Technology and Its Influence on Personal Health: AR/VR Nature Experiences for Wellness
Course: W200 – Teaching with Technology
This conceptual lesson design was developed as part of a course assignment focused on integrating digital tools into K–12 learning environments. The project outlines an imagined, yet instructionally grounded, wellness-based lesson for 3rd–5th grade students that explores how AR and VR technologies can promote mindfulness, emotional regulation, and healthy tech habits through immersive storytelling and experiential activities.
Title Slide
This AR/VR nature-based health lesson introduces students to the calming effects of immersive technology on personal well-being.
Note to Teachers
Designed for 3rd–5th graders, this experiential lesson aligns with Indiana standards and explores how technology influences health.
Academic Standards
This slide connects the lesson to Indiana's Health & Wellness standards, specifically focusing on the relationship between technology and personal health.
Learning Objectives
Students will explore mindfulness, stress reduction, and healthy habits through AR/VR activities and creative storytelling.
Let’s Brainstorm
Learners begin by working in small groups to identify technologies that help them feel calm or happy.
Miro Brainstorm Board
Using Miro, students collaborate digitally to share and visualize their calming technology ideas before regrouping for discussion.
Finding Calm with VR
Students are introduced to a guided VR mindfulness experience that transports them to calming, nature-inspired environments.
Options Slide
Learners choose from three immersive VR environments—Cascade Calm, Blooming Breaths, or Tranquil Sunrise—to practice mindful breathing.
Let’s Talk About It
Students engage in an interactive SMORE learning module to reflect on how AR/VR and other technologies influence mental wellness.
Technology in Daily Life
This slide helps students relate the benefits of calming technology—like Headspace, smartboards, and sound machines—to everyday well-being.
Create Your Own Story with Technology
Students are empowered to write their own stories about characters who use technology to navigate emotional challenges and feel better.
VR Mini Book Instructions
This slide introduces the VR Mini Book activity, where students write physical stories that appear virtually under a starry night sky using motion-tracked pens.
Example #1 – VR Mini Book
An illustrated story example shows how a child uses VR to manage test anxiety and regain confidence through mindfulness.
AI Choose-Your-Path Story Instructions
In this activity, students engage in a digital, interactive story where their choices determine how technology helps characters solve emotional challenges.
Example #2 – Choose-Your-Path Game
A visual of the choose-your-path experience highlights how students can select mindful solutions or alternate outcomes within a gamified VR world.
Sharing Prompt for Students
This slide offers a guided sentence stem to help students reflect on and verbally share their story experience with peers.
Discussion Questions Slide
Students deepen their learning with five reflection questions designed to spark thoughtful conversation about the role of technology in emotional well-being.
Project Reflection
Through this project, I deepened my understanding of how to align digital innovation with academic standards and social-emotional learning goals. I’m particularly proud of how the lesson weaves together creativity, wellness, and technology in a way that is developmentally appropriate, engaging, and forward-thinking. This experience has further solidified my interest in exploring the impact of immersive technology on student mental health, and I plan to continue developing this work in my future graduate studies in educational psychology and educational technology.