McLellan, H. (1996). Virtual Realities. In Kozma, R. B. (Ed.), Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology, Section II: Hard Technologies: Media-Related Research. pp. 457-487. IN: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

Virtual Realities is an article that presents the characteristics, origins, applications to education, and trends of this set of educational technologies. I will focus on its characteristics and applications to education.

Virtual realities facilitate the process of people to deal with information. The author defines it as a "class of computer-controlled multisensory communication technology" on which individuals use their senses to interact with information. On this technology, information is dynamic and immediate. By means of computers, an environment is created where users feel immersed. The most important fact is that information must be presented in a way that people can get engage with any of their senses.

In our modern society, being competitive requires a quick management and application of information. As a result, new software and equipment is designed to accomplish this objective. Industry needs informed employees to deal with everyday work and problems. Employees must be train continuously, quickly, and with the information that is really needed. Employers can see training as time losted because it is not used to do work. They are investing in time, which means money, and in training costs. Thus, virtual realities are an excellent resource to supply the needs of a competitive industry.

Virtual realities also help college students to keep on track. Today students are used to play video games that relate them to virtual realities. There are a lot of things where they can be applied. For example, consider that you have to teach electronics technology students how electrons and holes behave when a voltage is applied to a semiconductor like a diode and what happens if the voltage is increased or if polarity is changed. It is time consuming and very difficult to explain in a blackboard. A module where students change different parameters, immediately see the responses and hear electrons moving can improve their understanding and reduce the time required on the learning process. Understanding, on any field, is improved when learners interact with information.