Yesterday, I had a discussion at work with Marie about
digital citizenship and our children. Marie’s son is 12 and my youngest
sons are 22. I realized the amazing technological changes that have
occurred in 10 short years. 10 years ago my family had one central
computer with a large hard drive and monitor in the family room that we all
shared. My youngest sons, in 6th grade, did not have a cell phone
and no one in the family knew what an iPad was since the first iPad was not
released until 2010.
Last night, while still contemplating all the
technological changes we have experienced, I saw the above post from UND
Helicopters. My son, Matt is a helicopter pilot and a flight instructor
for UND. His chief flight instructor, Wes had just returned from
Helicopter Association International Heli Expo 2019 in Atlanta. I always
love watching these videos because they give me a window into Matt’s world.
As usual, I was fascinated by the video and paid extra attention to the
Robinson aircraft portion because Matt flies the Robinson R44. What I
didn’t expect to happen was the interview at 3 minutes 38 seconds. Wes
interviewed an employee from VRM Switzerland, a simulation company. VRM
Switzerland debuted a virtual reality combined motion simulator. The
employee said that VRM trained 6 student pilots,
each of whom had never flown in a helicopter before the VRM
training. After the simulator, the
students took real-life flight lessons. As a result of their virtual
reality training, they were able to take off and hover in a helicopter without
the aid of an instructor, and transfer their knowledge from the simulator to
real life.
Clearly, human
thought and ingenuity have the power to change lives. Technology will
transform the way we learn and interact in our world. I will be fascinated to
see how virtual reality will assist us in learning other complex
concepts. Ten years from now, I wonder if Marie’s son will ponder how he
ever existed with just his iPhone, laptop and cell phone at the age of 12. I am
positive he will.
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