Experiencing virtual reality for perspective-taking of blind and visually impaired learners.
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| Title: | Experiencing virtual reality for perspective-taking of blind and visually impaired learners. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Heap, Tania1 Tania.Heap@unt.edu, Kaplan-Rakowski, Regina2 Regina.Kaplan-Rakowski@unt.edu, Archibald, Audon1 Audon.Archibald@unt.edu |
| Source: | Educational Technology & Society. Oct2024, Vol. 27 Issue 4, p375-389. 15p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Education policy, *Visual education, People with visual disabilities, Forums, Virtual reality |
| Abstract: | Understanding blindness or imagining being blind can be challenging for individuals without visual impairments. One of the affordances of high-immersion virtual reality (VR) is its ability to build empathy and facilitate perspective-taking. VR can be potent when providing narrative, experience-laden education that exposes users to ideas and settings that may be beyond their immediate reach. This paper reports on a pilot study based on a series of workshops conducted at a university intended to give participants the opportunity to experience a VR non-fiction story, documenting the experience of a man who became blind after years of deteriorating vision. The workshops intended to trigger participants’ interest in VR technology and brainstorm ways that VR can address equity and inclusion of individuals with visual disabilities in education and the workforce. Findings from survey responses and group discussions of 34 workshop attendees revealed that participants’ general empathy levels slightly increased after the VR experience. Participants’ perceptions of blind people’s productivity significantly increased following the VR experience, suggesting that immersive technology can be integrated in various educational and training settings to enhance empathy and understanding of the experiences of diverse populations, including populations that are underrepresented in higher education and the workforce. This pilot study is a stepping stone for a larger project aiming to confirm the preliminary findings and to derive more exhaustive recommendations for educators and educational policy makers to address inclusion of people with visual disabilities in education and the workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Educational Technology & Society is the property of International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 180050999 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Experiencing virtual reality for perspective-taking of blind and visually impaired learners. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Heap%2C+Tania%22">Heap, Tania</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> Tania.Heap@unt.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kaplan-Rakowski%2C+Regina%22">Kaplan-Rakowski, Regina</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><i> Regina.Kaplan-Rakowski@unt.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Archibald%2C+Audon%22">Archibald, Audon</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> Audon.Archibald@unt.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Educational+Technology+%26+Society%22">Educational Technology & Society</searchLink>. Oct2024, Vol. 27 Issue 4, p375-389. 15p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+policy%22">Education policy</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Visual+education%22">Visual education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22People+with+visual+disabilities%22">People with visual disabilities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Forums%22">Forums</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Virtual+reality%22">Virtual reality</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Understanding blindness or imagining being blind can be challenging for individuals without visual impairments. One of the affordances of high-immersion virtual reality (VR) is its ability to build empathy and facilitate perspective-taking. VR can be potent when providing narrative, experience-laden education that exposes users to ideas and settings that may be beyond their immediate reach. This paper reports on a pilot study based on a series of workshops conducted at a university intended to give participants the opportunity to experience a VR non-fiction story, documenting the experience of a man who became blind after years of deteriorating vision. The workshops intended to trigger participants’ interest in VR technology and brainstorm ways that VR can address equity and inclusion of individuals with visual disabilities in education and the workforce. Findings from survey responses and group discussions of 34 workshop attendees revealed that participants’ general empathy levels slightly increased after the VR experience. Participants’ perceptions of blind people’s productivity significantly increased following the VR experience, suggesting that immersive technology can be integrated in various educational and training settings to enhance empathy and understanding of the experiences of diverse populations, including populations that are underrepresented in higher education and the workforce. This pilot study is a stepping stone for a larger project aiming to confirm the preliminary findings and to derive more exhaustive recommendations for educators and educational policy makers to address inclusion of people with visual disabilities in education and the workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Educational Technology & Society is the property of International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=180050999 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.30191/ETS.202410_27(4).SP10 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 15 StartPage: 375 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Education policy Type: general – SubjectFull: Visual education Type: general – SubjectFull: People with visual disabilities Type: general – SubjectFull: Forums Type: general – SubjectFull: Virtual reality Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Experiencing virtual reality for perspective-taking of blind and visually impaired learners. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Heap, Tania – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kaplan-Rakowski, Regina – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Archibald, Audon IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 10 Text: Oct2024 Type: published Y: 2024 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 11763647 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 27 – Type: issue Value: 4 Titles: – TitleFull: Educational Technology & Society Type: main |
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