Virtual Assistive Technology Two of the biggest challenges currently faced by both special and general educators are to diversify instruction in order to make core content area curriculum available to all learners and to keep the learners involved and interested in the learning process. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) mandate that statewide tests be used to measure and evaluate student progress. This leaves educators striving to adapt their instruction to accommodate the needs of students in terms of learning styles and ability. It has been suggested in the literature that virtual reality (VR) has the potential to assist educators in accommodating individual differences in terms of learning style, ability, and engagement (Muscott & Gifford, 1994; Chen, Toh, & Ismail, 2005; Neel, 2006; and Tiala, 2007). Virtual reality can be defined as a text and graphics-based environment that is created by a computer. Today’s students are proficient in using technology; ninety percent of children in the U.S. between the ages of 5 and 17 use computers on a regular basis (DeBell & Chapman, 2003). It stands to reason that integrating virtual reality technology into lessons would improve student motivation and engagement.
Levels of Virtual Reality The educational community in general has been slow to embrace virtual reality as an assistive technology. This is most likely to due to its cost and its complexity. Many school districts are already overburdened financially and have difficulty providing students with what have always been considered the basic necessities: teachers, books, and equipment. Providing basic computer equipment and Internet access to students is an arduous financial task all on its own. Many veteran teachers do not possess the same level of technological expertise as their students, let alone the expertise to run a virtual reality system. There are lower-tech levels of virtual reality that can make this form of technology more accessible to teachers and students.
Full Immersion Virtual Reality Full immersion virtual reality is the most sophisticated and expensive level of VR. To be fully immersed in the virtual environment, the user wears a special glove and a head-mounted display (HMD). Together, these two pieces of equipment sense and register the user’s movements, and using a series of fiber optic cables, send this information to the computer, which interprets the data, and converts them into visual imagery. This imagery is finally projected onto LCD screens mounted in front of the user’s eyes. With these two pieces of equipment, the user can experience and manipulate the virtual world (called a CAVE environment) that he or she is immersed in, The user controls the CAVE environment with a mouse, joystick, or trackball. The glove is used to manipulate or feel objects in the environment. Common uses of full immersion VR include video games and flight and air traffic control simulators.
Desktop Virtual Reality When using a desktop virtual reality system, the virtual world is displayed on a computer screen and the user must look at the screen to experience the virtual environment. This form of VR is commonly referred to as simulation. Simulations are less expensive and are more widely available than full immersion VR. Many current educational software employ simulation technology, which requires the user to assume a role and travel through the environment making decisions that involve solving a problem or moving through an experience. Common uses of desktop VR include problem-solving, math, and science simulations. Kim (2006) suggests taking traditional two-dimensional simulations a step further by creating three-dimensional virtual reality environments (3D VR) using a desktop computer, a dual-flat-panel display, and low cost, lightweight polarized glasses. The environment created is highly interactive, as students can manipulate the view and the objects within it. Kim (2006) found that students were more engaged when using 3D VR than when using 2D animation.

Current Uses of Virtual Reality Psychologists are currently using VR for desensitization therapy for patients with phobias (Carlin, Hoffman, & Weghorst, 1997), posttraumatic stress (Difede & Hoffman, 2002), and schizophrenia (Versweyveld, 2002). Clinics are also using VR to assess and treat patients with eating disorders (Riva, Bacchetta, Baruffi, Rinaldi, & Molinari, 1999) and attention deficit disorder (Rizzo, et al., 2000). Hoffman (2004) describes using VR as a distraction from the extreme pain experienced by children and adolescents during care after severe burns. During the skin grafting and wound cleansing, patients typically report a pain level of 8-10 (on a scale of 1-10). When exposed to a VR environment during treatment, patients reported pain levels of 2-3. He hypothesized that by focusing and concentrating on the virtual world that patients may have blocked the pain impulses to the brain. Based on these findings, Neel (2006) suggests that using VR to block unwanted impulses in children with severe ADHD may be an area for further research. In the field of education, we are slowly integrating technologies such as VR into our traditional teaching. The Applied Computer Simulations Laboratory was created to assist students with physical disabilities (Bowman, 1997). In the lab, VR is used to assist students with physical disabilities to learn to drive motorized wheelchairs in a natural environment. Another program consists of a series of 3-D sound environments to teach students who are deaf and blind mobility skills. A third program allows students with physical disabilities to participate fully in science experiments and activities by immersing them in 3-D computer-generated laboratories. Standen & Brown (2006) describe two full immersion VR programs that were developed to teach students with cognitive disabilities the necessary skills to be successful in the home and community. Virtual House teaches about safety and functionality in the home, and Virtual Supermarket assists students in learning to successfully navigate eight supermarket aisles stocked with 60 projects. Data indicate that student learning from these programs generalize to real-life situations. A series of science simulation software called FutureLab was developed by Simulationsplus (2003). These labs are designed to allow students to conduct realistic experiments that are too expensive, too dangerous, or impossible to conduct in a traditional classroom. Newbyte Educational Software (2002) offers simulation software in biology, chemistry, and physics. Their software includes lesson plans and other supplementary teacher materials. The STAR project (Goldsworthy, Barab, & Goldsworthy, 2000) investigated the effects of a full immersion VR game on the development of students’ social problem solving skills. The social situations experienced in the game contained instruction and embedded questions. Goldsworthy et al. (2000) found that an interactive software group performed significantly better than a control group, and comparably to a therapist-directed group. Media based materials have the ability to reach many more students than school counseling personnel. Programs such as this one would be a cost-effective means of providing social skills training to large numbers of children. Virtual reality has the potential to address the needs of diverse learners as a compliment, not a replacement to current educational practices. It gives students an opportunity to learn complex concepts in a safe and cost-effective way. The results of the few initial studies that used VR as educational interventions are very promising.

Potential Uses of Virtual Reality as an Assistive Technology It is exciting to envision the potential uses of virtual reality after perusing studies done in both special and general education, as well as other fields. Students with disabilities, namely those with ADHD and EBD often demonstrate low rates of engagement during lessons. A high percentage of those same students are already using VR technology to play video games for hours (Neel, 2006). It would stand to reason that incorporating VR into lessons would increase student engagement and motivation, thereby increasing the learning and possibly the behavior of students with ADHD and EBD. There are several ways that this can be accomplished. Muscott and Gifford (1994) and Neel (2006) both make the suggestion that VR be used to teach social and coping skills to students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. It is suggested that teaching these skills in a virtual environment would increase generalization of the skills. An environment could be created that would reduce the students’ rewards for inappropriate responses/behavior while rewarding appropriate choices. A virtual environment would give students a risk-free place to learn and practice appropriate responses to stressful situations. Students could use technology to create their own multimedia social skills lessons. Teachers would facilitate the process of students writing scripts, rehearsing, and video taping social skills vignettes. The students would then download the video from the camera to a computer. Movie editing software would then be used to edit the vignette and transfer it to a CD-rom or DVD for future viewing and sharing with the rest of the class. If a student was having difficulty with a particular social skill, he or she could go to the computer and review it on DVD. Virtual reality could also be used to create virtual field trips for students (Smedley & Higgins, 2005). Many locations that would be beneficial for students to visit to supplement units of instruction are too far away and too expensive to travel to. A virtual field trip of that site could be created and students could view the site from the safety and comfort of a classroom desktop computer. Teachers in different locations could create and share field trips with one another. The simulated field trips could then be incorporated into units of study about different locations. The same premise could be used to prepare students with disabilities for community-based instruction. For example, viewing the process of getting on a public bus, paying the fare, and taking a seat could lower the students’ anxiety levels and provide detailed, necessary information about that activity to students with cognitive disabilities. When used as a pre-activity, virtual instruction has the potential to increase students’ success in community settings.

How to Implement Virtual Reality in a Classroom Educators are historically slow at incorporating new technologies into their instruction. There are many reasons for this, including cost, lack of availability, and lack of training. Like other forms of technology, virtual reality presents several challenges: (a) the cost of equipment and developing programs is high, (b) it is difficult to develop realistic avatars, (c) teacher anxiety of new technology, and (d) cost of training staff. However, less complex forms of virtual reality can be incorporated into classroom activities. Tiala (2007) suggests VR can be integrated into the educational environment inexpensively through the use of desktop virtual reality. Desktop virtual reality systems can be created through freeware such as Alice, a computer program available from Carnegie-Mellon University, available at www.alice.org. This can be used as a starting point by both teachers and students for creating desktop three-dimensional VR. The program is easy to use, teaches higher-level programming skills and incorporates built-in tutorials. For a more immersive experience, a head-mounted display (HMD) and a tracking device can be added. A HMD projects the VR environment in front of the user’s eyes using stereo imaging. A tracking device is connected to a HMD and sends positioning information to the computer. Using this information the computer adjusts the user’s view depending on where the head is situated. Both of these devices can cost between hundreds and thousands of dollars, but are easily integrated with Alice. Exciting lessons can be created using virtual reality technology. Virtual worlds can be created to demonstrate scientific and mathematical concepts. Students can use virtual reality to support inquiry-based learning by creating their own multi-media presentations using programs such as Alice. This afford them creativity and ownership in their learning. Virtual reality can provide a motivating medium with which to deliver a standards-based curriculum to all students. Future research in this area is of the utmost importance, because motivation and generalization are two of the most frequently cited challenges by teachers. Virtual reality technology is available and has the potential to make positive changes in the way educators meet the needs of all students while delivering core content area curriculum.
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