Virtual to Functional Reality - Using Virtual Reality to Teach Individuals With Intellectual Disability Real World Skills

Tony Morelli, Jordan Shurr, Andrea Jasper, Meagan McCollow, Ethan Coggins and Molly Rossman

Abstract

Students in special education programs may benefit from using virtual reality to learn real world skills. Virtual reality headsets can focus the student's attention on the task at hand as opposed to standard computer learning methodologies where the student's attention may switch to other items within the room. This paper presents research that analyzes the use of virtual reality with training for students in special education programs. It was found that learning improvement was significantly faster when using head mounted virtual reality displays as opposed to using a standard computer training environment.