Virtual Reality to teach children what to do in emergency situations: the case of Australia

In a study conducted by the University of South Australia (UniSA) and published in theJournal of Educational Computing, a research team led by Safa Molan (PhD) and her supervisor Delene Weber developed an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience that projected children into a forest fire emergency scenario and asked them to complete a few simple tasks. The results show that this immersive experience made the young participants more confident in themselves and their ability to calmly evaluate options and make wise decisions to protect themselves from a bushfire. "Well-designed VR can provide an opportunity for children to apply newly acquired knowledge, reinforce learned concepts, and receive immediate feedback," explains Professor Weber of UniSA. "Children should not be passive victims of disasters, and thanks to specially designed virtual reality experiences like these, we can help them not only understand the risks but also realize that they can help."

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