Our education builds on language proficiency and vocabulary. Preschoolers who fall behind may suffer from it throughout their entire school career. Can educational AI help preschoolers expand their vocabulary through virtual reality (XR)?
Developing vocabulary with VR
A co-creation project by NOLAI for primary education
- Duration
- September 2023 until now
- Project type
- Research
- Organisation
- National Education Lab AI (NOLAI)
Challenge in education
What if a preschooler does not know what a beach, a cow or a forest is – has never seen or experienced these things? In that case, they quickly fall behind at school, and in practice such learning gaps are difficult to remedy. Stories become harder to follow even in the early years, causing language development to stagnate. We know that words are retained more effectively when pupils have a “hook” or “frame of reference”, yet this foundation is often missing for precisely these pupils.
What teachers want
Schools within Flores Onderwijs and Delta Scholengroep aim, as part of the Educational Disadvantage Policy (OAB), to expand the vocabulary of pupils with learning disadvantages by providing context through educational virtual reality. In such environments, preschoolers can investigate and experience things for themselves—–in a way that is not possible with a picture or a video.
Smarter together through co-creation
Through NOLAI, the schools have been connected with researchers from Radboud University and developers from VRLearningLab. Together they are developing, studying and implementing a prototype using VR to expand the vocabulary of preschoolers with learning disadvantages. This does not necessarily have to involve a VR headset. An installation with three screens, in which children can play, learn and work together, is also an option!
Current status
This project runs from 2023 to 2026. Each co-creation project progresses through the stages of concept development, a working prototype and validation of the prototype. The results are shared online as quickly and openly as possible so that the education sector, researchers and EdTech companies can benefit from them.
