Application of AR and VR May Facilitate Metaverse Classrooms

Application of AR and VR May Facilitate Metaverse Classrooms

How do you think the pandemic has reformulated our spatial and structural understanding of the concept of classrooms?

Even before the pandemic, rapid advances in technology were transforming the learning spaces in some way, but Covid became the catalyst for making a systemic transition to the online and hybrid modes of teaching and learning.

These virtual classrooms have their limitations as they don’t allow peer bonding and the socialemotional development of learners. Even physical classrooms have transformed after the reopening of schools. The need for social distancing has created a new spatial pattern in classrooms.

Going forward, the application of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies may facilitate metaverse classrooms, which will usher in a new paradigm altogether. Virtual classrooms and remote learning have the potential to transform into digital schools, but the importance of physical schools will not be relegated.

What changes have you noticed in students and teachers?

Due to the long break from offline classrooms, the physical, psychological, and emotional health of students was affected. We noticed signs of lethargy, aggression, lack of concentration, and fatigue among students. We even noticed changes in body postures due to bad lifestyle habits they had picked up during the lockdown.

New students, who had shifted school or entered formal education in 2020, were the most affected. On the other hand, teachers were excited to return to campus after a protracted phase of online teaching, but they did experience difficulty in bringing children back from virtual to physical set-up.

How does your school ensure that the students are instilled with skills their future employers will find useful and distinctive?

Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Schools follows the vision which endorses new-age pedagogy for equipping students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and values. We have programmes on financial literacy, media literacy, and life skills.

We encourage scientific inquiry and instil a spirit of innovation through ATL labs and innovation centres. Special skill-based clubs train students in carpentry, theatre, and entrepreneurship. We follow a skillbased

curriculum for pre-primary as well and offer vocational courses to senior classes.

We have an interact club to improve communication skills. Our campuses have RJ Studios to encourage the talents of students. We focus as much on building co-curricular competencies as on academic rigour so that students are skilled enough to meet the needs of Industry 4.0.

Do you think advancements in technology may pose a threat to the teaching profession?

Advancements in technology would – and should – support the teaching profession rather than threaten it. The biggest advantage of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology lies in assimilating large amounts of information meaningfully and creating logical predictive pathways to mimic human intelligence.

Digital teaching tools can be good assistants to teachers but we need to retain the human connection.

Teaching involves more than just the transfer of information from an instructor to a learner. It is also a psychological and emotional bond between students, teachers, and parents. The importance of this bond

must be appreciated. However, in the future, teachers have to be digitally competent to be able to use technology in classrooms and hybrid modes.

What do you think is lacking in the current career guidance practices offered to students and how can this lacuna be filled?

Career guidance is becoming a specialized field now. Schools should align education not just to the national board, but also prepare students for competitive exams. Students should be guided to identify their aptitude through psychometric tests.

Career counselling should start from grade 8. Schools should bring in professionals and career counsellors to better guide students. There should be internship opportunities and a better industry-academia interface.

Everyone talks about experiential learning. Your comments.

Gandhiji’s ‘Nai Taleem’ stressed on knowledge, which was not considered separate from work. The focus was on the harmonious development of body, mind, and soul by learning from nature and learning by making handicrafts.

Today, experiential learning is being practised in many ways, including active learning, project-based learning, and field trips. AR and VR technologies are going to introduce a completely new form of experiential learning in the virtual world.

What are the efforts at Jaipuria towards SDGs?

Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Schools has been steadfast in its commitment to meeting United Nations’

17 Sustainable Development Goals. Our schools are members of the Global Schools Program, which is an initiative of the UN SDG network to create awareness and equip learners with knowledge, values, and skills to strive toward a sustainable planet. As part of the Round Square network and Bridge School Partnerships Program of Australia, we have collaborated on SDGs, including action against climate change.

We also have associations with organizations such as Smile Foundation. Internally, we conduct an annual treeplantation drive in which lakhs of saplings are planted by students, teachers, and staff. Recently, we also had a book on UN SDGs released in Hindi and shared it with the leadership team across our schools. Our schools have introduced and implemented Health Education Curriculum to create health awareness among students.

What is the core philosophy of Jaipuria schools?

The core philosophy of our schools is expressed in the eight pillars of our vision

  • Nurture happy children,
  • Nurture confident children,
  • Child-centric learning,
  • Promote creativity,
  • Promote environmental sensitivity,
  • Seeking academic excellence,
  • Making lifelong learners, and lastly,
  • Being an effective change agent.

Written By
Ms. Manju Rana
Director
Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Schools

Source – Indiatoday
Post Link – https://brainfeedmagazine.com/application-of-ar-and-vr-may-facilitate-metaverse-classrooms/
Published on December 1, 2022

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