{"id":21911,"date":"2024-04-23T11:18:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T15:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/?p=21911"},"modified":"2024-04-23T11:18:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T11:18:22","slug":"nigel-newbutt-vr-in-special-educational-consortium-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/23\/nigel-newbutt-vr-in-special-educational-consortium-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigel Newbutt, Ph.D. Presents Insights to the Use and Deployment of VR in Special Educational Needs settings at Consortium Launch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/faculty\/newbutt-nigel\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nigel Newbutt<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Assistant Professor of Advanced Learning Technologies, was selected to speak at a UK virtual launch event for the Employability and Life Skills for SEN Learners Consortium. His presentation focused on the implementation of Virtual Reality (VR) in classrooms for neurodiverse students, specifically those on the autism spectrum. Newbutt works directly with Special Needs Education (SEN) learners. He is the Director of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/eltl\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eq<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">uitable Learning Technology <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">L<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/eltl\/\">b (ELTL)<\/a> in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ialt.education.ufl.edu\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Institute for Advanced Learning Technologies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and his research is aligned directly with the consortium&#8217;s goals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During his talk, Newbutt emphasized that despite initial concerns regarding sensory overload while using VR headsets, studies have demonstrated a positive impact of VR technology on academic, technological and social skill development among this population.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Our research shows that autistic people don&#8217;t have an aversion to wearing technology,\u201d said Newbutt. \u201cOnce they wore it, they were kind of in their own environment; in space where they have the opportunity to practice and test things out without real-life consequences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Newbutt highlighted both the opportunities and challenges of implementing VR in secondary-aged neurodiverse classrooms. He expressed how the consortium\u2019s resources and support are creating opportunities and software to implement this technology.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think we&#8217;ve never seen a time that&#8217;s better to be doing this,\u201d said Newbutt. \u201cPutting technologies into educational spaces has its challenges, but I think based on the consortium attendees and on what I know from the UK and the US landscape, there&#8217;s a huge willingness to give this a good go and to really think about our students and how they can benefit from this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The presentation resonated deeply with attendees, offering practical insights on integrating VR technology into special education curricula. By harnessing VR&#8217;s capabilities, educators can create engaging learning experiences that cater to diverse learning styles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;This is a growing population. In the US, one in 36 people are autistic, and one in 54 in the UK,&#8221; said Newbutt. &#8220;I think, and research shows, this technology is such a great fit and great space for these people to learn a range of skills, knowledge and opportunities.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As awareness grows and research advances, the future looks promising for VR-assisted education, particularly in supporting the unique needs of autistic learners. Newbutt&#8217;s compelling presentation for the consortium serves as a catalyst for continued exploration and innovation in the field. A recording of the webinar is available via the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/metaverselearning.co.uk\/events\/employability-and-life-skills-for-sen-learners\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Metaverse Learning website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Nigel Newbutt, Ph.D.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nigel Newbutt, Ph.D., discussed VR&#8217;s benefits for employability and life skills development in neurodiverse students, like those with autism, at consortium launch event. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":21937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.0 (Yoast SEO v22.0) - 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