The writing is on the wall that we are headed towards an AI and data driven future. Many jobs are going to get automated by AI and robotics. An obvious example is self driving cars. A non-trivial example could be detecting shoplifters in a mall. From playing our driver to the security AI will invisibly permeate every facet of our society.
In such a world of automation, data driven decision-making and leverage, a new breed of professionals will be required. People who can think creatively and decompose a problem into small individual problems which can be partially or wholly automated or fed to a machine learning algorithm.
This way of thinking is not new, and its called Computational Thinking (CT). But its relevance in today's society is paramount. CT is a skill that is not limited just to computers or technically minded people. Its a skill that can be used to solve problems across all disciplines of our knowledge based economy, be it mathematics, science or arts.
There are 4 pillars of CT, viz. Abstraction, Pattern Recognition, Decomposition and Algorithmic thinking.
Abstraction is the process of removing unnecessary information which does not contribute to a problem's solution. Its about separating the wheat from the chaff and getting to the root of the problem.
Pattern Recognition is about identifying similarities and reoccurrence themes which can be generalized to solve future problems.
Decomposition entails breaking a problem into simple logical steps or parts which can be solved individually.
Algorithmic thinking is to sequence a problem into a set of instructions or rules based on logical
ordering to solve a problem.
Virtual Reality (VR) can be a great tools to help students developer the skill of CT. Serious games targetting the mobile or the PC platform can be an ideal platform to develop CT skills.
One such example is the VENVI (Virtual Environment Interactions) project that is using VR to teach CT to middle school children using dancing! More importantly, it a great use case the demonstrates that CT is not for just for the technically minded.
Children use a visual tool to decompose a complex choreography into individual steps using the principles of CT and then replay those moves in VR. Its about moving your body, having fun and learning all put together in an immersive experience!
MAGES Studio, a Singapore based serious game development company which develops interactive experiences using VR and Augmented Reality has worked on many mobile and desktop VR titles that target one more more pillars for CT. Such titles have been well received by the educational and serious gaming community.
One such example is Robosop that teaches engineering students how to decompose a force into its constituent forces in a fun and engaging mobile format.
Academia is soon realizing the importance of VR and CT and the important role it plays for our future generations.
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