cubes showcase different experiences as you rotate the block around with your hands. If you haven’t held a Merge Cube yet, they're made of a soft rubber material that’s comparable to a stiffer stress ball. (If you want to test out the apps first, you can print out a temporary paper cube.)

Virtual Reality (VR) is one of the newer technologies moving into the classroom. Google Cardboard and Google Expeditions are the two most popular, but here are some more great VR apps for education:

(these are links to the Google Play store, but they all have iOS versions also)

Though no hard numbers are available yet on how many K–12 classrooms are using virtual or augmented reality, new estimates suggest the technology could reach 15 million students by 2025.

But without research to show the impact, experiences like landing on the moon or the sinking of the Titanic could be closer to entertainment than education, argue critics, who say much of what’s being marketed as virtual reality is not groundbreaking—or even new. Computer scientists first began experimenting with “virtual experiences” in the 1950s, and by the 1980s goggles and gloves had been developed to simulate immersion in a virtual world.

Virtual reality field trips, like Google Expeditions, have transformed how we see the world. Students can visit far flung places, explore how our body works, be transported into the past, and even travel through space using affordable virtual reality apps and headsets. Starting with no more than a piece of cardboard and a phone or tablet, any student can now experience amazing virtual field trips in the classroom or home. Virtual reality headsets like the Samsung Gear VR, Oculus RIFT and HTC Vive also offer a more detailed experience. Liven up your classroom or playtime, and get students excited about learning geography, history, and science with virtual reality.

Here are 6 of the newest and more popular apps for taking kids on virtual field trips.

Google's VR Tour Creator is one of my favorite media creation tools. Since its launch in May of this year I have shown it to hundreds of teachers in-person and even more in videos and webinars. I love it because it empowers students to make their own virtual reality experiences rather than just consuming virtual reality content. Here are five ideas for VR creation projects for students.

When Case Western Reserve University launches a new health education campus with the Cleveland Clinic next year, one feature will be conspicuously absent. There will be no place for cadavers.

The school plans to replace the usual anatomy labs with a new series of hands-on experiences, including a virtual-reality simulation.

Google Cardboard is a special viewer that is used with a smartphone. Kids can look through the viewfinder and take part in virtual reality experiences. There are apps for iOS and Android devices making it great for BYOD (bring your own device) learning environments. You can use just one Google Cardboard in your classroom and have students take turns diving in a coral reef or peeking at the Great Wall of China.

Delivering authentic experiences in the classroom and learning how to juggle district data are two wide themes that will monopolize education discussion in the next 12 months.

Are you curious about using augmented or virtual reality in your classroom? If you've already tried it out, are you looking for more app and lesson plan ideas? Either way, we've got you covered. Start with the Google Cardboard headset (it's only $15), and whether you're using iOS, Android, Chromebooks, or iPads, we've curated an assortment of apps and lesson plans to try out with your students.

Keep in mind there are ongoing debates around using virtual reality with kids. Skeptics argue that VR experiences can't create genuine empathy, that VR simulations make females sick at higher rates than males, and that ethical considerations -- from psychological implications to privacy concerns -- are urgent issues.

That said, many educators use virtual and augmented reality in their classrooms with positive results. Considering these ongoing debates, you'll probably want to try it out and decide for yourself. We've collected the best lesson plans, apps, and teaching strategies below. Don't forget to check out our Top Picks list for even more tool ideas.

3D printing and virtual reality have both emerged as vital technologies in the future of industrial innovation. If you need any proof of this, just take a look at what Lockheed Martin is doing with the both of them.

Earlier this week, the pioneering aerospace and defense company invited the press to their Collaborative Human Immersive Laboratory (CHIL) in Colorado. The visitors were treated to a remarkable surprise, a first-hand look at the 3D holographic platform used to design new engine systems.

Using a pair of 3D virtual reality glasses with integrated motion tracking, Lockheed Martin has created an immersive platform. The hologram is enclosed within an area referred to as The Cave, a part of the breakthrough technology that employees have developed within the CHIL.