I went to The Edge in the Biz to see what sort of interesting and innovative technology they had to offer. They gave me a brief tour and explanation of their many resources, including a laser cutter, 3-D printer, and multiple VR headsets, among other molding and creative applications and tools.
Unfortunately, the 3-D printer (what I was hoping to use, and will likely go back to experience at some point) was already in use by someone else, but they did let me mess around with the VR headsets for a while. I found the technology fascinating. My previous experience with VR is very limited, so it was very cool to see the full functional capability of the rapidly growing technology. I watched a short horror film about a sentient robot that was programmed to love, but whose family he served stopped loving him. He now murders people hoping to instead "fix" them and be loved again.
Existentialism and AI moral dilemmas aside, this experience spoke to me strongly as a future English teacher. With this technology, my students could put themselves in the role of a main character, and visualize plot from within a story, or even take a virtual tour "walking" around the Globe Theatre. The possibilities are endless.
Unfortunately, the 3-D printer (what I was hoping to use, and will likely go back to experience at some point) was already in use by someone else, but they did let me mess around with the VR headsets for a while. I found the technology fascinating. My previous experience with VR is very limited, so it was very cool to see the full functional capability of the rapidly growing technology. I watched a short horror film about a sentient robot that was programmed to love, but whose family he served stopped loving him. He now murders people hoping to instead "fix" them and be loved again.
Existentialism and AI moral dilemmas aside, this experience spoke to me strongly as a future English teacher. With this technology, my students could put themselves in the role of a main character, and visualize plot from within a story, or even take a virtual tour "walking" around the Globe Theatre. The possibilities are endless.