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One technology that is often described as a potential disruptor is virtual reality (VR). This ‘reality’ is computer generated and often experienced using a headset. It provides a three-dimensional environment that users can interact with – for example, they can move through a landscape, use tools, or talk to other people. Since the late twentieth century, people have been exploring its use in education.

VR can provide students with opportunities to experience things that would be difficult, dangerous or impossible in day-to-day reality. They might explore the inside of a volcano, watch landscapes change over time, or perfect an emergency response technique.

In 2007, the virtual world Second Life was hailed as offering exceptional educational opportunities for learners to collaborate and interact, with the potential to fundamentally transform online learning. However, despite the initial hype and a flurry of institutions setting up virtual Second Life campuses, just a few years later commentators such as Carrie Marshall (2011), writing for TechRadar, were asking ‘whatever happened to Second Life?’.

Second Life provides an example of how a technology in use by wider society was appropriated and adopted by educators. It is also an example of a technology that was ahead of its time in terms of learners’ needs and skills. While the educational use of Second Life has greatly reduced since its heyday, virtual reality has had a lasting legacy. In 2021, it went through another period of hype, this time in the form of the Metaverse launched by the company that owns Facebook.

These days, VR is often considered together with augmented reality (AR). An AR application can be used on a phone or other device to overlay information on objects around us or on our surroundings. For example, it can overlay a reconstruction of an historic site on its surviving remnants, or it can bring up instructions on how to work a piece of machinery. Combinations of VR and AR are often referred to as extended reality (XR). Two examples of XR currently in use in education are:

Virtual field trips: The Open University uses Virtual Skiddaw to recreate the sights and sounds of a mountain in the north of England. Students are able to browse map overlays, make detailed observations of the geology, produce field sketches, examine rocks through a microscope, contrast texture and mineralogy, and describe structural features.

Safety training: In the USA, the Centre for Innovative Research in Cyberlearning is developing VR training that makes it possible for trainee construction workers to explore a hazardous environment and find out what happens if they fail to pay enough attention to safety. They experience realistic sights and sounds – and ‘haptic’ feedback recreates feelings of touch and motion.

The Open University’s Dr Rebecca Ferguson was active in researching the use of Second Life for educational purposes at the peak of interest in the platform. In the above video I interview her about the value of Second Life, the reasons for its decline in use, and about a recent resurgence of interest in virtual worlds. Note that Rebecca is sitting on the left, with a dragon on her shoulder. I’m on the right (with no pets).

As you watch, consider:

• Do you think VR, AR or XR have potential to transform online learning?
• Can you see any potential for their use in your own subject area?