ILP "Participation" #1

Our trip to the FSU College of education Tech Sandbox was not my first.It is really the coolest place on campus. The tour we had was cool, but I especially enjoyed my hands on experience with the Virtual Reality. I believe VR is the next step in learning and education, and seeing the advancements made from the last time boggled my mind. My first experience with it had no hand controls, but just a pre-made, non-interactive video of me BLASTING into space. It was seriously the coolest thing, and this last time with the hand controls really made me realize how cool this new technology will be. It was a bit ungainly at first but once I was coordinated I was having the best time. My experience had me interacting with a little robot friend, and 3D printing objects that I could pick up and use, such as generating butterflies that would land on my finger, or a laser gun to blast those butterflies away. The applications for this can go way beyond the simple demo I did. Students can get a first person experience into any subject and get "virtual" world experience. For example, they can dive into the depths of the ocean, or soar in the sky all while sitting in their home chair. Students are more likely to retain the information they learn through a hands on first person experience as opposed to straight lectures, and therefore can have a higher achievement in their academics. While it is not reality, it is in my opinion the next best thing, possibly even better because it is safer than actually blasting into space, and a lot more feasible as well. I did not get any pictures of my using VR but I do have pictures from my time there! I plan on going back to see more of what VR has to offer.