As Sir Ken Robinson once said, “It is right and proper that we should build [technology] into the heart of education, because the tools themselves are creating cultural changes and possibilities.” Technology has indeed become an integral part of “21st century Education.” History has taught us that technology and education often work in tandem to increase humans’ understanding of the physical world around them and the metaphysical world within themselves. Circa 3000 BCE, the invention of the papyrus paper dramatically increased literacy within the Egyptian kingdom. In 1455, the invention of the Gutenberg printing press facilitated the dissemination of knowledge and ideas. In 1990, the invention of the Internet opened a new era of learning as students’ search for information was made easier by the interconnected global web of scholars and educators. Classroom instruction and educational experiences are enriched by the incorporation of multimedia elements such as video conferencing and interactive learning software in lectures. Post-Internet, the next-big-thing in education is virtual reality (VR) technology. Indeed, today’s technology has already shortened the distance between the educator and the student, but what virtual reality offers on top of existing technologies is an ever-expanding immersive experience that allows students to interact with the educator in a simulated virtual landscape and obtain experiential learning opportunities without having to step outside of the physical classroom.

Much of virtual reality’s early venture into education has been focused around the hard sciences, on subjects such as biology, anatomy, geology, and astronomy. Through the interaction with dimensional objects and with the help of virtual reality technology, students’ visualization of scientific concepts and lab practices are significantly enhanced. At Mendel Grammar School in the Czech Republic, a virtual reality-based educational initiative, named "The World of Comenius," uses a Leap Motion controller and Oculus Rift DK2 virtual reality headsets, to help students understand the biology and anatomy of the human body. Since The World of Comenius, educators have used virtual reality technology to engage students in literature, history, economics, and even architecture. Virtual reality adds value to these lessons by offering an immersive sense of time and place. For example, in a history lesson on Mesopotamian city-states, virtual reality can bring the student to the city-state of Jericho, showing him or her the agrarian lifestyle of ancient Mesopotamians and the semi-subterranean, semi-circular houses of the period. Software developers have amassed a collection of more than 100 virtual trips to various places from the Great Wall of China to the planet Mars.

When asked “What can we do to re-inject creativity in today’s school curricula?” Sir Ken answered “Through service internships and experiential learning.” With virtual reality technology, experiential learning is now available to students who may lack the means to, say, travel overseas to visit a cultural site or to visit The Globe theater. With virtual reality, students can simply put on their headsets and take virtual tours and classes in real time under the guidance of a historian or a curator. However, despite the optimistic realities and projections of the application of virtual reality in education, virtual reality will not replace traditional classroom teaching in the near future due to its limitations. Since the student’s virtual learning experience is created by software developers, the content is inherently limited to the developers’ knowledge and imagination regarding the subject matter. Although a virtual tour or trip can enhance students’ understanding of their curricula, it is not equivalent to an actual trip where students can interact with real people, taste authentic food, and experience the local culture in person. As a result, virtual reality’s use in education should be limited to the basic levels of education, where students gain knowledge and understanding via an immersive experience. The virtual reality learning experience is not the same as the classroom learning experience classrooms, which facilitates different interpretations based on the individual who is studying the subject matter, real-time. Virtual reality cannot completely replace the personal face-to-face interactions and social experiences in the real world. Rather than substituting the education itself, virtual reality should only act as an educational aid.

In the next 10-20 years, virtual reality will completely transform the educational landscape by creating new ways educators and students interact; however, it may not be able to entirely replace the brick-and-mortar teaching model because virtual reality lacks in customization of teaching material and physical interaction between the educator and the student. Under––as Sir Ken puts it––“a stagnant education system,” experiential learning is vital to revitalizing passion for education in both students and faculty alike. In this light, virtual reality technology is the tool that can reinstate creativity once again.