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| style="background:#eef;" | '''Immersive technologies — virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) — are transforming higher education from a predominantly text-and-lecture-based enterprise into one that can simulate complex environments, enable experiential learning at scale, and connect students across geographic boundaries. The global VR in education market, valued at USD 14.55 billion in 2023, is projected to reach USD 65.55 billion by 2032, with the Asia Pacific region growing fastest at a compound annual rate of 22 percent. This article provides a systematic comparison of how Chinese and European universities are deploying these technologies. China has developed 215 virtual simulation training bases, launched the iLAB-X platform serving 2,672 universities with over 13 million participants, and won the 2022 UNESCO Prize for ICT in Education for its National Smart Education Platform. European universities have pursued a more distributed approach through Erasmus+ and Horizon-funded projects, with systematic reviews documenting positive learning outcomes across 71 comparative studies and meta-analyses reporting a moderate positive effect size (Hedges’ g = 0.524) for VR-based teacher education. We examine the evidence for learning effectiveness, the emerging Edu-Metaverse concept, infrastructure costs and equity challenges, and the physiological and pedagogical limitations of immersive technologies. We argue that while VR offers genuine pedagogical benefits — particularly for experiential learning in contexts where real-world practice is dangerous, expensive, or logistically impossible — its deployment must be guided by pedagogical purpose rather than technological enthusiasm, and its costs must be weighed against alternative investments in educational quality.'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''Immersive technologies — virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) — are transforming higher education from a predominantly text-and-lecture-based enterprise into one that can simulate complex environments, enable experiential learning at scale, and connect students across geographic boundaries. The global VR in education market, valued at USD 14.55 billion in 2023, is projected to reach USD 65.55 billion by 2032, with the Asia Pacific region growing fastest at a compound annual rate of 22 percent. This article provides a systematic comparison of how Chinese and European universities are deploying these technologies. China has developed 215 virtual simulation training bases, launched the iLAB-X platform serving 2,672 universities with over 13 million participants, and won the 2022 UNESCO Prize for ICT in Education for its National Smart Education Platform. European universities have pursued a more distributed approach through Erasmus+ and Horizon-funded projects, with systematic reviews documenting positive learning outcomes across 71 comparative studies and meta-analyses reporting a moderate positive effect size (Hedges’ g = 0.524) for VR-based teacher education. We examine the evidence for learning effectiveness, the emerging Edu-Metaverse concept, infrastructure costs and equity challenges, and the physiological and pedagogical limitations of immersive technologies. We argue that while VR offers genuine pedagogical benefits — particularly for experiential learning in contexts where real-world practice is dangerous, expensive, or logistically impossible — its deployment must be guided by pedagogical purpose rather than technological enthusiasm, and its costs must be weighed against alternative investments in educational quality.'''

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|-沉浸式技术包括虚拟现实、增强现实和扩展现实，正在改变高等教育的教学模式。过去高校主要靠看书、听课上课，现在有了这些技术，可以模拟各种复杂场景，让大批量学生通过亲身体验来学习，还能让不同地区的学生互相交流连通。2023 年，全球教育行业的虚拟现实市场规模是 145.55 亿美元，预计到 2032 年会涨到 655.55 亿美元。其中亚太地区发展速度最快，每年平均增速为 22%。这篇文章对比分析了中国和欧洲的大学是怎么使用这些技术的。中国已经建好了 215 个虚拟仿真实训基地，推出了 iLAB-X 平台，覆盖 2672 所大学，使用人数超过 1300 万。中国的国家智慧教育平台还获得了 2022 年联合国教科文组织教育信息技术教育奖项。欧洲大学主要采取分散自主的方式，依托伊拉斯谟加计划和地平线计划的资助项目来发展。已有 71 项对比研究总结证明，这类技术确实能提升学习效果。相关综合分析显示，把虚拟现实用在师范教学上，能起到中等程度的积极作用。文章还分析了这类技术实际的学习效果、现在流行的教育元宇宙概念、建设投入成本和教育公平方面的问题，以及沉浸式技术在人体感受和教学方式上存在的不足。文章认为，虚拟现实确实对教学有实际帮助，尤其适合那些现实中实操有危险、花费太高或者没办法实地开展的体验式学习。但在推广使用时，要以教学本身的需求为主，不能只是一味追捧新技术，同时也要算好成本，对比其他能提升教育质量的投入方式，合理规划资金使用。

| style="background:#eef;" | '''''Keywords: virtual reality'', smart classrooms'', immersive learning'', Edu-Metaverse'', higher education'', China'' education technology'', European universities'', VR effectiveness'', smart education platform'', ''XR'''''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''''Keywords: virtual reality'', smart classrooms'', immersive learning'', Edu-Metaverse'', higher education'', China'' education technology'', European universities'', VR effectiveness'', smart education platform'', ''XR'''''

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|-关键词：虚拟现实、智慧教室、沉浸式学习、教育元宇宙、高等教育、中国教育技术、欧洲高校、虚拟现实应用效果、智慧教育平台、扩展现实

| style="background:#eef;" | ''''''1. Introduction''''''

| style="background:#eef;" | ''''''1. Introduction''''''

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|-引言

| style="background:#eef;" | '''The promise of virtual reality in education is as old as VR itself. Since the earliest flight simulators of the 1960s, the intuition that learning by doing — even virtual doing — is superior to learning by reading or listening has driven successive waves of investment in immersive educational technology. What distinguishes the current moment is the convergence of several factors: the dramatic reduction in VR hardware costs, the maturation of software development tools, the COVID-19 pandemic’s normalization of technology-mediated learning, and the entry of both the Chinese government and the European Union as major institutional actors in the deployment of immersive technologies for education.'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''The promise of virtual reality in education is as old as VR itself. Since the earliest flight simulators of the 1960s, the intuition that learning by doing — even virtual doing — is superior to learning by reading or listening has driven successive waves of investment in immersive educational technology. What distinguishes the current moment is the convergence of several factors: the dramatic reduction in VR hardware costs, the maturation of software development tools, the COVID-19 pandemic’s normalization of technology-mediated learning, and the entry of both the Chinese government and the European Union as major institutional actors in the deployment of immersive technologies for education.'''

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|-虚拟现实在教育领域的应用前景，从虚拟现实技术诞生之初就被人们看好。从上世纪 60 年代最早的飞行模拟器开始，人们就一直认为：亲身动手实践学习，哪怕是虚拟模拟操作，也比看书、听课的学习效果更好。这种想法，也推动着人们一轮又一轮地投入资金，发展沉浸式教育技术。如今这个时代和以往不同，是多重因素共同促成的：虚拟现实硬件价格大幅下降、软件开发工具愈发成熟、新冠疫情让线上网课这类依托科技的学习方式变得普及，再加上中国政府和欧盟都开始作为重要主体，大力推进沉浸式技术在教育领域的落地使用。

| style="background:#eef;" | '''The global VR in education market reflects this convergence. Valued at USD 14.55 billion in 2023, it is projected to grow to USD 65.55 billion by 2032, representing a compound annual growth rate of 18.2 percent (Fortune Business Insights 2024). The Asia Pacific region is the fastest-growing market, with a projected CAGR of 22.01 percent, driven primarily by Chinese government investment in virtual simulation infrastructure (Mordor Intelligence 2025).'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''The global VR in education market reflects this convergence. Valued at USD 14.55 billion in 2023, it is projected to grow to USD 65.55 billion by 2032, representing a compound annual growth rate of 18.2 percent (Fortune Business Insights 2024). The Asia Pacific region is the fastest-growing market, with a projected CAGR of 22.01 percent, driven primarily by Chinese government investment in virtual simulation infrastructure (Mordor Intelligence 2025).'''

| style="background:#fee;" | '''全球教育VR市场反映了这种交汇。2023年价值145.5亿美元，预计到2032年增长至655.5亿美元，复合年增长率为18.2%（Fortune Business Insights 2024）。亚太地区是增长最快的市场，预计年复合增长率为22.01%，主要由中国政府对虚拟仿真基础设施的投资驱动（Mordor Intelligence 2025）。'''

| style="background:#fee;" | '''全球教育VR市场反映了这种交汇。2023年价值145.5亿美元，预计到2032年增长至655.5亿美元，复合年增长率为18.2%（Fortune Business Insights 2024）。亚太地区是增长最快的市场，预计年复合增长率为22.01%，主要由中国政府对虚拟仿真基础设施的投资驱动（Mordor Intelligence 2025）。'''

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|-全球教育领域的虚拟现实市场，就体现了这些多重因素的共同作用。2023 年该市场规模为 145.55 亿美元，预计到 2032 年将增长至 655.55 亿美元，年均复合增长率为 18.2%。亚太地区是增长最快的市场，预计年均复合增长率达 22.01%，主要得益于中国政府对虚拟仿真配套设施的投入支持

| style="background:#eef;" | '''Yet market growth does not automatically translate into educational effectiveness. The history of educational technology is littered with innovations that promised transformation but delivered incremental improvement — or none at all. From the language laboratory of the 1960s to the MOOCs of the 2010s, each wave of educational technology has followed a predictable cycle: enthusiastic adoption driven by techno-optimistic claims, followed by empirical evaluation revealing modest effects, followed by a more measured integration into existing pedagogical practice. VR in education appears to be entering the evaluation phase of this cycle, making this an opportune moment for a comparative assessment.'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''Yet market growth does not automatically translate into educational effectiveness. The history of educational technology is littered with innovations that promised transformation but delivered incremental improvement — or none at all. From the language laboratory of the 1960s to the MOOCs of the 2010s, each wave of educational technology has followed a predictable cycle: enthusiastic adoption driven by techno-optimistic claims, followed by empirical evaluation revealing modest effects, followed by a more measured integration into existing pedagogical practice. VR in education appears to be entering the evaluation phase of this cycle, making this an opportune moment for a comparative assessment.'''

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|-然而市场规模的增长，并不代表教学效果就一定会变好。教育技术发展史上，有很多新技术当初被寄予能彻底改变教育的厚望，最后却只带来了一点点提升，甚至完全没什么效果。从上世纪 60 年代的语言实验室，到 2010 年后的慕课，每一波教育新技术都走着相似的套路：一开始大家被技术乐观的说法带动，纷纷热衷使用；之后通过实际研究验证，发现实际效果很一般；最后只能低调融入到现有的教学方式里慢慢使用。如今虚拟现实教育，正进入这个发展周期里的效果评估阶段，也正好适合拿来做对比研究。

| style="background:#eef;" | '''This article examines the evidence for VR’s pedagogical impact, compares Chinese and European deployment strategies, and assesses the challenges — cost, equity, pedagogy, and health — that both systems must address. Our analysis draws on systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and case studies from both contexts, aiming to move beyond promotional claims toward an evidence-based assessment of what immersive technologies can and cannot contribute to higher education. We organize our analysis around five questions: What VR infrastructure has each system built? What does the evidence say about learning effectiveness? How do the two systems compare in their deployment strategies? What challenges must both address? And what does the future hold — particularly the emerging concept of the Edu-Metaverse?'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''This article examines the evidence for VR’s pedagogical impact, compares Chinese and European deployment strategies, and assesses the challenges — cost, equity, pedagogy, and health — that both systems must address. Our analysis draws on systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and case studies from both contexts, aiming to move beyond promotional claims toward an evidence-based assessment of what immersive technologies can and cannot contribute to higher education. We organize our analysis around five questions: What VR infrastructure has each system built? What does the evidence say about learning effectiveness? How do the two systems compare in their deployment strategies? What challenges must both address? And what does the future hold — particularly the emerging concept of the Edu-Metaverse?'''

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|-本文研究虚拟现实对教学产生的实际作用，对比中国和欧洲的应用推广方式，并分析双方都需要面对的各类难题，包括成本、教育公平、教学适配以及健康影响等。本次研究参考了中国和欧洲两地的系统综述、整合分析以及相关案例研究，目的是抛开夸大的宣传说法，依据实际数据客观判断沉浸式技术能给高等教育带来哪些帮助，又存在哪些局限。文章主要围绕五个问题展开分析：双方各自搭建了怎样的虚拟现实教学设施；现有研究能证明学习效果如何；两地在应用方式上有哪些异同；共同需要解决哪些难题；以及未来发展趋势，尤其是当下新兴的教育元宇宙概念会走向何方

| style="background:#eef;" | ''''''2. VR in Chinese Universities: Scale and Speed''''''

| style="background:#eef;" | ''''''2. VR in Chinese Universities: Scale and Speed''''''

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|-虚拟现实在国内高校的应用：规模与发展速度

| style="background:#eef;" | ''''''2.1 The National Virtual Simulation Infrastructure''''''

| style="background:#eef;" | ''''''2.1 The National Virtual Simulation Infrastructure''''''

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|-国家虚拟仿真基础设施

| style="background:#eef;" | '''China‘s approach to VR in education reflects the centralized, state-led model that characterizes its broader digital education strategy. In 2018, the Ministry of Education initiated the National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Project, establishing virtual simulation as a formal category of educational infrastructure alongside traditional laboratories. The 2021 Construction Guidelines for Demonstrative Virtual Simulation Training Bases in Vocational Education set a target of approximately 200 bases; by 2024, 215 had been developed, exceeding the original plan (Ministry of Education 2021).'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''China‘s approach to VR in education reflects the centralized, state-led model that characterizes its broader digital education strategy. In 2018, the Ministry of Education initiated the National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Project, establishing virtual simulation as a formal category of educational infrastructure alongside traditional laboratories. The 2021 Construction Guidelines for Demonstrative Virtual Simulation Training Bases in Vocational Education set a target of approximately 200 bases; by 2024, 215 had been developed, exceeding the original plan (Ministry of Education 2021).'''

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|-中国在教育领域推广虚拟现实，采用的是国家主导、统一统筹的模式，这也是中国整体数字化教育战略的特点。2018 年，教育部启动国家虚拟仿真实验教学项目，把虚拟仿真和传统实验室一样，正式划为教育基础设施的一类。2021 年，职业教育示范性虚拟仿真实训基地建设方案定下目标：建成约 200 个基地；到 2024 年，实际建成 215 个，超出了原定计划（教育部 2021）。

| style="background:#eef;" | '''The flagship platform is iLAB-X, which by December 2022 had integrated laboratories from 2,672 domestic universities with over 13 million participants. The platform hosts 480 virtual simulation experiment courses, of which national and provincial high-quality courses account for 33.5 percent and 35.8 percent respectively (Zhu et al. 2023). Medical education has been a particular focus, reflecting the practical constraint that clinical training requires access to patients and equipment that cannot be scaled through traditional means.'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''The flagship platform is iLAB-X, which by December 2022 had integrated laboratories from 2,672 domestic universities with over 13 million participants. The platform hosts 480 virtual simulation experiment courses, of which national and provincial high-quality courses account for 33.5 percent and 35.8 percent respectively (Zhu et al. 2023). Medical education has been a particular focus, reflecting the practical constraint that clinical training requires access to patients and equipment that cannot be scaled through traditional means.'''

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|-标杆平台是 iLAB-X。截至 2022 年 12 月，这个平台已经整合了国内 2672 所高校的实验室，参与人数超过 1300 万。平台上线了 480 门虚拟仿真实验课程，其中国家级精品课程占比 33.5%，省级精品课程占比 35.8%。医学教育是重点发展方向，原因在于传统临床教学受现实条件限制，需要真实病患和专业设备，没办法靠传统方式大规模开展教学。

| style="background:#eef;" | '''Zhuang, Xu, and Zhang (2025), in a study published in Springer’s Virtual Reality journal, present three case studies from Chinese universities — in telecommunications, civil, and chemical engineering — demonstrating how VR contextualizes abstract theoretical knowledge through simulated environments. The studies show that VR enables situated learning experiences that would be impossible, dangerous, or prohibitively expensive in physical laboratories: students can observe molecular structures from the inside, simulate structural failures without risk, and practice chemical processes without handling hazardous materials.'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''Zhuang, Xu, and Zhang (2025), in a study published in Springer’s Virtual Reality journal, present three case studies from Chinese universities — in telecommunications, civil, and chemical engineering — demonstrating how VR contextualizes abstract theoretical knowledge through simulated environments. The studies show that VR enables situated learning experiences that would be impossible, dangerous, or prohibitively expensive in physical laboratories: students can observe molecular structures from the inside, simulate structural failures without risk, and practice chemical processes without handling hazardous materials.'''

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|-庄、徐、张三位学者在 2025 年于施普林格旗下《虚拟现实》期刊发表了一项研究，列举了中国高校的三个案例，分别涉及通信工程、土木工程和化学工程。研究说明了虚拟现实如何借助模拟环境，把抽象的理论知识变得场景化。研究指出，虚拟现实可以实现实体实验室里做不到、有危险或是成本过高的情境化学习。学生能够从内部观察分子结构，无风险模拟建筑结构损坏，还可以在不接触危险物料的情况下练习化工操作流程。

| style="background:#eef;" | '''The „Golden Course“ initiative, proposed by the Ministry of Education in 2018 as one of five course types for quality improvement, has further institutionalized virtual simulation. Wang and colleagues (2023) document the Green Logistics Virtual Simulation Experiment as a case study, demonstrating how virtual simulation addresses practical training limitations including high costs, safety risks, and limited access to real-world logistics facilities.'''

| style="background:#eef;" | '''The „Golden Course“ initiative, proposed by the Ministry of Education in 2018 as one of five course types for quality improvement, has further institutionalized virtual simulation. Wang and colleagues (2023) document the Green Logistics Virtual Simulation Experiment as a case study, demonstrating how virtual simulation addresses practical training limitations including high costs, safety risks, and limited access to real-world logistics facilities.'''

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 |-学习成效：实证研究结果
-| style="background:#eef;" | ''''''
+| style="background:#eef;" | ''''''The meta-analytic evidence for VR’s effectiveness is consistently positive but moderate. Han and colleagues’ (2025) meta-analysis of teacher education reports Hedges’ g = 0.524; Yang and colleagues’ (2024) meta-analysis of practical skills in STEM reports g = 0.477. These are meaningful effect sizes — roughly equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 70th percentile — but they do not justify the transformative claims sometimes made for VR in education.
 | style="background:#fee;" | '''荟萃分析证据表明VR的有效性一贯积极但温和。Han等人（2025）关于师范教育的荟萃分析报告Hedges' g = 0.524；Yang等人（2024）关于STEM实践技能的荟萃分析报告g = 0.477。这些是有意义的效应量——大致相当于将学生从第50百分位提升到第70百分位——但不足以证明有时对教育中VR所提出的变革性主张。'''
 |-元分析相关研究一致表明，虚拟现实具备教学效果，但整体作用程度为中等。韩氏团队 2025 年针对师范教育开展的元分析得出赫奇斯 g 值为 0.524；杨氏团队 2024 年针对理工科实操技能的元分析得出 g 值为 0.477。这类效应值具备实际教学意义，大致相当于将学生成绩从中等水平提升至前七成水平，但还不足以支撑部分观点所说的虚拟现实能给教育带来颠覆性变革。

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-'''Chapter 8 — Bilingual View (EN | ZH)''' — [[Rethinking_Higher_Education/Chapter_8|EN only]] · [[Rethinking_Higher_Education/Chapter_8/zh|ZH only]] · [[Rethinking_Higher_Education|Book Overview]]
+<span style="font-weight: bold;">Language:</span> [[Rethinking_Higher_Education/Chapter_8|<span style="color: #FFD700;">EN</span>]] · [[Rethinking_Higher_Education/Chapter_8/zh|<span style="color: #FFD700;">ZH</span>]] · <span style="color: #FFD700; font-weight: bold;">EN-ZH</span> · [[Rethinking_Higher_Education/en-zh|<span style="color: #FFD700;">← Book</span>]]
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Rethinking Higher Education/Chapter 8/en-zh - Revision history

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Admin: Realign EN-ZH Chapter 8: one row per paragraph

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