Creating Immersive Learning Environments: Unity Development’s Impact on Modern Classrooms

Formal education is something that we all experience, and with it usually being delivered in a classroom environment. Learning is a comprehensive process of gaining new insights, information, behaviours, and abilities via a variety of experiences, such as formal schooling but also independent study, observation, and social interactions. Rote learning, in which repetition is a crucial component, has historically been used to give education, but new technologies are fast replacing the older means of gaining the knowledge that we want and need.

While AR/VR is having an increasingly positive impact on many different spheres of our lives, probably the greatest impression has been in the area of education. Areas such as business, medicine, service industries and commerce are developing AR/VR infrastructures that make the most of the technology, few would deny that education – by its very nature – offers the most opportunity for immersive experiences. But we are only just starting to investigate the full potential of what AR/VR can bring to education.

The subject matter covered in education is so broad that there is almost not an area of it that cannot be enhanced by the application of virtual environments. But AR/VR is able to offer much more than just 3D experiences, and that is its major strength. The technology allows students to experience learning through virtual environments, simulations, and interactive 3D models, moving beyond traditional lecture-based instruction, but can also be combined with AI to create personalised learning paths and provide real-time feedback, while adapting to individual student’s needs.  

Because it is computer-based, AR/VR educational packages can be delivered remotely and completely irrespective of distance and location. It’s not only inclusive, but also potentially timesaving, since student groups can increase in size dramatically, and teachers can deal with large class sizes effectively.

AR/VR technologies can make education a holistic experience rather than just another mode of adsorbing information. The use of AR/VR headsets in an educational environment, profoundly influences education by increasing engagement, strengthening learning outcomes, and cultivating abilities such as creativity and critical thinking. 

Research indicates that virtual reality can enhance student information retention by as much as 75% relative to conventional approaches, with some studies showing students gaining as much as a 20% rise in final examination scores. In addition, AR/VR headsets help facilitate a students’ comprehension of intricate subjects by enabling interaction with digital objects and simulations. 

Put simply, a student’s ability to see and interact with an object or environment, significantly increases their understanding of it compared to just reading about it, or looking at images. Even highly complex subjects such as mathematics and Physics can benefit hugely from immersive worlds and animations.

Virtual packages can be used at any stage of education, and it is a field that can benefit from AR/VR across the entire curriculum, and bring a greater depth of understanding to almost any subject being taught. So-called Meta-education is still in its infancy in the UK, but it is growing fast. Official Government statistics bear out the positive impact that AR/VR is having on formal education:

• It is expected that the Metaverse Education Market will reach a value of almost $129 million in the UK by the end of 2025.
• The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) between 2025 and 2030 is expected to reach around 49%, giving a market value of nearly $941 million in 2030.
• By 2030, it is estimated that the UK will have around 900,000 regular AR/VR users within the educational sphere, and with a user penetration rate rising from 0.4% now to at least 1.3% in 2030.

Those are serious numbers and they go to demonstrate the importance with which the UK educational establishment is taking this kind of technology. We are, however, at an important point in the use of virtual technologies in education; it would be very easy for some unprofessional developers to start to introduce second rate Apps into the community, because teachers will not have the experience to recognise what is good and what is less so. This then is the time for professional developers to step up and help create Apps that will be used for years to come.

Quality is Everything

AR/VR can only enhance education if the software package used to create the experiences is sufficiently good to make the content lifelike and practical. While there are many different packages available, most of the high-end Apps are developed in Unity. The Unity software is ideal for developing because it has been designed with the right tools in place to help create exceptional XR apps. 

Unity is an engine that has been designed around creating content such as video games, but is much more flexible than that.  It is a comprehensive package that is utilised by developers in order to construct interactive settings. Unity is very flexible when it comes to design. A seasoned game developer could use Unity to write the basic code that would run an App which would then be converted into an interactive piece of media. 

An estimated 3.6 billion applications that have been developed using Unity are downloaded each month. Unity has been used to develop some of the most iconic XR games available on the market, including Beat Sabre, Monument Valley, Batman: Arkham Shadow, Pokémon Go, and Dredge.

But Unity is more than just a game-creation package, and many educational Apps are based on introducing students to real life situations. These too can be highly varied in nature and may range from virtual tours of historic or iconic sites around the world, to the visualisation of engineering and physics principles. Once again, Unity is well placed in creating these kinds of Apps, whether developed by students themselves or by professional coders.

Professional Development Makes the Difference

One of the major attractions of the Unity software is that it is easy to use and intuitive, but it is always best to have a professional developer create educational Apps for you. Typically, a seasoned Unity developer will;

• Develop an idea for an App with the client.
• Design the functionality of the App to a defined specification.
• Develop the App, and
• Deploy the App in the marketplace.

Professional companies such as Unity Developers will do all of this and more, and will continue to support the virtual Apps that they create and develop, and will offer training packages for teachers to ensure a smooth introduction.  

VR in schools is now a fact of life, and it should be embraced as the new way of imparting knowledge. The notion of AR education Apps in education is becoming increasingly popular among teachers in the UK. The immersive and interactive aspects of metaverse education appeal to them as they provide a more interesting and customised educational experience. 

Using immersive Unity content, students may work together in real time with classmates, explore virtual surroundings, and interact with digital items. This satisfies their need for a more engaging and practical learning environment. Additionally, both students and teachers greatly enjoy the ease and flexibility that metaverse education offers, such as the ability to access Apps and instructional materials at any time and from any location.

Contact Unity Developers today, and see how they can help you create the perfect educational Apps for your school, college, or University.