The Utilisation of Virtual Reality to Engage High School History Students

Abstract

History is often considered by students to involve the unstimulating memorisation of boring events, rather than the intriguing and dramatic narrative of our ever-developing cultural identities. Accordingly, I wanted to see if the use of virtual reality (VR) could more effectively engage students in history lessons, not only by showing them the places and events of the past more vividly, but by offering them access to the perspectives of those who experienced them. For this, I found a theoretical basis in the writings of Kolb and Dale. From asking four students to compare their experiences using VR and written sources, I found the former encouraged very high levels of engagement and the development of substantial interest in the content. VR thus appears to be powerful tool for helping students to develop connections with the past and firing their enthusiasm for historical inquiry and for students lacking the resources for gaining such experiences first hand through travel it also democratises students’ access to a range of historical experiences.