The state of Virtual Reality technology in Greece is at an impressive development pace as far as applications in education, health, and industrial development are concerned, thanks to educational and research institutions. For example, the Foundation of the Hellenic World and the University of Athens are into VR for educational purposes in creating experiences that would improve pedagogies in the virtual environment. At the same time, programs like ORamaVR are oriented toward medical education, allowing students of medicine to practice in conditions of simulation. Furthermore, Greece tries to integrate VR technologies into health for therapeutic interventions in mental and physical health. In the research sector, participating in the work developed within the National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, developing mixed reality systems used in therapeutic programs, such as in the treatment of ADHD in children. The Greek enterprises and organizations marked virtual reality as the future critical tool for growth, and several of them invested in new infrastructure and human resources. Technical and financial difficulties still exist, but it appears that gradually, VR technologies gain space in the Greek market, which has outstanding potential for global Greek digital transformation.
Despite such huge potential, VR technology faces a number of challenges within Greece. Firstly, problems of limited funding and support for infrastructure. Whereas on one hand the adoption of VR involves huge investments in hardware and software, this often prevents applications from being diffused widely by schools and institutions. Moreover, hardware maintenance and upgrading are expensive and are usually done only in certain research institutions instead of schools. Most of the VR educational programs are in other languages, too, making them less accessible to students and their teachers. There is a need for localized content, especially in order to serve Greek educational culture and curricula. Poor teacher training in using VR: It has to be taken into consideration that teachers do need training and support to integrate VR into their classrooms. Lack of knowledge and experience will make using VR problematic, limiting it only to basic applications and having avoided the real potential this technology can offer.
While various research projects attempt to incorporate VR into education, there have been no pilot projects for people with disabilities. The explanation is a lack of coordination between teachers, technological companies, and special education centres. There is also limited research on virtual reality in special education. While universities and institutions, such as the University of Ioannina and the National Technical University of Athens, have taken up initiatives, research is scant and, where it does exist, it rarely finds practical benefits for schools.
The overcoming of these barriers would presuppose an effort from the Greek State, Education Providers, and private technology companies to make more and better use of VR for special education in Greece.
Bibliography
- European Commission – Greece National Report (2021). “Digital Education in Greece: VR Technologies and Accessibility Challenges.” European Commission.
- Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. (2020). “Annual Report on Digital Innovation in Greek Education.” Athens, Greece.
- ORamaVR. (2021). “VR in Medical Education: Training the Next Generation of Greek Medical Professionals.” Proceedings from the Medical VR Education Symposium, Athens, Greece.