Virtual reality in education

My Perception of Virtual Reality
In my school there is an audiovisual room (which can accomodate up to 50 students) where traditional classroom lessons are supplemented with audio/video lessons. In fact all classes (of all levels) have to attend to at least 5 video/audio lessons every school term.
Setting up a virtual lab will certainly be something innovative which will further enhance learning. Students will be immersed in the subject matter (instead of being pasive learners). It will be a true paradigm shift from other forms of learning because it allows all the human senses, particularly the communicative senses, vision to interact with information. Educators know that students respond positively when information is presented throughout the semesters in varied formats.
A very interesting website (free) for virtual reality is :http://secondlife.com/

What literature says about virtual reality?
Virtual reality has already proved its benefits in the field of medicine and in military training
Virtual reality has undeniably entered the field of education and it appears to be very promising with its numerous positive points:
1. There is involvment of experiential learning
3. Students make use of visual learning (which is the best method of learning)
4. Students participating in decision making
5. Students are self-directed and independent
6. Students start with high level of motivation

We must however be very realistic on virtual education. Despite enormous potential practical application, Virtual reality, in its current state, has drawbacks. It is still extremely expensive, the graphics are still cartoonish, and there is still a slight, but perceptible time lag between the user's body movements and their translation in Cyberspace. The equipment the user must wear, such as headgear, gloves, and other devices, needs refinement. At this stage in the development of virtual reality. People using virtual reality head gear sometimes complain about chronic fatigue, a lack of initiative, drowsiness, irritability, or nausea after interacting with a virtual environment for a long time. We do not know how much each of these symptoms depends on the characteristics of the virtual reality systems themselves, or on the characteristics of the individuals using the systems.
My most important queston about virtual reality: Can it cater for all these lessons that are delivered inside a classroom during whole year? I guess NO. For me virtual reality will remain in its cocoon for a long period of time before becoming 100% operational.

Hemnath

References
1. Sunrise, (2003), The educators’ guide to learning in virtual reality.
2. Appel, J. (2006). "Second Life" develops education following