15.9 IMPLICATIONS

This emerging panoply of technologies --- virtual realities --- offers many potentials and implications. This chapter has outlined these potentials and implications, although they are subject to change and expansion as this very new set of educational technologies, virtual realities, develops. It is important to reiterate that since virtual realities as a distinct category of educational technology are less than a decade old, research and development are at a very, very early stage. And rapid technological improvements mean that existing research concerning virtual realities must be assessed carefully since it may be rapidly outdated with the advent of improved technological capabilities such as graphics resolution for visual displays, increased processing speed, ergonomically enhanced, lighter-weight interface design, and greater mobility. Research and development programs are underway throughout the world to study the potentials of virtual reality technologies and applications (Thompson, 1992). As yet, however, very little research on virtual realities as a tool for learning has been carried out. Thus there is a wealth of possibilities for research. As discussed in this chapter, the agenda for needed research is quite broad in scope. And as many anaylsts have pointed out, there is a broad base of research in related fields such as simulation and human perception that can and must be considered in establishing a research agenda for virtual reality overall, and concerning educational potentials of virtual reality in particular. Research can be expected to expand as the technology improves and becomes less expensive.