[Courtesy of Hallym Polytechnic University]
SEOUL -- A polytechnic college will join a government-led support program to develop virtual reality content for a non-contact education program aimed at training students as dental hygienists without the need of meeting volunteers for practices.
South Korea's education industry has paid attention to the importance of non-face-to-face education. Elementary, middle and high schools opened their new semester of 2020 through online classes, while universities operated online classes to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
While a remote class system has been widely accepted at schools, polytechnic college students have difficulty practicing skills due to a strengthened social distancing campaign that regulate meetings and gatherings.
Hallym Polytechnic University in Chuncheon some 75 kilometers (46.6 miles) northeast of Seoul joined hands with eight other polytechnic schools to develop VR-based online class content that will be used for classes in the first semester of 2021.
VR-based simulated education content as an education tool in dental school has been researched worldwide. Some dentists and scholars recognize VR education content as a method that can improve the skills of students without harming an actual patient or a test subject.
"The primary benefit of virtual learning is that it is the next best thing to examining a real mouth in person. Instead of 2-D photos and text descriptions, students can get up close and personal with a wide variety of mouths so that they can get a sense of what to expect in the real world," the University of Utah said in a post explaining the benefits of VR education in heath schools.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
