dents have every resource they need right at their fingertips and can experience lessons the same way as — sometimes better than — those students who are actually in the room with faculty . This environment helps accelerate the student ’ s perspective on a subject or concept , as well as leaves a greater imprint for recall . An example of this type of enhanced environment is virtual cadaver rooms . Some universities are building these to allow students from all over the world to be completely immersed in the virtual environment with hands-on learning not possible otherwise .
Additionally , VR can be applied to a faculty member ’ s full course load and allow them to virtually jump from one classroom to another , teaching the same class but to multiple classrooms at once across the world . This optimizes the instructor ’ s time and allows for a greater reach , which benefits the faculty member , the student , and the university .
Another way universities are currently applying VR is through online resources for students and faculty . Institutions are posting 3D photos , including VR plug-ins , on college websites as well as VR applications as part of the content for curriculums .
The next few years will see VR become more mainstream in education . New ventures have begun recently including zSpace , Alchemy VR , and Immersive VR Education — companies that are focused on providing schools with packaged educational curriculum and content , teacher training , and technological tools to support VR-based instruction in the classroom .
The first trademarked virtual environment , or CAVE , was built at the University of Illinois at Chicago to create immersive learning experiences for students ( http :// www . edtechmagazine . com / higher / article / 2013 / 01 / university-illinoischicago-virtual-realitys-cave-pioneer ). Marquette University ’ s Dr . John LaDisa used their 3D Visualization Lab in the College of Engineering ( http :// www . eng .
19 Winter 2017 ACUTA Journal mu . edu / vizlab /) to study pressure changes and disease in blood vessels . There are many more proven use cases that have demonstrated great success of 2D and 3D immersion and adoption of different types of VR technology in hundreds of classrooms in educationally progressive schools and learning labs in the U . S . and Europe .
Artificial Intelligence Offers Real Insight Another technology that is being considered by universities is artificial intelligence ( AI ). Applied to academia , AI is self-learning technology used in the classroom to improve the student experience and academic outcomes . For example , AI has the ability to streamline the time of faculty with digital tutors that ensure students who need help get additional support by learning from how the student is processing information and presenting the teachings in a way that allows the student to learn most effectively . This can typically be done to address the more rote aspects of learning . Students might need to know how to balance an equation , where those responses can be automated . A professor can then spend time helping students to understand why we need to balance equations , and circumstances under which this knowledge is applicable . AI can basically become a personal virtual assistant for professors so that they focus their time on more complex elements of instruction .
Stanford University Medical Center is one successful example of current AI user . The institution uses a smart surgical room at Stanford where one surgeon in one location can manage multiple surgical procedures located all across the world . These types of collaboration systems allow universities to better utilize resources and still have a significant impact in the industry and the world . And being able to utilize one faculty member for multiple functions without eating up additional resources can benefit the university financially . Here ’ s a link to their AI programs in the Medical Center : http :// vision . stanford . edu / pac /.
Similarly , another university in Northern California combining advancements in collaboration and wearables is set to bring a whole new perspective for interaction with patients , colleagues during surgery and medical procedures . This trend will grow across many fields of knowledge .
Finding Academic Success in the Data With floods of digital content and data being generated from technologies including IoT , VR , and AI , higher-education institutions will need to implement methods to analyze that data and curate content . Through data analytics , universities can track which curriculum , teachers , and collaboration technologies are most effective at the institution .
For example , through data analytical tools , a university can determine at the end of a semester why some courses produced “ D ” students and some didn ’ t , and they can predict which courses will have the highest enrollment rates and which will have the fewest . Through analyzing test scores , class attendance , online participation , student demographic , teacher background , and more , data analytics can provide universities with insight into where resources should be invested .
These technologies can also help the university ’ s leadership fine-tune internal and external digital processes . Technology has the ability to help track if an online portal isn ’ t working correctly , what marketing campaigns are receiving the most traction with students , and whether students are having trouble reaching teachers after office hours . By being able to analyze how a university is functioning , processes and resources can be improved and made more effective , driving a higher level of success for the institution .
The University of Arizona has pioneered the use of data analytics for student success . For example , they use information from multiple disparate sources to “ visualize the data , understand
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