Virtual Reality vs. Real Schools

I am Meyer Van Wye. As I’m writing this down there is an emergency, the coronavirus. As many people will tell you, all of the physical schools in the world were closed to stop the spreading of the virus. Almost every kid was still doing school but on a computer, and many kids were very bored. Online schools aren’t good, but what about an all time VR (virtual reality) school where you are at home with a headset and haptic gloves? This is the main question: would a VR school be better than a regular school? In my opinion, the VR schools would be much better than regular schools, that is, if we use a VR school like the one on Ludus, the fictional VR world in Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One.

It’s better for students.You can appear and sound like any human in the world. That means getting rid of acne, bad haircuts, a squeaky voice, etc. And that would be good since some students are too nervous that people will laugh at them because they look or sound weird, and that would improve their class participation and self-confidence.

It’s also way better for the teachers. The coding makes it so students can’t goof off or stand up without permission. On page 70 Wade Watts was upset because he realized where the copper key was but he couldn’t leave the classroom so he yelled, “Shit!” But the software filtered it out so no one could hear it. Then a sign said, “profanity muted—misconduct warning!” Also the teachers could take the class on an no price field trip in places where you couldn’t normally go to like to travel inside a human heart,Tutankhamen’s tomb, or one of the moons of Jupiter all in one day.

Also it would stop bullying. For physical bullying, there could be software that makes it a null zone that means no punches, weapons, or spells. For emotional bullying, you can mute them. Wade said that one of his favorite things was being able to mute his peers. And the best thing was that they can see that they were muted.

Now, there are a few thing that you can’t put in a VR school like going to the bathroom, eating and sharing lunch, and secretly reading or drawing something when you’re bored. But if you put it all together the VR wins, in my opinion. Also if you have a girlfriend that lives in Texas but you live in L.A., you could go to the same school.

Right now, this is the year 2020. This is a very special year. That is because if you went outside during the pandemic you’d see kids playing, dogs jumping, and happy people. It feels like nothing’s wrong. Technology has to evolve some time. Will schools be the ones to evolve?