Introducing Our VR-integrated Handout for a Virtual Learning Experience

In one of our ELT courses at Marmara University, we learned about AR/VR technologies and their use in education. After that, we were assigned to create an AR/VR-integrated teaching material.


Thus, my friend Yiğit Gökay (click here to visit Yiğit's blog) and I created a handout as a virtual reality-integrated teaching material. Before I give you details about our handout, I want to share some information about AR and VR technologies and my views on the use of AR/VR technologies in teaching.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, augmented reality (AR) is "a technology that combines computer-generated images on a screen with the real object or scene that you are looking at". Besides that, virtual reality (VR) is defined as "a set of images and sounds, produced by a computer, that seem to represent a place or a situation that a person can take part in" in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus.


I don't think AR technology is very practical for teaching. Because we can simply show pictures on a screen rather than utilizing AR technology, on the other hand, I find VR technology beneficial as it can be used for discovery and experiential learning. For example, you can virtually travel to a city or find out some history information in a museum.


As for our VR teaching material, we created a handout that consists of four parts. In the first part, students watch a guided tour of London which is a 360 video, and answer questions about what they have learned in the video. In the second part, students have a virtual tour of the British Museum and try to find an object and some information in the Museum. In the third part, students learn about Admiral Horatio Nelson and note their findings. Then they have a virtual tour of London. In the virtual tour, students play a kind of scavenger hunt in which they try to find Nelson's Column. In the fourth and last part, students share their experiences in the British Museum by writing an online review.


I have really enjoyed creating this VR teaching material as it has allowed me to explore some places. I believe students will also enjoy these VR experiences and therefore VR technology is beneficial for learning and teaching.