INSIGHTS
Studies show that the use of virtual reality (VR) in the classroom "positively improves students’ understanding in geometric relationships and creativity," though best practices balancing that creativity with learning disciplines have not yet been established.
Architecture firms use VR at the early ages of development of a new structure, allowing the architect to make edits to the design as they go and show stakeholders the proposed building; ultimately, VR may replace traditional CAD software entirely, eliminating much of the bookkeeping and making architecture more of an artistic discipline.
VR has been shown to be able to induce a "flow state" which creates perfect focus, a loss of fear and the sense of time, maximized productivity and creativity, and an enjoyment in the task at hand that has been described as "euphoric."
Virtual reality (VR) is such a new technology that experts are still getting a handle on how it can be used to boost creativity. To talk in broad strokes, VR can be used in two distinct ways: First, it is a creativity tool with a wide range of applications, from education in architecture. But secondly, and possibly more profound, VR can be used to induce a "flow state" which profoundly increases focus, creativity, and enjoyment, even to the point of inducing a euphoric state.
The criteria
VR AS A CREATIVE TOOL
There have been several experiments in this area which show that students of a variety of ages, including adult students, see improvement in their self-efficacy, innovation, and creativity. Experiments on students show that the use of mixed reality, or MR (which "encompasses both VR and augmented reality"), shows that use of VR to enable students to visualize 3-D geometry "positively improves students’ understanding in geometric relationships and creativity." (The degree of that improvement was not available in the public abstract.)
However, the technology is so new that the best practices for using VR in any application, especially education, haven't been established yet. As noted by David Little of Interval Research Corporation, "in research environments, creativity is more important than productivity, and in development environments, productivity is more important than creativity." Applied to education, this means that VR can certainly be used to boost student creativity, but we're still working out how to mix thatcreativity
The fact that VR is, at this point, almost an entirely artistic medium may explain why so much of the focus on its application in business has been in one field: architecture. Though only "just starting to hit the architect world" as of 2018, VR has already proven to be an exceptionally useful tool in that the architect can visualize the building's design from a very early stage of development and "make edits as they go." In particular, VR has been shown to boost creativity in the early phases of architectural design in at least "two architectural design studios." It makes the decision-making process more efficient, especially in that the architect can more easily convey their vision to multiple stakeholders, allowing the latter to make more informed decisions.
While some have argued that VR in architecture will be used only for creating the broad-strokes of the building, with non-virtual CAD programs used for ensuring accuracy in the finished blueprints, others disagree. "Imagine instead of having to check a measurement of cross-referencing five different drawings, the architect could just step inside the building and look." This means that VR has the potential to not only improve the ideation process inherent to thearchitecture
While the use of VR will undoubtedly spread to other fields as well, not all require the degree of 3-D modeling as architecture or the classroom. Rather, other fields willmore likely
VR AND THE FLOW STATE
The mostproductive, creative endeavors depend heavily on achieving an "elusive, perfect focus" known as the "flow state." Once triggered, a flow state produces not only focus, but "a lack of sense of self, a decline in fear and time distortion" which contributes to a sense of enjoyment in the task being performed, maximum performance, and even "a euphoric high."
The fastest way to tap into a flow state has traditionally been extreme sports, which of courseis dangerous and require a large amount of skill. As a result, according to a 2014 Gallup Poll, the average American worker spends only about 5% of their day in a state of flow. However, more recent research suggests that playing video games--and more specifically, VR-based video games--can also create a flow without the risk to life and limb inherent in extreme sports.
Note that it's not necessary for the VR game to directly simulate reality to induce flow. In fact, Telecrunch author Maggie Lane describes the euphoric experience of playing Microdose VR (a video of which is included in the link), a purely abstract game, writing,
"I completely lost track of time. I was directly impacting visuals with my body movements, and sound was a big factor as well. It was the first time I could easily imagine staying in VR for hours. Most of all, it was an experience that was only possible withinVR felt len
In other studies, in-depth interviews with artists show that VR facilitates immediate and more intensive flow than non-VR techniques, though the causes are not fully understood. This area of research is still in its infancy, with researchers exploring various "methodologies for designing to promote the state of flow through VR and AR experiences that bring interactions with virtual information closer to how humans consciously and subconsciously perceive, process, and interact with the real world." Other researchers have recently suggested using electroencephalography during VR experiences to better understand the relationship between "attention, meditation, flow state, and creativity."
CONCLUSION
As we have noted several times, virtual reality is still in its earliest days, and consequently, we expect to see an ever-increasing number of applications for the technology which will benefit human creativity over the coming years. For now, VR is an incredible creativity tool in fields in which interactive 3-D models are the most practically useful, such as education, architecture, and of course, computer games. However, a more recent discovery is that VR can be used to induce a flow state means that it will likely be used to increase creativity and even enjoyment across a wide range of creative endeavors, from coding to the sciences to even finance.
Studies show that the use of virtual reality (VR) in the classroom "positively improves students’ understanding in geometric relationships and creativity," though best practices balancing that creativity with learning disciplines have not yet been established.
Architecture firms use VR at the early ages of development of a new structure, allowing the architect to make edits to the design as they go and show stakeholders the proposed building; ultimately, VR may replace traditional CAD software entirely, eliminating much of the bookkeeping and making architecture more of an artistic discipline.VR has been shown to be able to induce a "flow state" which creates perfect focus, a loss of fear and the sense of time, maximized productivity and creativity, and an enjoyment in the task at hand that has been described as "euphoric."
Virtual reality (VR) is such a new technology that experts are still getting a handle on how it can be used to boost creativity. To talk in broad strokes, VR can be used in two distinct ways: First, it is a creativity tool with a wide range of applications, from education in architecture. But secondly, and possibly more profound, VR can be used to induce a "flow state" which profoundly increases focus, creativity, and enjoyment, even to the point of inducing a euphoric state.
VR AS A CREATIVE TOOL
There have been several experiments in this area which show that students of a variety of ages, including adult students, see improvement in their self-efficacy, innovation, and creativity. Experiments on students show that the use of mixed reality, or MR (which "encompasses both VR and augmented reality"), shows that use of VR to enable students to visualize 3-D geometry "positively improves students’ understanding in geometric relationships and creativity." (The degree of that improvement was not available in the public abstract.)
However, the technology is so new that the best practices for using VR in any application, especially education, haven't been established yet. As noted by David Little of Interval Research Corporation, "in research environments, creativity is more important than productivity, and in development environments, productivity is more important than creativity." Applied to education, this means that VR can certainly be used to boost student creativity, but we're still working out how to mix that
The fact that VR is, at this point, almost an entirely artistic medium may explain why so much of the focus on its application in business has been in one field: architecture. Though only "just starting to hit the architect world" as of 2018, VR has already proven to be an exceptionally useful tool in that the architect can visualize the building's design from a very early stage of development and "make edits as they go." In particular, VR has been shown to boost creativity in the early phases of architectural design in at least "two architectural design studios." It makes the decision-making process more efficient, especially in that the architect can more easily convey their vision to multiple stakeholders, allowing the latter to make more informed decisions.
While some have argued that VR in architecture will be used only for creating the broad-strokes of the building, with non-virtual CAD programs used for ensuring accuracy in the finished blueprints, others disagree. "Imagine instead of having to check a measurement of cross-referencing five different drawings, the architect could just step inside the building and look." This means that VR has the potential to not only improve the ideation process inherent to the
While the use of VR will undoubtedly spread to other fields as well, not all require the degree of 3-D modeling as architecture or the classroom. Rather, other fields will
VR AND THE FLOW STATE
The most
The fastest way to tap into a flow state has traditionally been extreme sports, which of course
Note that it's not necessary for the VR game to directly simulate reality to induce flow. In fact, Telecrunch author Maggie Lane describes the euphoric experience of playing Microdose VR (a video of which is included in the link), a purely abstract game, writing,
"I completely lost track of time. I was directly impacting visuals with my body movements, and sound was a big factor as well. It was the first time I could easily imagine staying in VR for hours. Most of all, it was an experience that was only possible within
In other studies, in-depth interviews with artists show that VR facilitates immediate and more intensive flow than non-VR techniques, though the causes are not fully understood. This area of research is still in its infancy, with researchers exploring various "methodologies for designing to promote the state of flow through VR and AR experiences that bring interactions with virtual information closer to how humans consciously and subconsciously perceive, process, and interact with the real world." Other researchers have recently suggested using electroencephalography during VR experiences to better understand the relationship between "attention, meditation, flow state, and creativity."
CONCLUSION
As we have noted several times, virtual reality is still in its earliest days, and consequently, we expect to see an ever-increasing number of applications for the technology which will benefit human creativity over the coming years. For now, VR is an incredible creativity tool in fields in which interactive 3-D models are the most practically useful, such as education, architecture, and of course, computer games. However, a more recent discovery is that VR can be used to induce a flow state means that it will likely be used to increase creativity and even enjoyment across a wide range of creative endeavors, from coding to the sciences to even finance.