reality simulations lack the nonverbal behaviors such as a smile or a head nod from the professor. The absence of these cues in the teacherless environment restricts the ability to achieve the same level of understanding between the student and instructor (86). In the simulated environment, the student is not able to ask questions or to clarify instructions or techniques. The lack of human interaction within the virtual reality training limits a doctor's understanding of the whole medical procedure when applied to humans, for human beings react in ways that a computer can not simulate (86). The "people skills" that doctors possess aid in reassuring their patients, but without social skills, doctors do not know how to act with patients, which leads patients to become uncomfortable and anxious about their medical situation (Granthan 83). In addition to the medical field, the potential of virtual reality has not entered our society without catching the eyes of the educational system. In this area, virtual reality is used for a basic function: innovative teaching. In pilot programs across America, virtual reality in the classrooms strives to "promote human creativity and [to] decentralize power" (Zhai 124). The educational system, includes a type of hierarchy of power: the teachers are at the top, then comes the favorite students, and finally at the bottom, the average students trying to get by. Since few teachers are trained in the use of virtual reality, many find themselves learning alongside the students, and this results in the breakdown of the power structure which benefits the students because now their education becomes "student-centered learning" (Shroeder 76). Students can explore their interests and creativity using the technology. Mathematics and sciences become visual and almost tangible lessons. Unfortunately, these benefits are not likely to reach a typical high school in a typical town any time soon. One of the downfalls of...
