Colleges and universities are looking at how virtual
reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in the classroom.
A professor at Pennsylvania State University, State College, is working on ways
to use both as the classroom.
Ann Clements, associate professor and graduate program
chair for music education at Penn State, has developed an AI virtual classroom
that lets teachers practice student-engagement techniques before they begin their
student-teaching requirements. The classroom prototype, known as First Class,
allows pre-service teachers to use a motion-sensing device employed in video-game
consoles to experience what can happen in a classroom setting.
Modules in the AI program allows the teachers to call
on individual students by their first name after they raise their hands, while
attention meters measure if the class is paying attention. The teacher also
receives evaluations based on answers the virtual students give on a basic
yes-and-no test.
“Teaching
is a complex craft because it involves human engagement,” Clements said in an
article for eCampus News. “So we can talk to someone about how to teach and best
practices and provide them with curricular content, but they need to engage
with students in some way to have the skills to become solid teachers.”
