Education is the most important aspect when discussing the future of the country.  Having students perform at the best of their abilities can lead to advancements all across the board in terms of productivity. With a population that is more educated, difference-makers are produced such as future scientists, inventors, and researchers. As many people know, the United States falls behind most of the developed countries in terms of education. In order to enhance education new technologies should be implemented within our education system in order to bring about beneficial reform. One such technology would be virtual reality. Virtual reality is a revolutionary technology that will improve and enhance the education of not only kids in the United States but, kids around the world. Virtual reality will achieve this in the way that it creates an interactive, and fully immersive environment. This technology needs to be implemented within our education system in order to reform and improve our current education system which will in turn enhance the education of children in our countries and others around the world.   

Education as a whole across the nation and in other parts of the world has in a sense plateaued. This means that our education has reached a point where there is not a lot of growth in comparison to earlier years. In earlier times education was sparse and lacked fulfillment, now education has grown a lot but with this extensive growth we have reached a point in which students are learning the same information in the same format worldwide which is not promoting further growth. In order to enhance the learning experience drastic measurements, need to be introduced such as virtual reality. When looking at education across the country you often find that students are lacking interest and drive. This could be due in part to a lack of engaging teaching techniques, outdated approaches towards teaching. Countless times students are seen dozing off in class, playing on their cell phones, and even browsing Facebook. One thing that can be drawn from this is that students prefer remaining engaged with the technology they have available to them. That is where virtual reality comes in to play. To clarify, virtual reality is essentially an environment that is created using software that allows full interaction and immersion. 

With virtual reality a student now has a tool that they would be fairly susceptible to using and gaining use from.  Students nowadays feel as if going to a lecture hall is a waste of their time and they could teach themselves the information on their own if they did not have to be in class for attendance purposes. With virtual reality technology teachers, professors, and even tutors can create an engaging environment which combined with supplemental lecture can increase retained knowledge by up to 101 percent (Bodekaer). While conducting this study, students reported that the technology was extremely engaging and actually kept them from checking Facebook (Bodekaer). With students actually being able to focus on enriching lectures the potential for growth in learning amongst students on a widespread scale is immense. With the promise of potential being immense, virtual reality appears to be a probable solution to the lack of highly educated students worldwide.

If a school system does decide to implement virtual reality technology within their schools, there are several notable benefits. One of the largest benefits towards implementing such technology is that students have an ample amount of information right at their fingertips which combined with traditional teaching styles will further their learning capabilities. Imagine instead of teaching a student about the Rome Coliseum the students could take a virtual trip to the coliseum. This is possible with virtual reality since the environment can be digitally created. When students experience things hands on they learn at a more efficient pace.  For example, imagine you are working on a car. Having never fixed a car before would you not want to be shown how to fix the car rather than be told how to fix the car. This is the same concept with virtual reality. Instead of reciting information in front of a classroom alone you can supplement this lecture with a visual aid. Virtual reality can also be used to create a safer environment to work in such as a science lab. When using virtual reality in science educators can ensure safety while performing potentially dangerous experiments without the risk of injury or damaging expensive equipment (Hreha). Virtual reality also appeals to the physical make up of humans. The brains of humans are wired to process information visually rather than auditory so when learning is combined with virtual reality our brains process information in a more efficient manner (Hreha). These technical attributes of virtual reality make it an appealing option for education.

As with most things when there are benefits there are usually negatives associated. That is also the case with virtual reality. For starters, there is a very unattractive side to virtual reality and that is the price tag of implementing this technology nationwide. For a pair of quality virtual reality headsets, the cost is going to be approximately four hundred and fifty dollars. This price tag is usually an enormous red flag for any school district considering most school districts just do not have the funds to fulfill purchasing headsets for students. Another drawback to virtual reality is the training required to be able to create and maintain an immersive environment (Sheehy, Kieron et al.). Being able to start a program and maintain an environment requires extensive training and even then once the program is created the program requires occasional maintenance. Once the developer goes through this training they should be able to maintain the program on their own amending it as they go (Sheehy, Kieron et al.). With the requirement of training there comes another cost related to implementing virtual technology not only in the form of money but also in the form of time. One last downside to implementing virtual reality into our education system is safety. With virtual reality there would need to be ample “breathing space” in order to refrain from injury from the user or those surrounding (Harris). One may see all of these negatives associated with virtual reality and begin to think that virtual reality does not have a place within our educational system. 

Most of the drawbacks associated with implementing virtual reality in education can be easily resolved. As far as cost goes, Google produces their own version of virtual reality headsets in the form of Google Cardboard, which costs around twenty dollars (Harris). With being able to purchase virtual headsets at a relatively low price one does not have to worry about small children damaging the equipment or going over budget trying to supply a classroom with this technology. The next drawback had to do with being able to build and maintain a virtual environment. While building an environment may seem challenging to the average person, going through a short amount of training will allow you to not only create an environment but also make changes as needed throughout the life of the program (Sheehy, Kieron et al.). As far as cost in regards to training goes the cost is definitely outweighed by the benefits brought by implementing this technology within schools. The next drawback has to do with “breathing space”. Breathing space is the space required in order to maintain a safe environment while virtual reality technology is in use. In order to accommodate for ample space schools may have to hold virtual reality sessions in an open area like a gymnasium or a large class room if the activity involves moving. If the activity involved does not require adequate space, then virtual reality will work just fine. Another example of how virtual reality is useful is the “Super Schools” program. With this program the company, XQ, ran a program in order to fund schools across the nation to adopt virtual reality within their schools. This program showed the true power that can be harnessed through virtual reality (Sahm).

Another important aspect of virtual reality that needs to be highlighted is the aspect of taking virtual “field trips”. With virtual reality students can explore different places around the world and learn how different areas around the world are different, how they work, and even what the culture is like as mentioned above. Another aspect that is intriguing is the potential revenue that can be made by universities across the world. Most students like to tour the university of their choice in order to make a more informed decision about which university will be the best fit for them. Some students however will not be able to travel to these universities for a number of reasons such as cost, distance, and scheduling conflict. With virtual reality a student can take an in-depth tour of their preferred university which could then lead to more revenue for the university (Fineman). This method of touring schools would also be very appealing to schools with successful sports programs. With virtual reality, universities would be able to demonstrate how it feels to be at their stadiums on game day which would definitely be a boost for the University of South Carolina considering how their university is heavily revolved around sports (Fineman). Being able to demonstrate what a university is truly like without having to leave home is an appealing aspect to virtual reality and should be explored by universities worldwide in order to increase the size of the student body as well as increase revenue. 

The next aspect of virtual reality has to do with human anatomy and how we learn as humans. In studies researchers have found that we remember around twenty percent of things we hear, thirty percent of things we see, and ninety percent of things we do or simulate (Sapp). With these numbers using virtual reality to enhance education is a clear solution. Instead of retaining around fifty percent of the information we hear and see students can now retain information at a level that we have never seen in education. Another interesting aspect with virtual reality is how it approaches learning. An example of this would be that if you want to be fluent in German you do not learn Swedish (Sapp). This is important because it shows that most teaching styles across the world are not beneficial to the subject matter being taught. Instead of reciting information on the excavation of Egyptian pyramids for example, a student can perform their own excavations and truly see how elaborate these pyramids are rather than seeing pictures of the pyramids. Being able to fully immerse themselves in the subject matter that they are interested in is an aspect that is truly overlooked in education today. One real life example of virtual reality being beneficial is when Dr. Redmond Burke used a Google Cardboard headset to perform surgery on an infant’s heart. This operation was extremely complicated due to the fact that the doctor was unable to use the cardiac imaging software they had alone since it did not provide enough information. Combining this information with the virtual reality headset allowed the doctor to see the whole heart clearly and perform the operation with relative ease (Koke and Guest-Scott). Being able to use this inexpensive technology saved a life. No matter how much education this doctor had he was unable to use the information he had at hand to perform the operation without virtual reality. This can be applied in multiple fields of education. No matter how much you know from learning you can never be truly prepared for everything. Thankfully virtual reality is around to help out in situations like this. 

Another human aspect involved with virtual involved with virtual reality has to do with the social side of learning. When kids are starting out in elementary schools or primary schools they are taught valuable social skills in order to help them become successful in life. Still with these attempts to make everyone sociable some students still fall through the cracks. Using virtual reality students are encouraged to interact with each other in order learn and solve interesting, engaging problems. This also helps students grow intellectually since they are able to collaborate and come up with interesting solutions that they may not have come up with otherwise (Opaquegoogles).

Virtual reality is the tool that needs to be implemented within our education system. The reason why this technology needs to be implemented is because it solves most of the issues with education today. This technology helps students learn in a way that we have never seen before. At the same time this technology helps eliminate wasted time in boring lectures in which students are shown to not be learning at an efficient rate. To change how our education systems work we need the leaders of school boards and districts to stand up and explain the benefits involved in order to better the future of our kids. More importantly our parents need to step up. If parents get more informed on this technology and how it can benefit their children real changes can be made in how our students are taught. No one wants to send their kids to a school in which their children’s time is being wasted. Having parents stand up will not only further the education of their children but children everywhere. With better education the potential for the world rises immensely across the board.

In conclusion, virtual reality is a viable technology and should be implemented across the nation if not worldwide. With virtual reality the possibilities for growth are endless. Students can now further their education in a much more efficient manner which in turn creates students who will be our next doctors, inventors, researchers, law makers, and chief executive officers to name a few. This technology may come with a few flaws or setbacks but as the technology develops and the market comes up with a generalized product this technology should be distributed throughout all of the school districts nationwide.  
