Technology Trends: Impact of Virtual Technology in the Science Classroom
Technology has become an integral and embedded part of most people's daily lives. Additionally, the presence of technology in schools as become practically ubiquitous over the past 5 years. This inclusion of technology has led to many challenges and triumphs for teachers and students across the nation.
In 2023 ISTE published an article, Edtech's Hottest Topics for 2023, one of those topics was equity and inclusion. This article from The Journal reviews some statistics that focus on districts meeting the technological needs of their student populations. Another hot topic was augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality. These tools can take on many different forms and as McGraw Hill says, AR can further engage students curiosity.
As a science teacher, hands on laboratory experiments and other activities have always played an important role in deepening the connections between class content, academic application, and real life. However, many times real hands on experiments and experiences are not possible due to a number of factors such as physical space, time, equipment, other financial resources, and more. A few years ago our school was blessed with a donation covering the purchase of an Anatomage Table which has taken our Anatomy and Physiology class to new technological levels. Put simply, this table becomes an almost life-size digital cadaver with some amazing features, real-life images and scans have been converted into a virtual reality experience. Below is a video by Campbell College of Pharmacy & Health Science that talks more about the table itself and walks through some of the capabilities. We are thrilled to have this tool available to our high school students.
An augmented reality tool I came across while deciding what to write about for this blog is called Sandbox AR and it is created by Discovery Education. I did not have time to do more than a quick test of the app, but the information from Discovery Education was more than enough to pique my interest.
During the 2020 - 2021 school year we were on a hybrid schedule with social distancing and some students did not come into the building at all. During this time labs became difficult, especially for those at home. One technological solution that the department was able to implement was including more virtual labs in the curriculum, while there are many virtual lab offerings the one that was trialed that year was Gizmos by Explore Learning. Some teachers, notably the biology teachers have continued using this platform. Below is the introductory video that you can find on their homepage. Other teachers also use PhET simulations which are free, but lack the premade documentation that Gizmos offers.
Gizmos is the technology tool I will be focusing on for the trend of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality. While it is not as fancy as the Anatomage Table, or immersive as Sandbox AR it really has served myself, other teachers, and our students well. Gizmos is built for schools and as such, has taken into consideration a number of accessibility features and design choices. It is a tool I continue returning to because of its clear delivery of information split between simulations and guiding handouts.
Here is a brief introduction to some of the features and images of the backend.
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