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Games in Virtual Reality Help Students on the Autism Spectrum Learn How to Read Nonverbal Cues.

By Dr. Anthony W. Palmer

People with Autism have challenges understanding nonverbal social cues. Researchers and educators are looking for better ways to help students on the Autism Spectrum develop the skills needed to interpret these social cues. In his article VR Gives Students New Ways to Learn, Calvin Hennick reports that Virtual Reality “is a useful tool for students with special needs, particularly those on the autism spectrum. Many students with autism need to practice navigating real-life settings and scenarios that neurotypical students take for granted.” He interviewed Kristen Powell, an assistive technology trainer and consultant with Chester County Intermediate Unit, she uses virtual reality to help students with special needs. She said that “There’s only so far you can go with direct instruction. I can show students a picture, but it’s not real life. To me, virtual reality is this great bridge between direct instruction and real-life situations.”

This aligns with the observation of Darren Nonis on the power of immersive environments “If the things in the environment have behavior and react to the user’s motions, he/she will take those objects more seriously as actual things and the illusion of immersion will be enhanced.” The scripts and role play in the classroom often seem artificial. They also tend to cause anxiety in students with Autism. Virtual reality provides an immersive, real-world, safe experience that is engaging. Students can practice the skills they need in this realistic environment as many times as they need.

Hennick describes how Virtual Reality creates safe opportunities for students to explore real-world scenarios, mitigates the anxiety of visiting new places, fosters growth, and hones social skills. He discusses how educators use the Lenovo Daydream VR headset, and Google Expeditions to help students “to explore sites ranging from the Great Barrier Reef and the North Pole to the Tower Bridge and Beijing’s Forbidden City.”

To read the full article click here –

VR Gives Students New Ways to Learn

Citations:

Nonis, D. (2005). 3D virtual learning environments (3D VLE). Ministry of Education, Singapore.

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YES! Games Give Flow, Fun, and Fiero!

Yes! Flow, fun, and fiero – I love them all! The flow experience in games has been described by Hansen and Sanders (2010), as the optimal state for intrinsic motivation, it is experienced when a person is “fully immersed in what he or she is doing. These peak experiences balance the appropriate amount of challenge in the task and skill in the player. Video games can be perfectly designed to achieve this kind of balance to facilitate the flow experiences, which then catalyzes the intrinsic motivation for active learning (de Freitas, 2006, p.11; Delwiche, 2006, p. 162; Dickey, 2006, p. 246).

References

Delwiche, A. (2006). Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) in the new media classroom. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 9(3), 160-172.

de Freitas, S. (2006). Learning in immersive worlds: A review of game-based learning. JISC. 148

Dickey, M. (2006). Game Design Narrative for Learning: Appropriating Adventure Game Design Narrative Devices and Techniques for the Design of Interactive Learning Environments. Educational Technology Research & Development, 54(3), 245-263.

Hansen, L., & Sanders, S. (2010). Fifth Grade Students’ Experiences Participating in Active Gaming in Physical Education: The Persistence to Game. The ICHPER-SD Journal of Research in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport & Dance, 5(2), 7.

Remixing College English

As mentioned in my last post, I am planning to gamify next Fall’s first-semester FYC course, using Interactive Fiction (IF) and the multiplayer classroom model. The decision to do so came completely independently of a new MOOC that started this past week that focuses on Games Based Learning (GBL). I had not intended to take this MOOC, since I had already signed up for another MOOC that would overlap with it. However, when I saw that the GBL MOOC would be covering IF, I decided to give it a try. The great thing about MOOCs is that they are voluntary and, therefore, you can dip in and out of them as you wish. While many have classified this aspect of MOOCs as one of their weaknesses, I see it as one of their strengths. Not only does it encourage learners like me to give something a try that…

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