VR/AR

Thirteen school districts near the Mexico border will use U.S. Department of Education GEAR UP grants to buy ClassVR headsets from Avantis Systems, which come with access to a library of educational media.

The new Extended Reality Technology Center will bring together researchers from computer science, engineering, IT, fine arts and humanities departments to create new technology and curricula.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis' RISE grant helped fund nursing simulators and a renewable energy certificate at Northeastern Junior College, as well as a renewable energy mobile lab for high school students.

In order to get the most out of virtual reality tools, schools and universities need to train educators how to use them and address accessibility concerns that may come with adopting related programs.

A private, health-care-focused university in Dallas has partnered with VictoryXR to build a 3D “digital twin” replica campus where students can use VR headsets to participate in virtual courses and lab activities.

The movement to create online virtual campuses, or “metaversities,” continues even as slowly dropping costs have yet to make it widely accessible. The professional development required is another hurdle.

Virtual-reality labs opened this year at three charter-school campuses in Southern Nevada, with headsets, augmented-reality apps and 3D printers to teach students about immersive technology and digital product innovation.

Lakeside High School in Ohio is using virtual-reality technology to simulate hands-on experiences in various subjects and allow students to explore topics, places and content without leaving campus.

Virtual reality has had a mixed reception in higher education, but few applications have caught on more than in nursing and health-care fields, where the technology is giving students practice with high-risk scenarios.

Panelists at the recent AR/VR Policy Conference said AR/VR tools have a unique ability to broaden participation and engagement in STEM courses, provided the tools are created and adopted with accessibility in mind.

Following the success of biology courses aided by technology from Dreamscape Immersive, Arizona State University is hoping to make more use of virtual reality for other course subjects moving forward.

In a study of 514 students across the state, conducted by the nonprofit WestEd, those who used a VR tool from the ed-tech company Prisms outperformed their peers who covered the same material in a more traditional way.

Artificial intelligence helps create user formats for some virtual-reality education programs such as those created by VictoryXR, which allow teachers to safely transport students beyond the walls of their classrooms.

Universities are gradually making more use of AR/VR headsets in an effort to establish “metaversities,” or digital twin campuses, but to date their use remains limited to a handful of courses at some schools.

The California State Parks system recently unveiled a new virtual and augmented reality app for visitors to dive into the lives of new cultures while exploring California’s natural landscapes.

Virtual reality technology was on display during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s joint address last week. The broadcast from C-SPAN featured a clearer view of Yoon, interspersed with wide-framed shots of the chamber.

K-12 schools and universities in several states are using gamification to teach science through virtual experiments, simulators and LMS integrations like those offered by the global ed-tech company Labster.

Adjunct professor Russell Crispell at Niagara County Community College in New York uses VR headsets and 360-degree YouTube videos to immerse students in different scenarios requiring first aid training.