American Schools are Increasingly Using VR/AR/MR Headsets. Do You Know the Risks?

"Each time a child picks up a screen device, not one but many changes occur in the brain that lead to overstimulation and hyperarousal."

This 2024 article was originally published with the title: VR/AR in Ohio Schools: Do You Consent? by the Ohio Register on Substack. Reposted by permission.

BY NICK ROGERS

CHARDON - Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are no longer just the stuff of entertainment. These mediums are now integrating into the education sector, as evidenced by Saint Joseph Academy (Cleveland) and their 2023 press release touting the institution as “…the first high school in the world to acquire the HoloAnatomy Software Suite.” Educators tout the technology’s potential to expand teaching capabilities, but detractors warn of inherent biological harm stemming from its use. Parents and students alike, do you consent?

“Learn Faster, Understand More” is the slogan plastered across Case Western Reserve’s HoloAnatomy webpage. The technology – used in conjunction with a Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset – is designed to give anatomy students an immersive, virtual 3D experience without the need for cadavers.

Fred Kieser, a science teacher at Saint Joseph, told Government Technology, “… when they see the virtual reality, they can walk around it and see a three-dimensional image exactly like a human, whereas on a screen or paper, it’s two-dimensional, and you don’t get a feel for how the muscles overlap.” Kieser believes this technology to be, in the long-run, a much more practical, cost-effective alternative to using cadavers.

Nancy Farrow, senior VP of AlensiaXR (formerly Llumis) – the company in charge of marketing Case Western’s invention to schools – announced this January that they are “onboarding” their second high school, Chardon’s Notre Dame Cathedral – Latin. Farrow’s product pitch goes as follows: “It’s a new realm of dynamic, collaborative education that helps students learn faster and retain more vital information. What’s remarkable is that you can all be in the same room, making eye contact as you explore the 3D body together.” She adds that this software allows for students to “…engage virtually from anywhere in the world.”

“It’s an incredible experience to send our graduates off to college or university with and should help to set them apart from their peers,” says Saint Joseph Academy President Kathryn Purcell. Kieser agrees, saying “I think this fits very well with how [high school students] are learning as they grow up now. I think in 10 years, we’ll see a lot more stuff like this.”

AR/VR is not currently limited to anatomy. A study, published in 2023 by WestEd and spearheaded by Prisms – a startup funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – reached the conclusion that Ohio students learning algebra 1 with the aid of the company’s VR gaming goggles outperformed students learning the subject by traditional teacher lecturing and textbook assignment techniques. The study – funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) – featured 514 students from Prisms-subscribed schools and spanned a period of three days. The VR-using group scored 11% higher than the control group on a post-study exam.

If Prisms’ NIH/NSF-origins don’t give the reader pause, then perhaps Northrup Grumman’s funding of Winton Woods (Cincinnati) CLASSVR learning program will. Northrup Grumman is one of the world’s most prolific weapons manufacturers and intelligence agency technology providers; a corporation with an annual revenue exceeding $37 billion.

Winton Woods’ “case study” , which involves students ages three to eighteen, spans multiple disciplines from world history to physical education. Yes, virtual physical education. But lest we mourn the potential death of physically active physical education, we perhaps should be more concerned with the microwave radiation being given off by these devices, no different than a cell phone placed against one’s head; except that these devices consume one’s entire head and face. And, just as with cell phones, children are exponentially more susceptible to this radiation.

Prof. Om Gandhi of Utah University cautions, “We have never tested microwave radiating devices directly in front of the young developing eye. The absence of proof of harm at this point does not mean that we have evidence of safety.” Samsung and Google, two of the world’s biggest telecommunications companies [and much more], are also heavily involved in VR.

Devra Davis, President of Environmental Health Trust (EHT), asks, “We want to know why is Google encouraging young children to employ a technology that has never been tested for their use when Samsung has a similar system that explicitly advises that no child under the age of 13 should be using it.”

Indeed, like Smart phones, VR devices – along with the plethora of other Smart Home devices available from thermostats to breast pumps – warn the user of the imminent exposure to radio frequencies. Cell phone manuals, paradoxically, inform users not to place the devices against the body, but then turn around and sell wireless ear buds that literally microwave one’s brain from point blank range.

Speculating about where VR and AR may be taking society is, in many ways, just that: speculation. However, with mainstream acknowledgement of the brain/computer interface agenda using AI and nanotech at its core, it seems not too far a stretch for Big Tech (and Big Brother) to achieve “The Singularity” of which Ray Kurzweil has long-since dreamed.

For those who view social media as society’s first big step away from human socialization, VR/AR – a world of absolutely spectacular all-encompassing emersion without the need for any actual proximity to other human beings – may be the first giant leap.

So, much like Elon Musk’s dichotomous view of AI as a Godsend but also potentially the cause of human extinction, VR/AR may be a miraculous learning tool with a downside we’ve only scraped the surface of. The question, as it pertains to VR/AR in Ohio schools, is, do you consent? - The Ohio Register

Note: “The Ohio Register is an independent publication aiming to bring Citizen Journalism to the heartland. Formally known as The Ohio Roundtable, the goal of TOR is to shine a light on local issues that the mainstream media may be ignoring. We are committed to providing the truth. What is citizen journalism? Citizen journalism is the very definition of independence and empowerment. It's about taking back the reigns of media away from multinational corporations with foreign backers who wish to control what you know and putting that power back in the hands of people like you. Anyone can be a citizen journalist which means, with the proper training that we can provide, you are just one step removed from being the lynchpin for speaking truth to power.”

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More Information:

IEEE: Virtual Reality: Ethical Challenges and Danger [] We suggest adding additional investigation and analysis testing stages to the development of virtual reality technologies in efforts to protect the public. These tests might not focus on physical health and safety concerns, but rather on physiological and social influences. Currently, no such trials related to physiological or social factors are required, monitored, or enforced.

GreenMed: Immersed in Danger: The Shocking EMF Risks Lurking in Your VR Headset "The immersive worlds of virtual reality transport us to faraway lands and futuristic adventures - but could this captivating technology come at a hidden cost to our health? As VR's popularity skyrockets, so too do concerns about the invisible radiation these devices emit just inches from our eyes and brains.... A growing body of research suggests that the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by VR devices - the same non-ionizing radiation produced by cellphones and wireless tech - may pose significant health risks, especially for children. An independent analysis found the popular Oculus Quest VR headset emits radiation up to 5 times higher than the FCC's safety threshold of 1.6 watts per kilogram (W/kg)." https://greenmedinfo.com/content/immersed-danger-shocking-emf-risks-lurking-your-vr-headset

Moving to Learn Canadian Occupational Therapist Chris Rowan: Understanding proprioceptive and vestibular systems to optimize student attention and learning. Movement is life sustaining, yet every moment a child is on a screen is sedentary, overstimulating, isolating and constitutes neglect. The onslaught of screens in homes and schools has resulted in significant negative outcomes for students, teachers and parents indicating the need to push the ‘pause tech’ button for reflection and planning. Students are sedentary and unfit resulting in 1 in 3 developmentally delayed and 1 in 3 obese or overweight. Screens are overstimulating to eyes, heart and brain causing visual impairment, cardiovascular damage, impaired brain developmentand attention deficit. Screen use is isolating students from what they yearn for the most, human love and connection resulting in soaring rates of anxiety, depression, addiction and suicide. Currently in Canada, 1 in 5 children and youth have a diagnosed mental illness. Screen overuse by parents and teachers is causing a ‘disconnect’ with children resulting in a host of emotional, mental, and social disorders which are often diagnosed and medicated. Children and youth have never been sicker than they are now (and the ed tech industry has never been richer) and the time to act has passed. A U.S. 2021 study reported that setting and monitoring screen time limits, discussing impacts of screen use, taking frequent breaks, incorporating movement throughout the day, encouraging adults to practice healthy screen use and tapering screen use are effective measures to reduce harmful effects of screentime on children and youth. A Canadian 2022 research article proposes evidence-based recommendations for school-related sedentary behaviours for children and youth recommending replacing sedentary learning activities with non-screen-based learning activities to support student health and wellbeing. These 2 studies suggest schools strive to move toward “screen-free” policy yet many schools struggle with enacting these measures.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TRUST: Children and ScreenTime Health Effects: Interview With Psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Dunckley Dr. Victoria Dunckley has published the book “Reset Your Child’s Brain: A Four-Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades, and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen-Time”. “Because electronic screen media is unnaturally intense in terms of sensory, cognitive, and psychological input–designed to keep the user engaged–it tends to overstimulate nervous system. The brain interprets all this stimulating input as a form of stress. This in turn triggers fight-or-flight reactions and a high state of arousal, making it difficult to wind down and sleep deeply.

Each time a child picks up a screen device, not one but many changes occur in the brain that lead to overstimulation and hyperarousal. Reward pathways are strongly activated which eventually become desensitized. Large amounts of dopamine are released. Blue-toned light (inherent to screens) desynchonizes the body clock and suppresses melatonin, the sleep signal. Vivid colors and rapid changes in movement or page loads overwhelm the visual system. Enormous amounts of information are taken in and processed, draining mental reserves and fracturing attention. Media multi-tasking and interactivity raise arousal and stress levels. Manmade radiation from both the device and from wireless communications perturb brain waves.

Over time, these changes lead to chronic stress, resulting in blood flow shifting from the more developed part of the brain (frontal lobe) to the more primitive parts of the brain. Because the frontal lobe governs emotional regulation, attention, creativity, and social behavior, any of these areas can become impaired. Chronic stress also raises cortisol levels, which complicates frontal lobe functioning even further. High cortisol impairs the hippocampus (needed for memory), disturbs sleep, and eventually causes atrophy (shrinkage) of the brain. (It also causes weight gain and high blood sugar.)

VR is a force multiplier for screen-induced imbalance.