Professor Chris Dede was recently
featured in a Science magazine article
and podcast discussing immersive interfaces like
The article, which Dede says is "about
a set of opportunities that a particular type of interface represents and the
opportunities [it presents]," explores his research on the intersection of
education and virtual worlds through projects like
"We have a capability... to have identity kind of shift from being in the real world to being in the virtual world," he says. "What we are finding is that, yes, it does have special capabilities for education."
As technological capacity grows, Dede
remains hopeful that schools will embrace these new technologies in the
classroom. He is eager to begin new research that will go beyond
Perhaps most importantly, Dede will tackle the biggest issue to date: virtual assessment. "If schools do start to use things like virtual worlds and if they teach things that are not on the test, then how do we measure it?" he asks. "We can't assume that schools or parents will trust us...so we have to have something that shows learning will take place."
I think in the not too distant future, we will see this kind of education as not exotic but the reference standard. I am familiar with Prof. Dede reseach. I am passionately interested in this area of research. If you are currently looking for graduate students, please send me an email at your earliest convenient.
Wednaud J. Ronelus