Curation Project
VR with Len Scrogan
Fourteen percent of the population will struggle with Virtual Reality (VR) on some level. I was surprised to learn that the issue causing this is related to a struggle with focus, tracking and teaming which results in difficulty reading for even the youngest students. However, by recognizing discomfort viewing 3D or VR, then seeing an eye doctor for confirmation, seeking out eye exercises, and potentially corrective lenses, even the youngest learners are able to to overcome reading challenges early in their learning careers. After learning this during a VR presentation by Len Scrogan I contacted him to request an interview and to video record the Brock String Eye Test he uses to bring the potential focus, tracking, teaming issue to the surface.
I was drawn to Len’s Technology Wizard session at the 2019 COLTT Conference in Boulder Colorado. My interest stemmed from my newfound curiosity surrounding augmented and virtual reality. In his session I was introduced to the important concept of focus, tracking, and teaming and the effect an inability to effectively do so has on 3D and VR as well as reading. In our interview we focused on the concepts he had introduced during his presentation and on how 3D and VR may be the best indicator of a future reading struggle for even the youngest of learners. The information contained below centers on this critically important skill, how to discover this inherited diffculty to focus, track & team, and how to correct for it to ensure a positive, fruitful learning career from a young age. Helping children maintain a positive mindset with regard to reading is mandatory as we strive to develop the life long learning skills required today. The increase of 3D and AR in our entertainment and educational environments heightens the importance of recognizing these issues and correcting for them early to give even the youngest learners a better chance at success today.
Len was very accommodating as he agreed to meet with me so I gathered a couple of friends who had little if any exposure to VR as volunteers and we headed off to a session with him to delve deeper into Augmented Reality (AR), VR, 3D movies, and to look at how these environments can bring a focus, teaming, and tracking issue to the surface.
We began with a question and answer session as he spent a bit of time getting to know the subjects I had brought with me. The reasoning behind his initial questions soon became evident.
- Len to Denise: How do you do at 3D movies?
- Denise: Ah… not that well, I don’t go to them often.
- Len to Denise: And when you do how to you feel?
- Denise: Not great, I feel like it’s not motion sickness or anything, but I am likely to get a headache.
- Len to Penney: How about you for VR, have you done any VR?
- Penney: No, I have never. I keep wanting to but I have never.
- Len to Denise: How about you?
- Denise: I might have in an arcade or something
- Len to Denise: How did that make you feel?
- Denise: I think it’s the same as a 3D movie but ….
At this point in our discussion Penney dawned Len’s VR goggles, while she did he showed Denise and I how the VR app on the phone worked by splitting the screen to create the immersive 3D like environment. Once set up the phone is inserted into VR goggles as the viewer prepares for the experience. In the following video Len explains how he introduces VR to students and some of the potential effects.
As we continued our discussions Len explained the direct connection between the skills used for viewing 3D, VR and reading. He noted that you use the same skills for viewing VR that you do for reading and stressed that recognizing a potential challenge for a young student learning to read was critical to success in their educational career. One pathway to early recognition of this inherited trait was through reactions to 3D and VR. The good news, as he discovered when his grandson made this journey, is that it is very easy to resolve for the focus, track & team issue with some simple eye exercises that can be given by a physician.
Len went on to show us how he uses the Brock String Eye Test to help people see why they struggle with VR. He noted that those who struggle with 3D movies and VR likely also struggle with reading as well and when he notices a potential issue he encourages them to see a physician for assistance.
We continued to talk and I posed a few questions to get his thoughts on the current state of and the future of VR and AR.
As technology continues to advance it is hard to estimate adoption of this powerful tool in education. As Len noted, maybe the most important questions we need to ask are what are we doing with it and how smart are we using VR in education? Where can we go with it to truly enhance learning for our students?
In Appreciation
Thank you to Len Scrogan and my test subjects Penney Smith and Denise Flack.
Len is a blogger, TEDx speaker (2x), SXSW speaker (2x), and recognized ed-tech author and conference speaker. Len serves as the online community manager for LinkedIn’s VR AR Media Group, an online community of 10,000+ members. Len is also a board member for the ISTE Games and Simulations Network, an expert panelist on the 2015, 2016, 2017 international Horizon reports, and serves as a national judge for the Technology & Learning software awards.