View Article

Volume 16, Issue 3 December 2020, pp. 167–180

Forum
Virtual reality in education: The promise, progress, and challenge

Ryan Lege ¹, Euan Bonner ²

¹ Kanda University of International Studies, Japan
² Kanda University of International Studies, Japan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v16n3.388

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) has made significant inroads into both the consumer and professional sectors. As VR has matured as a technology, its overall practicality for use in education has also increased. However, due to the rapid evolution of the technology, the educational field struggles to stay informed of the latest advancements, changing affordances, and pedagogical applications. Even the authors’ own 2018 work that categorized VR technology for different educational applications, is no longer completely applicable to the current educational landscape. Though education struggles to keep up with technological developments, both researchers and practitioners have been contributing to a growing body of knowledge and experience. Accordingly, this article explores the progress of VR in educational research and classroom practice through three key questions: (1) What benefits does VR offer for education?, (2) What are the challenges to applying VR in an educational context?, and (3) Has VR matured to a point where it is useful for a wide range of educational purposes? Through a review of literature published from 2017-2020, the authors explore these questions to provide a snapshot of how VR is being used in classrooms and educational research. The authors conclude with predictions for the future and suggestions for future research.

Copyright

Suggested citation

Lege, R., & Bonner, E. (2020). Virtual reality in education: The promise, progress, and challenge. The JALT CALL Journal, 16(3), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v16n3.388

Related Articles:

Incorporating hypnotic suggestion into teacher education programs
Farshad Ghasemi
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), 83–103.

What makes students speak Japanese in immersion programs?
Kumiko Katayama, Kayoko Hashimoto
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), 104–120.

Voicing the academy
Davina Allison
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 102–117.

Theory of Mind development and narrative writing: A longitudinal study
Birgitta E. Svensson
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 118–134.

Incidental vocabulary learning through watching movies
Robert John Ashcroft, Joseph Garner, Oliver Hadingham
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 135–147.

The Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture: Ideological refractions, othering and obedient politics
Ashley Simpson, Fred Dervin
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 20 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), 102–119.

"I don't want to be stereotypical, but..." Norwegian EFL learners' awareness of and willingness to challenge visual stereotypes
Cecilie Waallann Brown
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 20 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), 120–141.

(Re)imagining a course in language and intercultural communication for the 21st century
Adriana Raquel Diaz, Paul J. Moore
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 83–99.

Critical intercultural communication education: cultural analysis and pedagogical applications
Sofia A. Koutlaki, Zohreh R. Eslami
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 100–109.

Advancing intercultural learning in world language education: Recent developments in pre-service teacher education in the U.S.
Paula Garrett-Rucks
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 110–122.