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Learning Science and Math in a Virtual World
Georgia Tech is taking the lead on creating a new virtual world to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education for all students, especially those with disabilities. The project is part of a National Science Foundation Alliance collaborative grant that partners Georgia Tech with the University of Georgia as lead institutions. Georgia Perimeter College and three Georgia public school systems are also critical partners in the project.
Robert Todd and his research team in the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) are creating a virtual island in the popular Second Life world that will be a place for students with any kind of disability to go and get help with STEM subjects. The project, known as the Georgia STEM Accessibility Alliance, or GSAA, will serve Georgia students from high school through graduate studies. According to Todd, many students with disabilities are often kept out of STEM fields due to a lack of access to resources needed to help them with the subjects. This new virtual world will allow students to have access to these resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, from their own home or school computers, free of charge.
Source: virtualabaility.org
The use of virtual treatments for pain is an area of intense research. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Health (NIH), is actively funding research on virtual reality treatments for pain (Thomas, 2014).
A meta-analysis (Garrett et al., 2014) showed that virtual reality can be a useful distraction for patients undergoing painful procedures. This has been shown for children with cancer (Gershon et al., 2004), children undergoing IV placement (Gold et al., 2006), patients with low back pain (Trost et al., 2015), a patient undergoing thermotherapy (Wright et al., 2005); individuals with phantom limb pain (Ortiz-Catalan et al., 2014), child and adult burn patients (Chan et al., 2007; Das et al., 2005; Hoffman, Doctor, et al., 2000; Hoffman, Patterson, et al., 2000, 2001, 2004, 2008; Maani et al., 2011a, 2011b; Mott et al., 2008; Sharar, 2007; Sil et al., 2013; van Twillert et al., 2007), chronic pain patients (Keefe et al., 2012; Wiederhold et al., 2014), persons with fibromyalgia (Garcia-Palacios et al., 2015; Herrero et al., 2014), and patients undergoing dental procedures (Hoffman, Garcia-Palacios, et al. 2001).
Communication can be enhanced by participation in a virtual environment. Interacting with representations (avatars) of fellow humans in a metaphorical environment allows non-speaking people new ways to converse . working in virtual reality for persons on the Autism Spectrum have been documented extensively (Biever, 2007). People with autism spectrum disorders often find virtual world communication more comfortable than in real life.