Home PublicationsL&LIssuesVolume 26 (1998-1999) May (No. 8)

Special Education and Virtual Reality:

Challenges and Possibilities

David A. Powers and Melissa Darrow
East Carolina University

Reprinted from the Journal of Research on Computing in Education
vol. 27 no. 1
Winter 1996
Copyright © 1996 International Society for Technology in Education

Abstract

Virtual reality is an emerging technology with a wide range of potential applications. As problems of cost, size, and performance are overcome, virtual reality is being used in medicine, chemistry, architecture, interior design, the military, space exploration, and robotics. There are powerful potential applications for this technology in programs and services for persons with disabilities. These applications include modeling, flexible instructional design, realistic training environments, robotics, vicarious sensory experiences, concretion, stimulus control, and training in orientation and mobility. The extent to which these potential uses of virtual reality are realized, however, depends on the willingness of special educators to become knowledgeable about the technology and serve as advocates for its research and development in special education.

Few new technologies have attracted as much initial enthusiasm as virtual reality. Such a response is particularly remarkable given that there are presently very few cost-effective practical applications for the technology. This enthusiasm is fueled not so much by what virtual reality can do in the present as by a shared recognition among researchers of its enormous and unique potential. It is that unique potential, the capacity of virtual reality to present experiences in an altogether novel manner, that has intrigued researchers in agencies ranging from NASA to Nintendo, and in disciplines ranging from radiation oncology to architectural design. Oddly absent, however, from the list of researchers actively pursuing applications for virtual reality have been representatives of special education. Ironically, it appears that virtual reality holds special promise for empowering the lives of persons with disabilities. In order to assure that persons with sensory, physical, and cognitive limitations benefit from creative applications of virtual reality, special educators should become more active participants in the transition of virtual reality from the research laboratory to real-world settings. The first step in that process involves becoming aware of the nature of the technology and capturing a sense of its potential.

THE NATURE OF THE TECHNOLOGY

Virtual reality, referred to variously as virtual worlds, virtual environments, telepresence, and cyberspace, as well as by the oxymoron artificial reality, is a technology that literally "envelopes one in a surrogate existence" (Wright, 1990, p. 91). The user wears headgear that presents each eye with a miniature computer screen. The tiny monitors typically block the user's view of the surrounding "real" environment, creating an illusion of being within a three-dimensional world created by the computer. The headgear contains a position-tracking system that responds to movement of the user in space by adjusting the scenes viewed through the goggles. When the user tilts his or her head, the computer receives information regarding the movement and adjusts the computer-generated scene accordingly. The resulting sensation is one of looking about in the real world. When this visual experience is joined with appropriate sounds through accompanying headphones, the illusion is heightened. The world being perceived, however, is completely computer designed and managed.

The worlds into which one steps through virtual reality are limited only by the imagination of the programmer. As Lewis (1991) has noted, users might "travel to distant locations and sense that they are physically present at, say, the ruins of Pompeii" (p. 7). Trotter (1991) foresees teachers sending students on virtual field trips to locations around the world. Further refinements of the technology allow the user to penetrate even deeper into this artificial reality. Users can don a special DataGlove studded with electronic sensors that allow the computer to detect movement of the wearer. The computer processes this movement data and creates a graphic image of a hand within the visual environment that models the orientation and movement of the user's hand. The person wearing the glove may pick up and manipulate virtual objects within the virtual world. With data sensors attached, real objects may become a part of the virtual environment. There can even be a sensation of tactile feedback that results from contact. Currently under refinement is a complete DataSuit. Wearing this apparel "allows the user to plunge his entire body into the computer space" (Fritz, 1991, p. 46).

CURRENT APPLICATIONS

While clearly a technology in its infancy, practical applications for virtual reality are under active development by various agencies and in various disciplines. The range of these applications illustrates the enormous potential of this technology to address highly varied problems and needs.

Virtual reality is used in planning radiation treatments for cancer patients at the University of North Carolina (Stewart, 1991). Using computerized scans of a patient's anatomy viewed through virtual reality, doctors are able to move proposed beams around by hand and position them so that they converge on a tumor most effectively. By combining ultrasound scanners with head-mounted display units, physicians will soon be able to "see directly inside of living tissue" (Robinette, 1991, p. 18). With half-silvered mirrors, the display will allow the wearer to see through to the real world, with images from ultrasound data optically superimposed onto the patient. Using this "x-ray vision," an obstetrician "examining a pregnant woman could see the woman, feel the fetus kick beneath her hands, and see the ultrasound image of the fetus appearing to hang in space inside of her belly" (p. 18).

Chemists at the University of North Carolina are using virtual reality to visualize protein structures in three dimensions and, by holding a special joystick that provides force feedback, find ways to design new drugs that will dock perfectly with enzyme molecules (Brooks, 1988; Stewart, 1991).

Virtual reality is currently being used by architects to walk through building designs before any construction actually takes place (McCluskey, 1993). In real time, with the assistance of a treadmill and data sensors, the user walks through a three-dimensional building created in virtual reality. The viewer can evaluate design features from any chosen perspective (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1990). McNally (1994) has described the Virtus Walkthrough Pro version of this technology as "electronic modeling clay" (p. 1D). In Japan, customers can design a custom kitchen and use virtual reality to view the result. Wearing goggles and a glove, they can walk through their design and actually touch virtual appliances
(Peterson, 1992).

Often among the first to take advantage of new technologies, the military has been involved for some time in investigating the use of virtual reality for personnel training and the design of new weapon systems (Rheingold, 1991). The technology is being applied to the design of tank simulators and flight simulators and aircraft design and repair (Lowenstein & Barbee, 1990).

NASA has designed a virtual reality system that creates the illusion of flying over a Martian landscape accurately created from photographs of the planet's surface (Peterson, 1992). The Visualization for Planetary Exploration Project, also designed by NASA, employs virtual reality to allow users to explore the solar system (Ditlea, 1989). Current efforts are focusing on the use of virtual reality to prepare astronauts to live and work on orbiting space stations (Fritz, 1991) and to undertake construction and repair in a space environment (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1990).

The art world has discovered the potential of virtual reality for visual innovation. In fact, a virtual art museum has already been built (Delaney, 1993), and access to artistic endeavors is being developed for persons with disabilities (Vanderheiden & Mendenhall, 1993).

One of the most practical and immediate applications for virtual reality is robotics. The use of simple hand movements in a DataGlove can control complex robotic equipment. Such systems are presently being used to handle hazardous material more safely. There is significant potential in the application of virtual reality and robotics to empower persons with severe physical disabilities (Van der Loos, Michalowski, Hammel, Leifer, & Stassen, 1988).

OBSTACLES TO VIRTUAL REALITY

Realization of the potential of virtual reality will require overcoming a number of obstacles. These obstacles are, in general, shared by most emerging technologies and include problems of cost, size, and performance.

Currently, a single sophisticated system (RB2, with Silicon Graphics IRIS computers by VPL) may cost up to a quarter of a million dollars (Fritz, 1991). Limited access to systems for research and development resulting from such high costs reduces the number and range of potential users. The exploration of applications for persons with disabilities has suffered.

The size of virtual reality equipment is also a problem. Properly equipped for the full virtual reality experience, the wearer "looks like a mime in scuba gear" (Stewart, 1991, p. 38). Virtual-worlds head and body gear are, in their present generation, restrictive, uncomfortable, and bulky.

Virtual reality requires complex hardware and software, as well as massive memory space. While the accuracy and reliability of these systems is increasing, there continue to be system bugs. Some users report "disconcerting delays between head or hand movement and the registration of that movement on the screen" (Peterson, 1992, p. 9). Holloway, Fuchs, and Robinette (1991) have identified low image quality on visual displays, problems with modeling complex scenes, and the lag between user motion and system response as important limitations in the current status of virtual reality.

Because of these difficulties, the seemingly immense potential of virtual reality technology for special education has yet to be realized and researched. Although computer as well as noncomputer-created simulations have been studied as potentially powerful learning tools, this research has not been specifically directed toward special education learning needs, and the outcomes have been inconclusive (Bransford, Sherwood, Vye, & Rieser, 1986; Budoff, Thormann, & Gras, 1985; Ellis & Sabornie, 1986; Margalit, Weisel, & Shulman, 1987; Papert, 1980; Woodward & Carnine, 1988). Presumably, simulations using virtual reality will be richer and multidimensional compared to those previously researched, so the validity of directly generalizing the results of these studies to potential efficacy of virtual reality simulations is questionable.

VIRTUAL REALITY AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

A number of characteristics of virtual reality hold potential to enhance special educational effectiveness. In many cases, these characteristics reflect strategies that have been used in effective teaching for some time. Virtual reality simply provides a uniquely powerful means for employing them.

Virtual reality offers what may be the perfect medium for manual training tasks. The learner can literally "superimpose his hand over the hand of an expert and follow along "(Fritz, 1991, p. 46). Throughout the experience the learner receives feedback visually, auditorially, and/or haptically. The implications for training persons with cognitive limitations in tasks of daily living and vocational skills are substantial.

Virtual reality technology is enormously flexible. Virtual worlds can be designed to meet whatever specifications may be required to address the instructional needs of an individual. Virtual worlds may be constructed to include cues, prompts, reinforcers, and feedback delivered through visual, auditory, or even haptic modalities. Integrated multisensory supports for learning may be utilized. Fritz (1991) imagines a beginning dancer wearing a DataSuit. As she moves with the music, she receives immediate feedback on her performance from the music itself. If the dancer gets out of step, the music becomes discordant, but appropriate movements result in beautiful music.

Long a fundamental principle of effective special education, maximum realism in the learning environment is often difficult to achieve. This is particularly true if placing the learner in a realistic environment early in training would present danger, failure, or social stigmatization. Virtual reality offers a maximally realistic simulation within a safe environment. As Stewart (1991) has observed, "Virtual worlds aren't pictures, they're places. You don't observe them, you experience them" (p. 38). The learner becomes a part of the virtual world. Teaching vocational and social skills to persons with cognitive limitations and to individuals with behavioral/emotional handicaps would be enhanced by the capacity to engage in early practice in these highly realistic virtual worlds.

One of the most promising and exciting applications for virtual reality is the use of robotics for persons with physical disabilities (Van der Loos et al., 1988). The DataGlove and other remote sensory input devices can be used to control robots that perform a wide range of tasks for persons unable to do so for themselves. Current studies are focusing on a variety of creative applications. For persons with physical disabilities, personal guidance systems using biosignaling or robotics in virtual environments have yielded some success (Knapp, 1993; Loomis, Golledge, & Klatzky, 1993). "CAVE" systems allow for "surround-vision" projection and shared experiences that allow two or more people to experience being in the environment simultaneously while others observe them. One or more of the people interacting in the CAVE environment can have severe physical disabilities (Browning, Crus-Neira, Sandin, & DeFanti, 1993). One body of research has addressed possibilities for using virtual reality to improve human-computer interfaces for persons with severe physical disabilities (Johnson, 1993; Lasko-Harvill, 1993). Other studies have examined physiological effects of virtual reality, as well as its potential for creating improved disability access in real environments (Eberhart & Kizakevich, 1993; Premo, 1993; Putnam & Knapp, 1993; Tivona & Young, 1993; Vanderheiden & Mendenhall, 1993).

Beyond the practical applications, some researchers have speculated on the power of virtual reality to offer physically disabled persons the sensation of movement. In a technology where the flick of a finger can be a command to fly, such experiences are clearly available. Chris Allis, a representative of Autodesk, Inc. who demonstrates virtual reality products, observes that the "experience of flying is something I know now. When I'm standing on a sidewalk now, I can visualize the ground dropping away below me" (Stewart, 1991, p. 40). Tivona and Young (1993) have developed a virtual reality environment in which a person with significant physical challenges can experience archery and hunting of live game. No other technology offers the opportunity to move into a world free of the constraints normally present, and within which one may experience sensations otherwise physically impossible. It is currently possible for persons in different cities to play virtual tennis, holding real rackets and striking a shared image of a virtual tennis ball. Because it is possible in the world of virtual reality to define one's own laws of physics, the movement of a finger or perhaps even the blink of an eye could control the racket. It is not difficult to imagine a person with a physical disability competing with an able-bodied challenger on even ground in the world of virtual reality. Where else could such an event take place?

Unique to virtual reality is the ability to make abstract concepts concrete. Parameters that cannot normally be seen, such as radiation beams or sound frequencies, can be seen, heard, and even felt in virtual worlds. Persons with mental retardation experience their greatest difficulty in learning abstract concepts. The capacity of virtual reality to translate abstractions into concrete experiences promises to enhance training of this population. Games are being tested that attempt to teach conflict management to seriously emotionally disturbed and learning-disabled children by making abstract problems available in visual terms (Oliver & Rothman, 1993). Other virtual learning environments have been designed to assist students with abstract concepts in the sciences (Nemire, Burke, & Jacoby, 1993).

Virtual training worlds may be designed to control extraneous stimuli. Persons with learning difficulties often experience problems with managing such stimuli. Using a scaffolding process, such persons might initiate training in highly simplified stimulus environments, and as proficiency increases move toward more complex settings. This progression through a series of environments, with progressively more stimuli added, would be most difficult under traditional training circumstances (Middleton, 1992).

Virtual reality holds special promise for persons with sensory impairments. Schreier (1990) has speculated that "this technology could be used by visually impaired people to learn orientation and mobility or to explore a new environment without leaving a room" (p. 522), and that persons with visual impairments might be able to experience the environment of a book projected inside headgear. The information presented could even be physically manipulable.

Studies presently underway are examining mobility and communication access. Boonzaier (1993) has studied audio signal-imaging processes that provide mobility cues for the blind. Smythe (1993) has networked virtual reality systems by using a range of interface systems between persons with disabilities and others in the United Kingdom, thereby improving telecommunications access for persons with sensory impairments as well as physical disabilities. Systems have already been developed that assist deaf-blind persons with robotic fingerspelling (Gilden & Smallridge, 1993). Other studies are examining various communication systems for persons with sensory impairments (Bryant, Eberhardt, Frederick, Gawal, & Turner, 1993; Lenarcic, 1993; Newby, 1993; Roy, Panayi, Harwin, & Fawcus, 1993).

The potential applications for virtual reality to enhancement of instructional effectiveness are substantial. Woodward (1992), in a federally funded project designed to predict future uses of technology, has identified virtual reality as a potentially powerful technology with particular promise in the field of special education. Woodward's report points out that although it will be a relatively short time until this technology reaches public education (the author projects between 5 and 10 years), current research and development efforts involving virtual reality in education are inadequate for predicting its best learning applications in our schools. While there have been a few isolated efforts to develop practical applications appropriate for public school environments (Quesada, 1993) development of virtual reality has not yet occurred on any large scale in public school environments (Randall, 1992).

CONCLUSIONS

What is "special" about special education? Over much of their history, special educators have struggled with this question and its associated implications. It is increasingly clear that, at least in part, that question is best answered by technology. The capacity and willingness of special educators to use technology to define powerful and unique ways for persons with disabilities to learn, communicate, move, play, and work is rapidly becoming an important element of special education. Inherent in the nature and purpose of special education is the active pursuit of promising alternative approaches to normalizing the lives of persons with disabilities. That pursuit must be characterized by a high level of professional assertiveness as potential applications for new technologies are explored.

Problems of cost, availability, size, transportability, and integration with existing systems are present with every emerging technology. The extent to which these problems are overcome is typically a product of the ability of eventual end users to define viable applications. In the case of virtual reality, special educators have the opportunity very early in the life of this technology to recognize potential applications to their work with disabled persons. The ability to identify and articulate these clearly and to participate in the exploration of potential applications will determine, to a large extent, the degree to which virtual reality becomes an actual reality in the lives of persons with disabilities.

As "virtual reality seeks legitimacy in practical applications" (Baily, 1990, p. 91), special educators should insist that the potential of this technology to serve the needs of persons with disabilities not be overlooked. Wright (1990) has described virtual reality and other cutting-edge technologies as being characterized by "a wealth of possibility and a dearth of direction" (p. 94). Special education, in striving to define possibilities for this new technology, can help give virtual reality a productive and useful direction.

Contributors

David A. Powers holds an EdD degree in special education from the University of Alabama. He is currently a professor in the Department of Special Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. His current research interests include assistive technology, technology applications in special education, teacher training in special education, and strategies for inclusion and integration of persons with disabilities. Melissa S. Darrow holds an EdD degree in special education from the University of Kansas. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Her current research interests include curriculum needs of teachers working with persons with severe to profound cognitive impairments and applications of assistive technology for this population. (Address: Dr. David A. Powers, East Carolina University, Department of Special Education, Greenville, NC 27858.)

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