FOUNDRY 45s – S04E11 – Dr Kit Martin

 

Penn State

Hi, welcome to Foundry 45s. Today we’re excited to have Dr. Kit Martin from Penn State University. Hey Kit, why is VR so uniquely effective for learning?

Hi, Dave, thanks for asking it’s a really great question. Immersion leads to deeper understanding. It’s like Papert, the MIT professor of Media said, if you learn French by talking on the streets of Paris, other people there, you get the tense the articles, the grammar comes to you emergently by interacting there. And this is based on the research and evidence that shows learners achieve high cognitive engagement through hands on activity through these immersive environments. So the more we can boost that, the better off we are. You also get to see and interact with diverse examples, learning environments we can build in the metaverse can bring learners into the environment. For instance, geology students can discuss rock formations from across the globe, they never get to visit. In a classroom environment, they can become sub atomic particles, and they can get to interact with the properties of a quantum field through regular personal experience, things you can’t do outside of these places. And then lastly, it’s about density of experience. Learning in the real world can be hit or miss. You may not meet the right tour guide when you visit Paris, but in most of reality, we can stack the deck. More density of experience through these tools of game design. And this creates a richer experience, which is more engaging than the experience of the traditional tourist in these worlds.