Discover how the upcoming Apple Vision Pro, set to be released in early 2024, by redefining the use of computers in a modern world surrounded by AI, AR, and VR, could influence the field of education. Always at the forefront of the latest innovations, University 365 is already exploring the potential implications in terms of its pedagogy, especially within its Metaverse Campus project, which will utilize Unity technology, which has been announced as compatible with Apple's new spatial computer. This compatibility could open up new perspectives for education, offering immersive and interactive learning experiences that were previously only imaginable in science fiction.
Apple Vision Pro: A Giant Leap towards the Computer of the Future
The Apple Vision Pro is more than just a computer. It is a revolution in the way we interact with technology. With its AI, AR, and VR capabilities, it offers an unprecedented user experience, transforming the way we work, learn, and play. The major difference compared to its current competitors, especially Meta's solutions with their virtual reality headsets, is that Apple seems to lean more towards augmented reality, with an abundance of cameras to replicate the real world. But what does this mean for education? How can this technology be used to enhance learning and prepare students for an increasingly digital world?
The Potential Impact of Apple Vision Pro on Our Interaction with Technology
The Apple Vision Pro is a game-changer in terms of technology interaction. With its AI, AR, and VR capabilities, it offers an immersive user experience that could transform how we use a computer and, consequently, how we learn. After all, doesn't Apple present its invention as a new concept of a "spatial" computer? It's not just a VR headset. Imagine a classroom where students, located all around the world, can explore virtual environments, manipulate 3D objects, and collaborate in real-time, regardless of their physical location. This is already possible in University 365's metaverse, you might say, but the experiences conducted in this direction with VR equipment have not been conclusive. Changing the efficiency, comfort, and even the utilization of such equipment is the potential—and even the challenge—of the Apple Vision Pro.
University 365 and Apple Vision Pro: Preparing Education for an Immersive Future?
University 365 is already at the forefront of educational innovation. With its metaverse campus, it offers an immersive learning experience that prepares students for an increasingly digital world. However, University 365 remains attentive to the fact that the use of technologies, especially in a metaverse, should not disconnect students from the real world.
That is precisely why the choice was made to integrate a metaverse technology that can be used through a simple browser on a PC or Mac, reproducing the 3D virtual world in a 2D format on a screen. The U365 team, which has explored innovative pedagogical solutions to integrate, has tested virtual reality solutions from Meta (Quest), Microsoft (Hololens-Mesh), and other manufacturers involved in the AR/VR world. The results were not very conclusive because, for now, beyond the "novelty effect," it seemed unreasonable to propose to learners to completely isolate themselves in a virtual world for several tens of minutes or even hours.
From a cognitive and neural perspective, the prolonged use of a traditional AR/VR headset in education, beyond discomfort and technical and economic constraints, has quickly been assessed as catastrophic, even dangerous.
For a university, any technology, even if trendy, must bring advantages to pedagogy; otherwise, it should be excluded from such use and confined to more recreational applications or solely for entertainment purposes. Although higher education appears to be a seemingly serious environment, the playful aspect should not be completely dismissed. University 365's campus in an accessible, affordable, welcoming, human-like metaverse, with realistic graphics and thoughtful architecture, resembles a bit of a Massive Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) but for educational use. Moreover, the social aspect of an open 24/7 campus where visitors can have chance encounters, as in real life, without losing contact with the real world, must drive University 365's choice of technology.
Apple Vision Pro seems to share University 365's vision of never truly disconnecting the user from the real world.
The announcement of Unity technology's compatibility with Apple Vision Pro opens new possibilities for education. In fact, the 3D Unity environment forms the basis of University 365's virtual campus project in the metaverse. For this reason, University 365 is already working on the implications of this new Apple technology, exploring how it can be used to enhance learning and prepare students for a future dominated by AI, AR, and VR, without losing the human aspect and the boundaries imposed by neuroscience.
With Apple Vision Pro and University 365's innovative pedagogy, we are opening the door to an exciting future for education. As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it is essential for education to evolve as well. Thanks to forward-thinking institutions like University 365 and technological innovations like Apple Vision Pro, we can prepare students to succeed in an increasingly digital world. The future of education is here, and it is more exciting than ever. Stay tuned...