Review of "Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence in Special Education" by Ange Anderson

Score: 96/100 (9.6 out of 10)

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence in Special Education by Ange Anderson is a truly exciting and fascinating book about education and emerging technologies!

Let's face it, learning has always been a challenge, and teaching has always been tough.
Add disabilities into the mix, and the difficulty level increases exponentially.

Or it did... until new technologies arose which provide hope and opportunity for all including students with disabilities and those who teach them.

Listen: this is a subject that's near and dear to our hearts. Not only have we struggled with different disabilities in the past, but we know dozens of children and adults in our lives who've also wrestled with them. It can be very limiting, demoralizing, and discouraging. It can feel like everyone has the inside scoop on things that you don't. It can feel like everyone is "normal" and you're not. It can feel like you're behind and there's no hope of ever catching up.

Well, technologies are emerging that are changing all of that--they're helping to level the playing field and give those with disabilities a fair shot. Among these are virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.

This is such an encouraging and inspiring book!

But it's also practical. This book accepts that there are limits, hiccups, and wrinkles to these technologies, and that nothing is perfect. We love to see that.

Often times, the most frustrating thing about books like this is how idealistic they are. This book strikes a great balance between idealism and realism--between hype and practicality--between promise and proof.

We're on board for it!

Ironically, we were just talking about how kids learn through play, especially younger kids.
Let's be real: learning is more pleasant for adults too when it's fun or entertaining.

So, why not use technology to make learning easier, more accessible, more exciting, more entertaining, and more fun?

Imagine the possibilities!

We don't have to imagine them, they're actually right in front of our eyes. Computers, laptops, and smartphones can becomes effective learning tools, believe it or not (when used intelligently).

We now have technologies like Oculus Quest headsets that can drop a student into a coral reef for ten minutes or a whole period. Speaking of periods, virtual reality now makes it possible to virtually go on field trips to different time periods! Even the Jurassic Age! So, if you have students who love dinosaurs, now is your chance to engage them! You can even visit different periods in human history like Feudal Japan or Ancient Egypt. You can visit a volcano, Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, the sunken wreckage of the Titanic, or even Mars!

It's like the Magic School Bus come to life!

And, hey, what about our glasses?

Smart glasses like those made by Bose can be integrated into aids by adding sound to the world instead of screens. They can whisper a prompt at the right moment, read a label, or give a quiet “turn left to the library” without taking a student’s eyes off their surroundings. That makes help feel private and hands-free.

Picture a few quick wins: step-by-step cues during a cooking task, social-story lines rehearsed in the actual hallway before class, vocabulary that plays when you look at the science station, gentle reminders to pause and breathe. For learners who get overwhelmed by visuals, audio-first guidance can lower the noise and raise confidence.

An iPad can turn your classroom into a 3D solar system. A phone can overlay labels on a skeleton in AR or live-caption a lab demo for a student who needs it. Even without headsets, 360° videos and simple AR apps make field trips and close-up explorations possible from a desk.

For learners who need extra support, this gets powerful. Visual schedules become interactive. Social stories can be practiced in safe, repeatable scenes. Step-by-step prompts can appear right when a student needs them. Choice and voice grow, because students can explore, rewind, and try again without fear of judgment.

And you do not need a huge budget to start. Cardboard viewers and free apps work. One shared headset can rotate in five-minute turns. The goal is not fancy gear. The goal is better learning.

“Used intelligently” means a few simple guardrails. Set clear outcomes. Keep sessions short at first. Check for comfort and motion sickness. Offer an easy opt-out. Get parent consent and communicate the plan. Debrief what was learned, not just what looked cool.

Play does not end in kindergarten. It just gets smarter. If technology helps us keep curiosity alive while making learning more accessible and joyful, that is worth leaning into.

And there's a safety component to this too.

Field trips are both fun and scary in real life, especially with very young children or those with disabilities. Not only can children get lost, but some with disabilities have particular anxieties, apprehensions, and phobias like about boarding a bus, train, or plane, crossing the street, or being around people or certain things. And, obviously, there are serious dangers (and/or impracticalities) involved with visiting an actual volcano, hanging out with dinosaurs, or going to Mars.

And we know what you're thinking: virtual reality shouldn't replace or substitute real experiences. There's nothing like the real thing.

And you're right to think that.
But these technologies don't have to replace or substitute reality, they can enhance them.

Imagine this: virtual reality can ease kids with phobias to become more comfortable doing things like crossing the street, boarding a plane, meeting with people, and being in the presence of animals (like bugs or dogs) that might otherwise terrify them.

Imagine the potential and possibilities!

And think of augmented reality and augmented communication this way:
Imagine if you could use all your senses and multiple ways to both communicate and understand others. It's actually not as far-fetched or extreme as it sounds. When you talk to others, do you look them in the eyes? Do you use hand gestures and facial expressions to enhance or emphasize what you're saying verbally?

When you studied in college or university, didn't it help to both HEAR the instructor as well as SEE their PowerPoint presentation? Didn't it help to see graphs, chats, diagrams, pictures, and symbols rather than just hearing someone talk/teach or reading their words?

So, imagine if verbal and written communication could be augmented with words, symbols, and more. Wouldn't you be able to learn and understand things better? Wouldn't you be able to communicate better?

Think about it like sign language. Could you imagine how a deaf person might communicate without being able to augment their communication with signs?

The tools are there because there's a need for them. They're there to help humanity, not hinder, hamper, or hold us back.

One of the lines that really stood out to us in this book is:
"Children are becoming bored with traditional schooling. Governments around the world have
been updating their schools’ curriculum to try and secure better outcomes for children. Teachers have a professional responsibility to deliver the curriculum through the
best teaching methods possible. Pedagogy should determine our educational use of this
new technology and how it might contribute to our set of educational aims. Pedagogy
should drive the technology and not the other way around."

Piaget's pedagogical ideas are beautifully and effectively emphasized and exemplified throughout this book. Piaget proposed that learners build knowledge by doing, noticing, and adjusting. This book keeps that center stage. Students are not passive viewers of “cool tech.” They are active makers of meaning. The technology gives them richer concrete experiences, then the teacher guides reflection so new schemas form. The more active and engaged you can make your learners/students, the better they will learn!

Ok, this book isn't all sunshine and rainbows, but that's to be expected.

Everything needs rules and guardrails, and there's a big, huge, long section near the end of this book about practical rules and guardrails that schools and educational institutions can employ to make sure that these technologies are being used with as few problems possible.

You can't have kids misusing these technologies.

At the same time, this part of the book really seemed limiting and controlling. And it kinda made us uncomfortable, honestly. For example, it was saying things like kids shouldn't be using their school devices to make money or run a side hustle. We know this is gonna sounds weird, but... shouldn't we be encouraging kids to develop into productive members of our economy in the future?

It was also saying things like the students would get penalized if they failed to charge their iPad the night before and would still be required to do the assignment... somehow... without a charged iPad. At least that's what it sounded like to us. We've been in 4th and 5th grade classrooms in which the kids are expected to be even more responsible than their parents--than grown adults! They get yelled at just for not getting a signature on their planners from their parents. You know... the adults who should be doing it? Why is it the kids who get yelled at? That's something that always bothered us.

Anyway, for the most part, this is an exceptional and very forward-thinking/forward-looking education book.

Check it out on Amazon!