Classroom to clinic: speech therapy students transported through VR

The University of Newcastle (UON) fourth-year student is then required to conduct an oral muscular assessment on clients from adults through to children.

It's an opportunity for the 21-year-old to get a scope on what it would be like in a real-world scenario while putting everything she's learned in her studies into practice.

"It's had such a positive impact on my studies," she said.

"It was really good to have a go on a 'fake' client in a controlled environment before getting into the real deal."

VR and augmented reality (AR) studio Start Beyond created the virtual speech therapy training component for University of Newcastle speech pathology students with assistance of a $100,000 state government grant.

Start Beyond CEO and co-founder Angus Stevens said 97 per cent of students that went through the pilot program felt more confident after using VR training, when entering their practical studies.

"It's been really valuable and allows you to take real world scenarios without the physical or emotional risk," he said.

He said VR was powerful in that it allows the ability to get things done quicker of having the experience prior to the real situation, and better emotional intelligence.

"You actually get to do a scenario and understand how the person feels and therefore be able to then navigate that better when you're out in the world," he said.

Ms Ryan said using the headset had been beneficial to her as a visual learner.

"It's a great alternative way of learning for visual learners like myself. I learn the best by actually doing it myself and seeing it happen rather than just hearing about it," she said.

"I would love to incorporate it in other areas of speech pathology and learning as well, it's very helpful."

Mr Stevens said VR has the potential to grow throughout schools as a learning tool and in businesses.

"It's the future of learning but it's actually happening in some places right now," he said.

The University of Newcastle currently has around 40 headsets, and the program is now available through a platform called Oncio where it can be accessed on mobile and desktop.

"While it's not quite as immersive, it gives a more scalable solution," Mr Stevens said.

UON speech pathology lecturer Joanne Walters said she has seen a positive impact using VR in tutorials with students.

"It has allowed them to get a real sense of how to implement clinical procedures first-hand, before carrying them out on actual clients. We have seen a positive impact on student learning enabling them to feel confident," she said.

UON speech pathology senior lecturer Dr Rachael Unicomb said the use of VR in teaching is "extremely adventurous."

"As educators, we can ensure that students have the benefit of practicing certain clinical and even professional skills, in a safe, repetitive, and standardised manner.," she said.

"This helps us to gauge the competency levels of our students in certain areas of practice. We've seen the real benefits for using VR and other forms of simulation in our program, and we are exploring its feasibility across other areas of practice."