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WGU D294 Task 1 |Passed on First Attempt |Latest
Update with Complete Solution
VR: An Emerging Learning Technology
Learning Technology – D294
2025
Title of Your Essay
The world shifted in the spring of 2020 with the onset of COVID-19 and with it, the
nature of education and training services. As a result, emerging technologies flourished as the
desire for distance learning exploded as they were necessary for ones education and training. As
the years progressed, students and workers returned to their buildings, albeit with apathy and
disconnect from years prior. Emerging technology, such as virtual and augmented reality, has
paved the way for engaging and immersing students in academic content and has also been
beneficial in the training of professionals around the world in their perspective careers.
Imagine, you are surrounded by a sea of penguins, seals, and whales in an ecosystem
teaming with sounds and sights thousands of miles away from where you are sitting. This
immersive virtual reality technology was created with the teamwork of several teachers,
including Katie Mauro, a K-4 library media specialist. Mauro had traveled to Antarctica with a
team of naturalists with the intent to create and design lessons for her students. Little did she
realize that she would be captivating her students with virtual reality lessons, an emerging
technology. Mauro states (2003), “…we hosted an immersive antarctic-themed evening with VR
and coding challenges and discovered that these lessons were extremely versatile, seamlessly
, 2
integrating into math or science classes” (paras. 15). Mauro’s lessons were so successful, she
branched out to create new coding for upper-grade levels, incorporating more high-tech lessons
for students that included more engaging techniques for students, such as collaboration,
communication, and problem-solving amongst students. As Mauro ended her story of Edutopia,
she said (2003), “ The audible cheers and connections made while exploring the local firehouse,
library, and police station are experiences your students will truly love, leveraging the power of
community for deep learning,” (paras. 17). Emerging technology such as virtual reality can offer
students the opportunity to expand on their learning and create engaging and educational
experiences with virtual tours or places unreachable to many students. This engaging and
immersive technology allows students to connect to the content, especially after losing out on a
year or more of quality education due to COVID-19. Mauro, through the use of virtual reality,
was able to provide lessons in which students could focus on the lesson, and build new
opportunities and experiences, all while making it accessible for every student. A blog post on
CLASSVR emphasizes (2022), “Virtual reality lets students learn through experience…These
VR experiences improve learning outcomes and help students build important interpersonal
skills such as empathy, collaboration, and social skills needed for the future,” (paras. 1-4).
In addition to the educational setting of a K-12 classroom, the impact of emerging
technologies, such as virtual reality, on employees and professionals has expanded to safer
working environments for practicing new skills, making it more affordable, and more engaging
for developing soft skills. Businesses and educational institutions have looked to AR, or
augmented reality to train employees to manage everyday situations in the workplace. For
example, according to Antara Harve companies like Walmart and the International Air Transport
Association utilize AR and VR technology for training employees (2024), “Some companies are
using VR to train employees to handle emergencies. Walmart seems to be a pioneer in VR
learning, using the technology to train employees for real-time threats. The organization used VR
WGU D294 Task 1 |Passed on First Attempt |Latest
Update with Complete Solution
VR: An Emerging Learning Technology
Learning Technology – D294
2025
Title of Your Essay
The world shifted in the spring of 2020 with the onset of COVID-19 and with it, the
nature of education and training services. As a result, emerging technologies flourished as the
desire for distance learning exploded as they were necessary for ones education and training. As
the years progressed, students and workers returned to their buildings, albeit with apathy and
disconnect from years prior. Emerging technology, such as virtual and augmented reality, has
paved the way for engaging and immersing students in academic content and has also been
beneficial in the training of professionals around the world in their perspective careers.
Imagine, you are surrounded by a sea of penguins, seals, and whales in an ecosystem
teaming with sounds and sights thousands of miles away from where you are sitting. This
immersive virtual reality technology was created with the teamwork of several teachers,
including Katie Mauro, a K-4 library media specialist. Mauro had traveled to Antarctica with a
team of naturalists with the intent to create and design lessons for her students. Little did she
realize that she would be captivating her students with virtual reality lessons, an emerging
technology. Mauro states (2003), “…we hosted an immersive antarctic-themed evening with VR
and coding challenges and discovered that these lessons were extremely versatile, seamlessly
, 2
integrating into math or science classes” (paras. 15). Mauro’s lessons were so successful, she
branched out to create new coding for upper-grade levels, incorporating more high-tech lessons
for students that included more engaging techniques for students, such as collaboration,
communication, and problem-solving amongst students. As Mauro ended her story of Edutopia,
she said (2003), “ The audible cheers and connections made while exploring the local firehouse,
library, and police station are experiences your students will truly love, leveraging the power of
community for deep learning,” (paras. 17). Emerging technology such as virtual reality can offer
students the opportunity to expand on their learning and create engaging and educational
experiences with virtual tours or places unreachable to many students. This engaging and
immersive technology allows students to connect to the content, especially after losing out on a
year or more of quality education due to COVID-19. Mauro, through the use of virtual reality,
was able to provide lessons in which students could focus on the lesson, and build new
opportunities and experiences, all while making it accessible for every student. A blog post on
CLASSVR emphasizes (2022), “Virtual reality lets students learn through experience…These
VR experiences improve learning outcomes and help students build important interpersonal
skills such as empathy, collaboration, and social skills needed for the future,” (paras. 1-4).
In addition to the educational setting of a K-12 classroom, the impact of emerging
technologies, such as virtual reality, on employees and professionals has expanded to safer
working environments for practicing new skills, making it more affordable, and more engaging
for developing soft skills. Businesses and educational institutions have looked to AR, or
augmented reality to train employees to manage everyday situations in the workplace. For
example, according to Antara Harve companies like Walmart and the International Air Transport
Association utilize AR and VR technology for training employees (2024), “Some companies are
using VR to train employees to handle emergencies. Walmart seems to be a pioneer in VR
learning, using the technology to train employees for real-time threats. The organization used VR
