According to Wikipedia, the term virtual reality is defined as a particular genre of technology which is used in entertainment, marketing, education, medicine, training, and many other fields. Virtual reality allows you to generate a 3D image or environment which has the ability to interact with the physical environment by using a set of electronic devices. The use of VR technology in the field of education makes learning more interactive, interesting, and likable and allows students to interact with each other within a 3D environment. Virtual reality is growing very fast and has a long way to go and it lends a hand for quicker and more interactive learning.

Impact of virtual reality in the education industry

Virtual reality is considered as the most influenced technology in the field of education. It is introduced into the education sector recently and it is already transforming traditional learning methods to engaging new methods. It grabs student’s attention, hence sustains meaningful learning. Virtual reality is now incorporated in many eLearning portals for the better engagement of the learners. Virtual reality applications make complicated concepts easier and faster by adding interactive audios and visuals and uses great audio and videos for easier and faster learning. Virtual reality applications promote experience-based learning.

Benefits of  using VR in education

Eliminates the language barrier

If you want to study in a foreign country, you should understand how to read, write and speak their native languages. But by using virtual reality, any language can be implemented within the software which supports VR. Visualizations of VR can be experienced in any language.

Improves the quality of education

It improves the quality of teaching in the field of medicine, content writing and editing. Virtual reality helps in finding errors in content and offers some automated editing features.

Eliminates classroom smartphone distraction

According to some survey reports, students spend 50% of their time in the classroom by using mobile phones. This problem can be easily solved if the smartphones used for Virtual reality used learning. Then students would not be able to waste their time by using a mobile phone because they would be using their device connected with any VR software for interactive learning.

High engagement

If you ask a student to learn a chapter, they will be unhappy about it. If you ask them to compete with who learns first, they will take it differently. Making a bit of gaming into learning and teaching will make it completely interactive. since learning becomes more attractive, student engagement increases.

Some Virtual reality Apps for students

Tilt Brush

This interactive  3D painting virtual reality application from Google is created by Skillman & Hackett. Users can select brushes and colours from the provided palette. This app can be used with Google VR, HTC Vive, or Oculus Rift.

Wonderful You

This provides the visualization of the womb and helps students to interact with the child using five senses. This application includes so many related illustrations and designs, which makes the application perfect for the students. It is available on the Within app on both android and ios.

 Ann Frank house VR

This application is mainly used to explore the hiding place of Ann Frank and her family. It offers a very special view of the building in which Ann Frank and her family stow away during the second World war. This application is created by Force field entertainments and modelled in 3d.

CalcFlow

CalcFlow visualizes mathematical functions in 3D, which helps students to view and adjust vectors and graphs using hands in VR. This application makes vector calculus easy and simple.

Titans of Space

Titans of space is an interactive application for students to learn about the solar system. With great music and visuals, it offers an interesting in-depth tour of the stars and planets in the galaxy. Users can customize the tour depending on their choices. It can be viewed using VR devices like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Monitor.

Anatomyou

Anatomyou is created by targetting medical learners and is used to learn human anatomy. It is more like a trip through the human body to learn about various systems like respiratory, digestive, etc. This application helps to visualize many internal organs including nose and throat, gastrointestinal, circulatory (divided into arterial, venous, and lymphatic), and female reproductive. As add-on options, you can also view the transbronchial tree and urinary system.

 Discovery VR

Discovery channel has been there for almost 30 years and they introduced a VR experience named Discovery VR. When users put on the electronic devices associated with the application, it engages users in a new environment of different animals, landscapes, etc. This  360-degree experience can view on  Google Cardboard, and on the desktop with a browser by using Gear VR, Oculus Rift, or HTC Vive.

 VR Lessons by ThingLink

This application is a collection of 360° images and video journeys on various topics including language, art, and science.VR lessons by ThingLink give students a virtual world tour and teach them about geography and geology. This can be experienced with iPhones or iPads, Google Cardboard, and other VR headsets.

KingTut VR

This VR application is developed by EON Reality, this application offers users a 360-degree tour of the world-renowned tomb of Egyptian Pharoah King Tutankhamun, which was discovered in 1922. This is available on both the google store and App store.

InCell VR

InCell VR is an application accessible on both ios and android, which is developed by Indie studio. The application is a combination of a racing game and an educational lesson, helps users to explore a human cell. In this, players must navigate the course in a carefully reconstructed human cell and prevent virus attacks. This can be experienced with Cardboard VR. InCell VR is available on default and VR modes.