Mostly, yes. There has been no significant evidence to suggest VR is dangerous for children, but manufacturers are taking the cautious approach. Most advise against using with young children, the recommended age tends to be 13+.
Whilst concerns centre around the impact on eye development, visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) and a reduced awareness of dangers in the real world, the reality is, we just don’t yet know enough to be certain.
If you choose to use VR with your class, try an activity in pairs with one pupil describing to the other to limit the amount of time within the headset, and mix up the activities so that children are only using the headsets for a few minutes at a time.
Deciding not to use VR headsets does not mean you are excluded from interactive content. There are a number of options from specialist VR headsets for schools to low cost bolt-on VR experiences, and even free 360 experiences available on YouTube.
Try opening your next classroom topic with an immersive 360 video on YouTube. This can be used on PC or tablet, or even in VR mode with a low-cost Google Cardboard or equivalent. VR can be a fantastic way to engage your pupils in the lesson, giving them a real thirst to discover more once they have experienced something for themselves.
With Seymour & Lerhn, we specialise in providing low-cost, accessible but incredibly detailed VR, AR & 360, so you can take your pupils on a journey of discovery using the hardware you already own.
Get in touch to find out more about our unique system