zSpace takes a different approach to VR, offering immersive 3D learning experiences without asking students to strap a device to their faces.

Designed specifically for education, zSpace combines hardware and software to create interactive lessons that allow students to explore complex concepts in a more hands-on way.

From dissecting a virtual heart, to examining the inner workings of an engine, or investigating scientific phenomena that would be impossible to recreate safely in a classroom -- the aim is to move learning beyond textbooks and flat screens.

STEM subjects, career and technical education (CTE), and workforce readiness all get a focus. zSpace has found a place in schools looking for ways to make learning more engaging while helping students develop practical skills.

Here's everything you need to know about zSpace and how it can be used for teaching.

What is zSpace?

zSpace is an immersive learning platform that combines dedicated hardware with a library of educational software designed for schools, colleges, and training environments.

The company focuses on what it calls experiential learning. This aims to give students the opportunity to interact directly with digital objects and simulations -- rather than simply reading about processes or watching videos.

zSpace does not rely on traditional VR headsets. Instead, students use specially designed laptops or workstations that display 3D content that can be manipulated using a stylus. This creates the feeling of interacting with physical objects and dodges lots of the practical challenges associated with headset-based VR.

The platform is popular for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), but it also supports health sciences, manufacturing, skilled trades, and career-focused learning programs. The idea here is to help students better understand difficult concepts through direct interaction and exploration.

How does zSpace work?

zSpace is designed to make digital learning feel more physical. Students can pick up, rotate, enlarge, shrink, and examine virtual objects from every angle.

Rather than viewing a diagram of the human body, for example, they can pull virtual organs apart, explore anatomical systems layer by layer, and investigate structures that would be difficult to visualize using more standard teaching methods.

The same approach applies across other subjects. Engineering students can inspect machine components, science students can investigate molecular structures, and technical education learners can practice procedures in simulated environments before working with real-world equipment.

For teachers, the platform functions as another instructional tool rather than a replacement for existing teaching methods. Lessons can be integrated into classroom activities, used as part of blended learning programs, or offered in small groups.

Because students are actively interacting with the content rather than passively consuming it, the technology is designed to encourage curiosity, exploration, and discussion.

One of the biggest advantages is the ability to provide experiences that would otherwise be too costly, dangerous, impractical, or simply impossible in a normal classroom setting.

What are the best zSpace features?

One of the most standout features is the headset-free approach. zSpace removes the need to wear VR goggles, as many other immersive tech platforms require, making classroom use simpler and potentially more comfortable for learners.

The platform's interactive 3D models are another major strength. Being able to manipulate objects directly can help students grasp concepts that are often difficult to understand through static images alone. This is helpful for subjects such as anatomy, engineering, physics, and technical training.

zSpace also stands out because of its focus on CTE and career readiness. Much of the content is designed to teach academic concepts and to help students with skills and scenarios they may encounter in future professions.

The company also provides curriculum resources, implementation support, and professional development for educators, to help schools integrate the technology into existing teaching practices rather than treating it as standalone.

How much does zSpace cost?

zSpace does not publicly list pricing. Costs vary depending on the hardware selected, the software packages required, and the level of support and training a school needs.

As a result, schools interested in adopting the platform will need to contact zSpace directly for a customized quote.

Best zSpace tips and tricks

Use it for concepts students struggle to visualize
The biggest gains are likely to come when teaching topics that are difficult to understand through diagrams, photographs, or written explanations alone.

Build discussion around the experience
Rather than treating zSpace as a solo activity, use it as a starting point for questions, predictions, and classroom conversations that help students process what they have explored.

Focus on experiences you cannot easily recreate
The technology is at its strongest when it enables students to do something that would otherwise be impossible, unsafe, prohibitively expensive, or unavailable in a typical classroom.

Prisms is a uniquely powerful tool that uses augmented and virtual reality to create immersive science and math learning experiences.

The company behind this appears excited to say that this represents a "new paradigm for education." A bold claim, but one that appears to be backed up by some very well thought out, designed, and built VR experiences.

The end result is a way to teach STEM subjects through physical experiences, rather than simply having to conceive what numbers and concepts might represent.

The platform was founded by Anurupa Ganguly, an MIT engineer turned educator. After working with districts for over a decade she decided we needed a new way to teach, and Prisms was born.

This guide aims to help you assess if Prisms could be a useful tool for your class.

What is Prisms?

Prisms is a digital learning platform that uses VR and AR to help teach math and science concepts in a more physical way.

The idea is to allow students to kinesthetically manipulate numbers around them in space to see how that can change and affect them -- before applying that to pen-and-paper work.

If a student can learn a STEM concept physically -- their way -- so that they can better grasp it at the outset, the idea is that they can then use that in future, and build on that more easily as they progress.

Using VR experiences, students can manipulate mathematical concepts while keeping focused on a real-world task, combining the two naturally so they can learn how it works through actual use.

How does Prisms work?

Prisms uses VR so you will need to have students wearing a headset and using the motion controls to interact with the augmented reality experience.

Currently, Prisms offers a service that not only delivers the software but also the hardware, which includes providing Pico and Meta Quest VR kits to schools. It is also working on Apple Vision Pro integration at time of publishing.

Educators are given guidance and training on both the use of the VR kits as well as working with the software. This includes ways to transition from the virtual learning environment to paper and pen work.

In one example, students are asked to put trash in a waste can before being taken to a virtual dump site to see that waste building. They are then in a virtual x-y space where they can manipulate the amount of trash coming in versus the capacity to deal with that, in order to see how too much can be a problem. At the same time they're learning how to formalize concepts of residuals in math.

What are the best Prisms features?

Prisms focuses on specific areas so teachers are able to work on a specific scale with students, based on the curriculum and their individual needs. While that covers wider areas such as Algebra 1, Geometry, Advanced Algebra, and both High School Chemistry and Biology, there's more.

Within grades 7 and 8 there are specific math concepts, including fractions, surface area, probability, ratios, volume, angles, functions, inequalities, and plenty more.

Prisms modules are created to fit into a teacher's calendar with pacing to suit. The idea being to teach bottle-neck topics, not just to review these.

A full day of professional development is available for teachers to understand how the Prisms idea works, to play with the hardware, learn the lesson cycle, get supporting curriculum materials, discover the Teacher Dashboard, and more.

Support is then ongoing with round-the-clock access to coaches and tech support for teachers.

All modules are available in six languages as well as English: Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Russian.

How much does Prisms cost?

Prisms offers hardware, software, and support all as part of a package for classrooms and schools.

The basic setup gets you 35 VR headsets and chargers, at $20,000 per classroom. The software is then charged on use at $12-$14 per student, depending on scale.

Prisms best tips and tricks

Use the support
Go to the training and use continuing support to get the most out of all this platform has to offer both students and teachers.

Lead with this
Use these VR experiences as a way to teach new STEM concepts in which students can physically play and discover themselves.

Monitor with the Dashboard
Use the Teacher Dashboard to see exactly what students are seeing in order to help them along when needed and monitor understanding.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
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AI-powered devices are becoming more prominent in recent years, with smartphones, tablets, and watches making the rounds with personal and professional use. Education is no different as school districts are figuring out how to approach the subject of AI use in the classroom. One of the pieces of tech that hasn’t been discussed as readily are smart glasses.

While not as widely used, smart glasses are quickly gaining popularity for common application. Ray-Ban has partnered with Meta to create Ray-Ban Meta Advanced Smart Glasses.

Here’s what you need to know about Meta Glasses.

Key Takeaways

• Meta Glasses have the ability to provide answers, translate languages, play music, and capture and stream images
• Without power, Meta Glasses can function as regular glasses (prescription lenses can even be added)
• It is easy to identify Meta Glasses by the distinguishing features that set these apart from traditional glasses

What Do Meta Glasses Do?

Meta Glasses utilize Meta’s AI to interact with the outside world through a front-facing camera. For example, you can scan signs in different languages and have Meta AI translate for you. You can use Meta AI to give you historical background on surrounding landmarks in your area. It can respond to you in real time depending on the request you give it, similar to on-phone assistants such as Siri or Alexa. You can also receive spoken instruction, as well as listen to music through concealed speakers on either side of the frames.

Meta Glasses have the ability to take pictures with the front-facing camera at the push of a button. When connected to the internet, you also have the ability to stream live video of what you’re looking at. If you decide to activate your Meta Glasses to stream video, an indicator light will show others that they may be captured in the stream. This acts as an extra layer of protection in case you don’t want to be identified on someone else's stream.

Are Meta Glasses Actually Glasses?

A pair of Meta Glasses can act as a regular pair of glasses, even for those who need prescription lenses. In order to operate the Meta Glasses you need to have a smartphone with an updated operating system, a WiFi connection, and wireless internet access. If these things are available, your Meta Glasses can still act as normal glasses.

Your Meta Glasses also need power to work, which can be provided through a protective charging case. A charge within the glasses can last up to four hours, with the ability to charge longer through the case.

Another discerning factor is the use of the accompanying Meta View app, which allows you to change certain settings and features associated with the Meta Glasses. Without access to this app, Meta Glasses would simply function like regular glasses.

Meta Glasses in an Educational Environment

How would a pair of Meta Glasses interact with a classroom environment? While a student might need to use the glasses in the same way they would use traditional frames, the extra functionality of Meta Glasses might be harder to use in a classroom setting. In addition to the obvious issues around privacy, using the Meta Glasses may require verbal interaction, which would distract a student from what is going on during a lesson while also creating a distraction. It would also be quite obvious for an educator to notice a student using any smart-enabled features.

As an educator, you can tell Meta Glasses from regular glasses by observing a few telltale signs. Meta Glasses have frames that are a bit thicker than regular glasses due to the technology being housed. Also, due to the camera on the front of the frame, a teacher would easily be able to see the lens or the light indicator to show that the user is streaming.

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CoSpaces Edu is an AR and VR creation tool designed specifically for teaching and learning.

More than 1,000 schools now use this tool, so it's been well developed and has grown to make it more accessible than ever. The idea is to offer a learning space that also helps students to be ready for the technological developments of the future, specifically in communicating and working within AR and VR spaces.

Thanks to COPPA and FERPA compliance, this is a safe space that's built for easy integration into schools nationally. With more than half a million educators using it, this is fast becoming a staple part of teaching in tech-savvy schools. And this guide aims to show all you need to know so you can decide if CoSpaces Edu is something that could benefit your school.

What is CoSpaces Edu?

CoSpaces Edu is an AR and VR tool that allows students and teachers to build their own immersive creations in virtual space.

The system is designed to help teach using both animation and coding skills to bring the augmented and virtual to life. The company behind this tool, Delightex, says: "We envision a future in which learning isn't motivated by test scores, but by rewarding experiences letting kids try new things and discover what they're capable of while helping them understand the world around them."

Thanks to a web application as well as mobile and tablet apps, this is widely accessible across devices, and so makes for a great collaboration teaching tool. Since this can work using affordable Google Cardboard-style VR, it's an accessible option, too.

Get creative, collaborate, and build before then using the end result as an experience for other students to enjoy and from which to learn.

How does CoSpaces Edu work?

CoSpaces Edu can be downloaded and used on smartphones and tablets or via the web app on most other browser-enabled devices. Of course, a camera with speakers and microphone are ideal for augmented reality experiences. And for virtual reality, a headset, or smartphone adaptor, will be needed for a more immersive experience.

For the design part, it's easy to work on a desktop or laptop, making it a straight-forward and recognizable experience for students. Since this is a single tool designed for all, it can be used from as young as grade three right up to 12 -- offering consistency that students grow to know and understand.

The setup is easy to learn as students can drag and drop objects, and then assign animations or actions to make these interactive in the virtual environment. This is a block-based coding interface that's similar to Scratch and so can be easily recognized or used as a transferable skill.

What are the best CoSpaces Edu features?

CoSpaces Edu uses its CoBlocks coding interface that is easy to learn but helps to teach the basics of how coding works, in an AR and VR space. Students can create simply using a desktop and then experience creations on a mobile device, for the easiest combination of input and output.

Thanks to a wide selection of pre-built lesson plans, there is plenty for teachers to use right away. It's possible to customize these options making for a personalized teaching experience that doesn't take long to have up and running.

Since there are various tasks involved in building, this is a natural way to teach group-based collaboration. And with plenty of examples to work from, it can be easy for students to pick up and delegate in their groups.

Thanks to a broad range of lesson plans and onboarding materials, this is relatively easy to learn even for teachers that may be new to this area. And with the broad creative potential, this can be used across subjects as a way to create projects while also working on computer skills.

How much does CoSpaces Edu cost?

CoSpaces Edu offers both a free version and a paid for premium plan with more features available.

The Free option gets you access for up to 29 students, two CoSpaces to create, one class, one assignment, 10 external files, and coding with basic CoBlocks.

Go Pro, at $50/year, and you get all CoSpaces Edu features and 3D objects, the ability to invite students and teachers, add co-teachers, publish to the Gallery, Remix the Gallery options, code with script languages, and use the built-in physics engine.

CoSpaces Edu best tips and tricks

Assign groups
Break down projects so students in groups have assigned tasks, such as object placement, camera controls, animations, object behaviors, and so on.

Submit assignments
Once the basics are learned, have students submit assignments that they create in CoSpaces, for others to experience and also learn from.

Remix the Gallery
Don't be afraid to use pre-built content in the Gallery and Remix it for your needs as a way to save time and still offer great interactive learning experiences.

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Introducing students to multiple curriculums can be a daunting task, especially from the perspective of one teacher. While new technology can help, the amount of it being integrated in the classroom can be a bit overwhelming.

Makerspaces have taken this into consideration and, even with the proliferation of AI, have put greater emphasis on interdisciplinary project-based learning, says Tim Needles educator and author of STEAM Power: Infusing Art Into Your STEM Curriculum.

“We’re at a time now where everyone’s talking about AI. It’s been the dominant conversation for sure,” says Needles. “But the other piece of AI is that because it can manage some of what we typically do in our classrooms, it puts a greater importance on some of the project-based learning type of work. It puts a greater emphasis on creativity.”

Using Enhanced Reality to Emphasize Creative Learning 

The use of immersive technology – augmented and virtual reality – continues to grow in schools. Needles is no stranger to using enhanced reality formats to bring out the wonder and excitement associated with hands-on learning.

“We’re doing a lot of work with AR and VR,” he says. “Merge cubes are nice because it’s tactile. It’s a nice blend of the physical world and the digital world where students can actually manipulate things with their hands and get a better sense of them. Then we can move into things like poster creation with augmented reality so that you could decorate your classroom with some of the learning that you do with students.”

Augmented reality has a unique way of giving students a way to interact with their surroundings. But how does virtual reality work into the classroom in a similar fashion?

“One of the things that has been really effective in working with students from all different backgrounds is having a connective tool like a VR headset,” Needles says. “We’re currently using Oculus and we do a lot of work with NASA because of virtual experiences like taking a virtual trip to the International Space Station. Or students can explore the Anne Frank house if they wanted to.”

The Positive Impact These Forms of Education Can Have on Students 

While AR and VR are great tools on their own, Needles says cross-curricular use is key.

“One of the most effective ways to use some of these tools is not by themselves, but to actually tie them into other kinds of curriculum as well,” he says. “Being a STEAM person, I like interdisciplinary stuff. So I work with teachers in different departments, and then also adding global learning with a couple global programs to cater to students in multiple countries.”

Bringing connectivity to students across the world can help people from different backgrounds find common ground in education. But are the students engaged?

“I think the engagement is one of the key reasons it’s so successful,” Needles says. “Students are so much more interested. It’s great to see a full class of students fully engaged because that’s always the aim.”

The Importance of Digital Literacy 

Introducing new tools into the classroom is a wonderful way to get students more engaged in the educational process, but how do educators deal with the ever increasing task of teaching students how to interact with the tech and tools they use?

“This is something I’ve been discussing with a lot of colleagues now,” Needles says. “We’re testing a new program that specifically teaches literacy through a company called Digital Responsibility. It’s a micro course that students take as they enter high school. You could be strengthening student understanding of digital literacy by talking about it in individual classes, but the courses are a good way to create a blanket beginning point. With AI being as powerful and as important as it is, dealing with digital literacy, media literacy, and ethics is important.”

Students have many digital outlets when it comes to education and entertainment, but some educators make it a priority to encourage students to use their tools and programs in a responsible and ethical way.

Some of the Tools Needles Uses:

• Google
• Classlink
• Go Guardian
• Adobe
• Formative
• Quizizz
• EdPuzzle
• Discovery

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If you're considering buying a VR headset, or several, for schools then this guide can help. To make sure you get the right one, there is plenty to consider before investing in a headset .

It's worth considering if you need VR, AR, or both. While VR gives you a virtual reality experience, seen on screens in the headset, AR provides an augmented reality in which it blends images projected onto the real-world view. So while VR is great for taking a virtual field trip to the other side of the world, AR can be a super way to carry out a virtual experiment as if the tools were right there in the classroom.

This guide will aim to include both, so you can consider all options before deciding which is best for your school. Then it might be worth checking out the best VR headsets for schools guide to pick a specific model. Or perhaps a direct service company, that comes in with all the kit and teaches lessons, such as Discover VR, is a more straight-forward option.

VR or AR?

First up, you need to decide if you need a VR or AR headset. Generally speaking, an AR headset is going to cost you more than a VR one since the technology is a little more complex as it involves cameras to detect the room and a display that's thrown onto a clear visor so you can see the physical room, too.

That said, there are many AR apps that work on smartphones. So you could simply get a basic headset mount for a smartphone and use AR in that way to save a lot on cost.

The appeal of VR over AR is not only price but also the availability of hardware and software. It's been around longer and apps are arguably easier to make. Consequently, there is a lot of choice for VR headsets as well as lots of great content out there designed specifically for teaching.

Amount

The amount of headsets you need and how you want to teach are an important consideration. You could buy a single headset and share that in turns, or buy several and work in groups. Or you can buy a class-load to take the entire lesson off to virtual worlds.

This is a little more complicated as you will need to consider if you want a setup that is centrally controlled, in which you can send out the same images to all the headsets at once -- and in which controls are locked so students have to follow the set class. These setups can be more expensive and may require a central computer from which to run the headsets.

However there are many rental options out there too, so it might be worth a try before you buy to see what works best for your class.

Brands

Lots and lots of brands now offer VR headsets, so it's worth considering what you need from one. You might want the most affordable option, or perhaps you are looking for a headset that offers compatibility with your current setup.

A Microsoft Mixed Reality headset for Windows machines could work ideally for a current school setup. Or maybe you want to get a Vive device for immersive gaming, an Apple device for a wide selection of AR software, a Meta setup for great stand alone plug-and-play value, or something specializing in group setups such as ClassVR.

In short, it's worth the time to research what brand might pair best with a specific learning activity before you buy.

Connectivity

Nearly all VR and AR headsets will now work over wifi and use battery power to make devices as wireless as possible. Although older models did require plugging in, so if you're saving money that way be sure to check how these connect -- as cables in class, when students can't see, can be hazardous.

Going for a smartphone or tablet setup can be helpful here as you will already have that wifi connection and app stores, so getting access to software and remaining compatible can be a simple process.

Pricing

The cost involved in VR and AR headsets can be prohibitive but thanks to the proliferation of the technology and software, there are now more price points at which you can get involved than ever before.

From a basic Google Cardboard headset, that turns a smartphone into an AR and VR headset, to complex multirig setups from ClassVR right thru to Apple Vision Pro, there are options to suit most needs.

It's worth thinking about the software you will need first, to teach effectively, and then working back to the hardware that way -- often allowing you to keep pricing low if needed without losing out on the end result of what the software offers.

Check out the best VR headsets for schools with all the above in mind to find your ideal setup.

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As you may have heard, Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s new immersive headset, was recently released.  Apple is saying the Vision Pro will launch the “era of spatial computing,” and touting features such a micro OLED display, 3D cameras, and advanced eye and motion detection ability that allows users to type and interact with displays without needing a keyboard or mouse.

Right now it’s too soon to say what impact the Apple Vision Pro will have on education. Experts see many great features that could potentially be used in teaching. However, the tool currently costs $3,499, which can be prohibitive for schools (or anyone, really). And there are other possible classroom limitations beyond its price. 

Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Frank Bergdoll, a veteran teacher who hosts the Learning and Technology with Frank YouTube channel, discuss the Apple Vision Pro and its potential impact on education.

Apple Vision Pro: Teaching Potential  

Forgetting price, there are many ways in which Apple Vision Pro could be used to support teaching. 

“It will give kids the opportunity to bring an IMAX into a classroom,” says Hirsh-Pasek. This is because the Apple Vision Pro comes equipped with the ability to play movies on a screen that can be adjusted to each user’s desired size, and Apple has also announced a partnership to bring IMAX documentaries to the device. 

Hirsh-Pasek adds that the tool can give students a truly immersive experience, such as the opportunity to visit ancient lands and explore other worlds. 

She was also impressed by the tool’s EyeSight feature, which alerts Vision Pro users when someone is nearby by bringing the person into their field of vision while also clearing the way for the user’s vision. Hirsh-Pasek sees this as a breakthrough over previous immersive gear and a concept that could allow for more AR/VR collaboration among students, and make spending time in these experiences less dangerous. 

“It means you're less likely to bump into a desk,” she says. “And I can't tell you when I've done immersive reality how many people have bumped into walls and desks.”  

Downsides Beyond Price  

Bergdoll notes that schools often have expensive pieces of equipment in classrooms, including interactive whiteboards and projectors as well as other AR/VR headsets. However, these devices can be utilized by multiple students at the same or one after the other in quick succession. 

“My main concern with the Apple Vision Pro is that it does seem to be a highly personalized device that doesn’t lend itself well to sharing,” Bergdoll says. “For many AR/VR experiences, we would not want learners to be immersed throughout the entire day – so sharing a device would be ideal.” 

The Apple Vision Pro needs to be calibrated to the eyesight and hands of each user, and while this isn’t an incredibly time-consuming process, it’s far from instantaneous. Passing the device back and forth between 20 to 30 students during one class period would most likely be impractical. 

And this isn't the only limitation. As impressed as Hirsh-Pasek is with the Apple Vision Pro, she doesn’t believe it makes use of all the advantages immersive technology could provide in education. 

“It's still a more passive than active system,” Hirsh-Pasek says. “We all learn better when actively engaged in something rather than just watching something.” 

Larger Impact 

AR/VR and other immersive metaverse-style technologies are used frequently in schools but have never been able to break into the education mainstream or beyond. The Vision Pro could change that as Apple has a long history of pushing the envelope with new technology.

“Apple has a strong reputation for building technology with a user focus,” Bergdoll says. “The Vision Pro will very likely spar a lot of innovation around competing hardware, and especially the software and media ecosystem that develops around it.” 

Apple Vision Pro apps are available in the app store and Bergdoll predicts that will attract developers, which will attract consumers in a virtuous circle. 

Hirsh-Pasek agrees and notes that Apple has a coolness factor that will likely bring extra attention. “Every time Apple comes out with something, everybody goes to try to create the next iteration,” she says. “So in that sense, it can have real impact on the industry.” 

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Cybersickness can be caused by the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets or related technologies, and includes symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, sweating, and eyestrain. 

Jonathan Kelly, a professor of psychology and human-computer interaction at Iowa State University, began studying cybersickness after research on another topic using VR was hampered by the number of people complaining of cybersickness symptoms. 

Kelly and his research colleagues have found that half of new virtual reality users experience cybersickness after 10 minutes of playing a VR game, and after 20 minutes that number rises to 75% of participants. The incidence of cybersickness is even higher in women, who were twice as likely as men to end the sessions early due to cybersickness and reported more severe symptoms. 

The frequency in which these symptoms occur in VR users has important implications for the development of the Metaverse and could impact the rollout of Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s recently announced augmented reality headset. (Cybersickness from augmented reality, or AR, can occur but early research indicates it is far less common than cybersickness caused by VR use.)

“We realized that this is a problem that will limit the uptake of virtual reality unless we solve it,” Kelly says. He and his colleagues continue to study the causes of cybersickness and how it can be prevented in order to make VR more accessible to all. 

What is Cybersickness?  

Cybersickness is a feeling of unwellness that is believed to occur due to the sensory conflict that occurs when a person using a virtual reality headset sees movement in the simulated landscape but their body doesn’t feel that movement.  

“It's that sensory conflict that's thought to be largely responsible for especially the motion sickness kinds of symptoms you get in cybersickness,” Kelly says. 

Similar to what happens to those who experience motion sickness while trying to read as a passenger in a car, Kelly says, “You're looking down, you don't really see the physical world, but your body feels those turns, and so it creates that sensory conflict that makes you sick.”  

Sensory conflict also seemingly explains why cybersickness from AR use appears less common. “When you put on your VR headset all you see is the virtual world, so as you interact with it there is this great potential for conflict between your vision and your body,” Kelly says. “An AR headset, of course, you're overlaying virtual stimuli onto the real world. So now you have visible around you the real environment, and there's of course no conflict with the real environment visually and your body.” 

Why Are Women More Prone to Cybersickness? 

It is unclear why women are more likely to experience severe symptoms of cybersickness. One theory is that it is because VR headsets have largely been designed by and for men. Specifically, it’s been proposed that because women have less distance on average between their pupils than men, most headsets don’t properly fit them. 

“That was a really nice theory and idea, but I don't believe that it's true,” Kelly says. 

While previous research had suggested a connection, in a larger study Kelly and his colleagues found that the distance between people’s pupils was not a predictor of cybersickness. 

”We don't know exactly why women get sicker than men. It seems like some of the reason has to do with the fact that women are simply more susceptible to motion sickness, and motion sickness susceptibility does predict cybersickness,” he says. 

Kelly adds there is more going on then we currently understand and more research is needed to ensure VR is accessible to  both men and women. 

What Can Educators and Others Do To Limit Cybersickness?  

The good news is that there are strategies for reducing the likelihood of cybersickness. 

Some VR games have comfort settings designed to limit cybersickness. For instance, one setting will narrow the view when you move with your joystick in order to reduce the visual conflict a user experiences. 

“The downside, of course, is it also reduces the visual experience,” Kelly says. “You've got this cool wide field of view display, and you start moving and all of a sudden you're looking through a straw and it just sort of diminishes the experience.” He adds this is also true of other comfort settings, including a teleportation feature, which cuts out joystick walking altogether. 

“I'd like to see us develop tools that allow us to help people feel more comfortable but not negatively impact the visual environment,” Kelly says. To that end, his lab is studying the concept that those who play in VR for short periods ultimately grow accustomed to it through a process called “adaptation.” While it has not been conclusively proven yet, there is good early evidence suggesting its likelihood. 

“We think there might be some opportunities to help people adapt to cybersickness, especially in ways that don't make them really sick initially, but just kind of gradually, gently expose them,” he says. 

In the meantime, educators utilizing VR experiences in classrooms should be aware that cybersickness is likely to occur in some students and should regularly check on them. 

In Kelly’s experiments, he and his colleagues ask how people are feeling on 10-point scale. “It's not very intrusive, [you can] do it every couple minutes,” he says. “In our experience, as soon as that value starts going up, and so let's say you're now ‘5,’ after 10 minutes of VR, it's better to stop there. It only gets worse.” 

Ultimately, it's important to be cognizant of the length of a VR session. “The adaptation thing I was talking about, that's more about exposure, repeatedly, day after day, but in a single session it will just keep going up and so people can get miserably sick if they let themselves," he says. "So it's important to be monitoring and tell people to monitor themselves.” 

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Phil Hintz, director of student information at the Barrington 220 School District in Illinois, is studying for his doctorate how metaverse-style immersive technologies can be used to teach students with intellectual disabilities. 

An early adapter and enthusiast of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and other types of immersive technology, Hintz recently attended ASU+GSV summit in San Diego. At the conference, he was struck by several metaverse for education applications currently available or in development. 

1. Floreo

This edtech company develops VR experiences designed to teach social, behavioral, and life skills to neurodiverse students and individuals. As a parent of a child with Down syndrome, Hintz knows that neurodivergent students often encounter life situations that they are unprepared for, such as being questioned by a police officer or having to interview for a job. Floreo creates VR simulations that allow students to practice those social interactions, Hintz says.

2. Strivr 

Strivr is another company that specializes in creating VR trainings that utilize metaverse-ready technology. Students can learn skills across various fields, including technology, sports, finance, and many more. 

“These products [are] finally getting to the point where they can help an everyday person but also people with special needs, and then also people who are already highly skilled,” Hintz says. “So the whole gamut of the type of learner, there is a VR and Metaverse experience waiting for those people.” 

3. Dreamscape Learn

Dreamscape Learn is a collaboration between Dreamscape Immersive and Arizona State University that merges high-quality pedagogy with emotional storytelling. The tool includes immersive courses and software for creating metaverse-style experiences. Hintz is impressed both with the product and the work Dreamscape Learn is doing to make the metaverse more accessible by offering grants for schools to get needed VR equipment. 

Hintz says that educators don’t always need the best of the best when it comes to VR tools. “We don't need the Cadillac. We just need the on-ramp,” he says. 

4. Labster

Labster offers more than 300 virtual science simulations designed to inspire students in an interactive immersive lab that teaches them important STEM lessons. 

“They empower the next generation of scientists,” Hintz says. This makes learning science more accessible and it can also make it more engaging. Currently, Labster offers resources for high school and higher ed students.

5. InspiritVR 

Another VR company dedicated to science, InspiritVR helps educators build their own virtual reality laboratory. The tool is billed as “built for teachers by teachers,” and that can be seen in the product. 

“It is an affordable and easy-to-use tool for making engaging, immersive science experiences for all,” Hintz says. The resource also has a free portion available for educators who create an account. 

6. OssoVR

This company specializes in surgical training and assessment for medical professionals. Its goal is to make surgical training more efficient and effective. 

Hintz says the company is a fascinating example of metaverse technology making education more accessible. Healthcare students who use OssoVR don’t need to operate on a cadaver and can make mistakes and improve in a less high-stakes environment. 

7. Zoe Immersive

Zoe Immersive allows educators to quickly create interactive 3D scenes on the Meta Quest Platform, Hintz says. It’s easy to see the potential of these interactive virtual reality experiences and Zoe Immersive comes with education templates including templates for special education, game design and program, sciences and arts design, language learning, and social studies. 

• The Metaverse: 5 Things Educators Should Know
• Teaching a VR Lesson: 5 Questions to Ask

To share your feedback and ideas on this article, consider joining our Tech & Learning online community here

When Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was changing his company’s name from Facebook to Meta and focusing on virtual reality (VR) and other immersive technologies, enthusiasts of metaverse-related technology were excited. 

The event brought enthusiasm and media attention to metaverse technology both in and outside of the classroom as well as investment opportunities. Meta funded Metauniversities and developed popular VR and Metaverse-ready technology such as the Meta Quest 2.

However, the pivot to the metaverse has seemingly not gone well for the company formerly known as Facebook. Beginning in late 2022, Meta started laying off thousands of employees. When OpenAI released ChatGPT, generative AI stole the metaverse’s thunder as the “it” technology of the moment. 

“There was a lot of talk about dumping money into metaverse development, then along came OpenAI in November, and I think that changed a lot of the funding strategies,” says Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. 

Funding once devoted to metaverse development has been diverted to AI research and some sources say that even Meta – contrary to what its name implies – is no longer all-in when it comes to the metaverse.

However, that doesn’t mean the dream of a metaverse-centric education is dead. In fact, Hirsh-Pasek and other metaverse-in-education enthusiasts believe the emergence of AI will help the metaverse in the long run. 

AI is A Good Thing for The Metaverse  

Jaime Donally, a well-known immersive learning expert, believes generative AI technology will ultimately bring the metaverse into the mainstream by providing everyone, including students, with the ability to quickly create immersive worlds. 

“The metaverse is picking up steam with generative AI rather than dropping in interest,” Donally says. 

In addition, the concept of the metaverse was always bigger than one company and the very idea that one company could build the metaverse is flawed. “That's not what the metaverse is going to be, that's not the definition of the metaverse,” she says. “Everybody's making their own products and that's fine, but the vision of the metaverse is when they're all intertwined. They're all connected. They're decentralized.” 

Donally believes metaverse will be helped by Apple announcing it will get into the immersive technology game by offering its own VR/AR headset, which could be released soon.

Even so, many resources in tech have switched focus to AI, which could slow down metaverse development. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, Hirsh-Pasek says. 

“If we halt the rush to market and actually figure out how to do this in a way that is both educational and safe, and equitable, then I think the metaverse can be a product that can take kids to ancient Greece rather than have them reading about it,” she says. “It can show them what it's like to walk on the moon and to make discoveries on their own. So it could give kids tremendous agency in their own education. If we can design it correctly, and not just make it another way to see a movie.” 

The Metaverse Today  

Phil Hintz, director of student information at the Barrington 220 School District in Illinois, is studying how metaverse-style immersive technologies can be used to teach students with intellectual disabilities. “The metaverse is very much a place to practice and get good at any skill, whether it's a life skill or occupational skill,” Hintz says. “It's a sandbox to try something out that you might then carry back into reality.” 

Hirsh-Pasek says current technology has not yet advanced enough to reach the full potential of the metaverse as the equipment remains expensive and sometimes clunky. As that technology inevitably continues to improve, she hopes the education standard does as well and that more companies invested in the technology will work with developmental psychologists on their products. 

“There are tons of us, and we would be happy to work with you to make sure that intentionality and best educational practice is built into your system,” says Hirsh-Pasek. 

As important as thinking about the future of the metaverse and immersive technology can be, Donally sometimes believes the potential of tools that are available right now get overlooked.  

“Yes, we need to be forward-thinking and we don't need to be stuck on any tools, but today there are incredible tools that aren't being leveraged in the classroom,” she says. “That's the unfortunate part, they think they're waiting for something when really that something is already there, available today.” 

• The Metaverse: 5 Things Educators Should Know
• VR in Education: Potential and Barriers for Effective Use
• What Is Virtual Reality?

To share your feedback and ideas on this article, consider joining our Tech & Learning online community here

Veative is a well-established VR brand that was created purely for education purposes, as was shown at Bett 2023. While there are more and more virtual reality headsets out there, Veative stands out as unique. Unlike many others this is a totally independent system, so you don't need a computer, smartphone, or even internet to use this.

A Veative spokesperson told us: "This is a totally independent VR system where all the content is loaded directly on to the headsets, which are battery powered. No cables, no computers, and no internet are needed to run these."

That makes these ideal for school use as it can be moved between classes, very little technical training is required, and no costly computer systems are needed to run everything.

On top of all that, Veative has been producing content for years so there are masses of educational VR experiences from which to choose. With more than 670 modules for both VR and AR, you can access 100+ hours of immersive content. And since this is a global brand, it is aligned with more than 20 curricula and is offered in five languages.

• Check out the best of BETT 2023 here

For older students there are unique career discovery and CTE options with gamified interactions. For younger students there are STEM learning and specific subject modules covering physics, math, biology, ELL, chemistry, virtual tours, special ed, and more.

Everything can be managed from an app, which allows educators to monitor student progress, set work, analyze data, and more.

Veative Full is available now for $10 per user per year. Or go for the Library Mode, in which anyone can grab a device and use it, for $200 per VR headset per year.

As school budgets continue to shrink and classroom time is at a premium, virtual field trips have become a great opportunity for educators to help students experience places around the globe without getting on a bus, or even leaving their classroom.

Being able to see and experience a significant cultural institution, historic site, or natural landscape with the help of immersive technology, such as virtual or augmented reality, can help make lessons more engaging and exciting.

Here are the best virtual field trips for education, organized by art museums, history museums, civics-related sites, aquariums and nature sites, STEM-related experiences, and more!

Virtual Art Museum Tours

- British Museum, London Explore more than 4,000 years of art and historical objects from around the world.

- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C Features more than 40,000 American works of art, including paintings, works on paper, and etchings.

- Musee d’Orsay, Paris Displays art created between 1848 and 1914, including works by van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, Monet, and Degas

- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea The representative museum of modern Korean visual art, plus architecture, design and crafts.

- Pergamon, Berlin, Germany Features sculpture, artifacts, and other items from ancient Greece.

- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands Home to the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh in the world, including more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and 750 of the artist's letters.

- Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy A dynastic collection of ancient sculpture, artwork, and artifacts, established by the renowned Medici family.

- MASP, Sao Paolo, Brazil Brazil's first modern museum, displaying 8,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, objects, photographs, and costumes from a range of periods, encompassing Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston A comprehensive collection that ranges from prehistoric times to modern day, featuring world-renowned paintings by Rembrandt, Monet, Gauguin, and Cassatt, plus mummies, sculpture, ceramics, and masterpieces of African and Oceanic art.

- The Frick Collection, New York Distinguished Old Master paintings and outstanding examples of European sculpture and decorative arts.

- J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Works of art dating from the eighth through the twenty-first century, including European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European, Asian, and American photographs.

- The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois Thousands of artworks—from world-renowned icons (Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Hopper) to lesser-known gems from every corner of the globe—as well as books, writings, reference materials, and other resources.

- The Metropolitan Museum of Art A colossal collection of art, cultural objects, and historical artifacts from over 5,000 years of human history.

- The Louvre Museum Packed with iconic works of art, from da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and other renowned artists.

- New Britain Museum of Art eMuseum Virtual visitors can explore a wide variety of the institution's collection, include works of American Impressionism, landscapes from the Hudson River School, Post-WW2 and Contemporary art, as well as the "Math-terpieces" and "What Is America?" school tours.

Virtual History Museum Tours

- Smithsonian Museum of Natural History One of the largest repositories of natural history on the planet, featuring more than 145 million artifacts and specimens.

- National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Home to an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts, including paintings, sculpture, photographs, and historical objects.

- The Prague Castle, Czechoslovakia Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world, consisting of palaces and ecclesiastical buildings of various architectural styles, from the remains of Romanesque-style buildings from the 10th century through Gothic modifications of the 14th century.

- The Colosseum, Rome One of the most iconic structures in world history.

- Machu Picchu, Peru Explore the 15th-century mountaintop citadel built by the Inca.

- The Great Wall of China One of the wonders of the world, stretching more than 3,000 miles across multiple provinces of China

- The National WWII Museum’s Manhattan Project virtual field trip A cross-country virtual expedition to discover the science, sites, and stories involved with the creation of the atomic bomb.

- Discovering Ancient Egypt In addition to stories of the great kings and queens, learn about the ancient Egyptian gods and mummification, pyramids, and temples through interactive maps, photos, drawings, and paintings.

- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock Virtual Tour Through personal stories, interactive media, and pop culture artifacts, explore seven decades of history, from the dawn of the nuclear age to the significant policy questions of today.

- U.S. Capitol Virtual Tour Video tours of historic rooms and spaces, some of which are not open to the public, research resources, and teaching materials.

Civics Virtual Field Trips

- National Mall Gateway - This digital platform connects students and teachers to the National Mall and U.S. history, allowing them to go from the classroom to the Reflecting Pool. It also features standards-aligned resources, interactive maps, and 360° tours so students can explore historic landmarks.

- Virtual Field Trip to the Census Bureau A behind-the-scenes introduction to the U.S. Census Bureau, featuring exclusive interviews with subject matter experts.

- National Constitution Center Virtual Tour A virtual interactive multimedia tour of the National Constitution Center on Independence Mall in Philadelphia.

- Virtual field trip to Ellis Island Hear first-hand stories told by those who came through Ellis Island, see historical photographs and films, and read fascinating facts.

Aquariums & Nature Parks Virtual Field Trips 

- National Aquarium Home to 20,000 animals covering 800 species, from the depths of the ocean to the canopy of the rain forest.

- Georgia Aquarium Live webcam feeds for aquatic creatures, such as beluga whales, penguins, alligators, sea otters, and even underwater puffins.

- San Diego Zoo Live looks at koala, baboons, apes, tigers, platypuses, penguins, and more.

- Yellowstone National Park (live cams) Nine webcams—one live-streaming and eight static—provide views of around the North Entrance and Mammoth Hot Springs, Mount Washburn, the West Entrance, and the Upper Geyser Basin.

- Mystic Aquarium One of three U.S. facilities holding Steller sea lions, and it has the only beluga whales in New England.

- Monterey Bay Aquarium (live cams) Ten live cams, including sharks, sea otters, jellyfish, and penguins.

STEM Virtual Field Trips

- NASA At Home Virtual tours and apps from NASA, including tours of the Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, International Space Station, and Hubble Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, plus excursions to Mars and the Moon.

- California Science Center Build your own virtual field trip for grades K-5 with NGSS-aligned content, in both English and Spanish.

- Slime in Space Take students 250 miles above Earth to the International Space Station to learn along with astronauts how slime reacts to microgravity compared to how water reacts.

- Clark Planetarium Virtual Skywatch Free for schools, virtual versions of the live “Skywatch” planetarium dome presentations that directly correlate to 6th grade and 4th grade SEEd astronomy standards.

- Alaska Volcano Observatory Alaska's active volcanoes offer superb opportunities for basic scientific investigations of volcanic processes.

- The Nature Conservancy’s Nature Lab virtual field trips Designed for grades 5-8 but customizable for all ages, each virtual field trip contains a video, teacher guide, and student activities.

- Great Lakes Now Virtual Field Trip Learn more about the importance of coastal wetlands, the danger of algal blooms, and a deep dive into lake sturgeon. Designed for 6-8th grade.

- Access Mars Explore the real surface of Mars, as recorded by NASA's Curiosity rover.

- Easter Island The story of a team of archaeologists and a 75-person crew who sought to unravel how the hundreds of giant stone statues that dominate the island's coast were moved and erected.

- FarmFresh360 Learn about Canadian food and farming in 360º.

Miscellaneous Virtual Field Trips

- Nature Eye - NatureEye specializes in live, interactive virtual field trips during which students and teachers can remotely "fly" a drone in real time at a location on the other side of the world. Curriculum-aligned experiences include African wildlife reserves, Icelandic volcanos, and Peruvian cloud forests, with a live guide to provide context and answer questions. Virtual field trips start at $150.

- CyArk - This nonprofit organization uses advanced technologies, including drones and photogrammetry, to digitally preserve cultural heritage sites. They create immersive 3D models, virtual tours, and self-guided field trips of historical landmarks and archaeological sites, including Mount Rushmore, Mongolia, Greenland, Bangkok, Sudan, and many more.

- American Writers Museum new live Virtual Field Trips feature a guided exploration of AWM’s permanent exhibits or two online exhibits; staff-led interactive gameplay and pop quizzes about major literary works; and Writer Wednesdays, offering students a weekly opportunity to connect with a published author about the craft of writing.

- Khan Academy Imagineering in a Box Go behind the scenes with Disney Imagineers and complete project-based exercises to design a theme park.

- Google Arts & Culture Explore galleries, museums, and more.

Virtual reality can help boost CTE programs and teach students about potential careers in fields they may know nothing about, says Lana Taylor from the Indiana Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. 

Traditionally Boys & Girls Clubs in Indiana have offered only limited career education opportunities. 

“We'd always kind of done a little bit of career training, but it'd been mostly having a guest speaker come in and talk, or maybe doing a field trip and going somewhere. It really wasn't in-depth skill development,” Taylor says.  “What we've tried to do over the past couple of years is to find other resources that can provide kids with that more detailed experience.” 

One of those other resources has been a partnership with Transfer VR to provide students access to headsets to participate in career simulations that can give them a tactile sense of what working in certain careers might be like. 

Virtual Reality Career Training: An Immersive Experience 

Through VR, the Indiana students now have the opportunity to participate in a variety of job-related simulations. 

For example, in one simulation students learn about aviation by trying to land a plane. Another has them try to repair an electric wire that is atop a tower high above the ground. “They had to climb up the pole with the power line, if they dropped their tool, they had to figure out how to pick up their tools,” Taylor says. 

That simulation, like others, has helped students understand a job that may sound boring on paper, such as repairing power lines, might actually be exciting in reality. “They were so into it,” she says of those participating in the simulation. 

The VR technology also allows for the simulation to be displayed on a big screen, which can build excitement and engagement. “Even if one kid has the headset on, all 20 in that room can watch what he's doing because they'll be able to see it up on the screen, which is really neat because then kids are like, ‘I want to try that!'” she says. 

Supporting CTE 

“Not all kids are meant to go to college, not all kids want to do it,” Taylor says. “So it’s important to give them some exposure to different careers and workforce paths that maybe they hadn't thought of before.” 

Obviously, there are many lucrative and rewarding careers that don’t require a college degree, yet many kids don’t always know much about these opportunities. “So many kids started school and never finished, but have these horrible student loans,” Taylor says. 

Students are more focused on doing something that they find fulfilling than ever before, Taylor says. She hopes VR career simulations can help support CTE efforts and shed light on popular careers today, such as those in health care and the culinary world. “The majority of our kids, they want to do something that they love, they don't want to sit and be bored,” she says. “Kids are really engaged in knowing what they want more.” 

Educators interested in letting their students experience similar career simulations can reach out to a local Boys & Girls Club to see if they have similar programs. 

In Indiana, Taylor says educators can view the virtual reality career simulators in action at a local club meeting. She’s also looking to team up with schools or other organizations. “We always love to partner with our schools and find ways that we can do that and expand more services to more kids,” Taylor says. 

• Best VR Headsets for Schools
• The Future of CTE: What Educators Need to Know
• Using Virtual Reality To Enhance Existing Lessons

Before teaching a VR lesson or an AR lesson, there are some questions teachers should ask themselves, says Jaime Donally, an immersive learning expert. 

Donally is a former math teacher and instructional technologist who has written two books about teaching with extended reality (XR), which encompasses virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). She advises teachers to ask these questions as they prepare to teach a VR lesson and get ready for the metaverse. 

1. What is The Goal of The VR Lesson? 

As with any kind of lesson, it's a good idea to start with the end goal in mind when teaching a VR lesson by asking questions such as, "What is the learning objective? And how can VR help meet that objective?" 

Too often, an educator will see a cool VR lesson at a conference and try to shoehorn it into an existing lesson. “I think that's really going to be the approach that's going to have a lot more problems,” says Donally. 

Instead, she advises teachers to search for VR and AR resources and lessons that can fill gaps. “Look for the resources that are going to target those areas where maybe us as teachers have a hard time grasping or demonstrating," she says. "What can augmented or virtual reality support that I couldn't do without that kind of technology?”  

For example, consider using VR to enhance an existing lesson, such as a history lesson to see what a significant site used to look like in the past.

2. What Type of Technology Do Your Students Have Access To?  

You don’t need an expensive VR headset to start incorporating immersive technology into your teaching but you do need to be mindful of the strengths and weaknesses of the tech that your students have access to. 

“Chromebooks, which are the most popular school products in the classroom today, are limited to more web XR experiences,” Donally says. “So an example of that is actually building in a virtual or 360-degree environment.” 

If students have access to devices with cameras such as an iPad, iPhone, or Android device, they can engage in AR lessons. “They can do augmented and virtual reality experiences in it, and it gives them the chance to be able to explore and sometimes even create and design,” Donally says. “Depending on which device they get, they can even do 3D scanning to be able to build and populate their immersive experiences. Most of what I share is being used or leveraged on iPhones or iPads, or Google mobile devices."

3. Who Can I Collaborate With?  

Collaboration with administrators and other colleagues is key to developing successful VR lessons, especially as the technology you are utilizing gets more advanced and potentially expensive. 

“[Collaborate] with your curriculum team, your technology team, other teachers in the same group, whether it be grade level or subject level,” Donally says. 

When this collaboration portion isn’t in place, sometimes efforts to incorporate VR into the classroom can be a bust. “What happens is you have this really energetic teacher that jumps into this technology, with absolutely no support through their curriculum, no support through their technology, and really no guidance. So they run into all these stumbling blocks,” Donally says. “I've actually heard of school districts going out and spending grant money for VR headsets, and the technology department shuts it down because it's not safe, or there are complications within their own network.” 

4. What Resources Are Available?  

Donally has written more than 200 blogs on VR learning and related topics for her website that teachers can access for free. In addition, she has developed two free courses in partnership with the Verizon Innovative Learning Center and has written two books published by ISTE on the topic, The Immersive Classroom and Learning Transported. 

Educators can also connect with other VR-interested teachers using the #ARVRinEdu hashtag on social media. “You're going to find a lot of resources from the community sharing ideas and inspiring one another," Donally says. 

She recommends the following courses: 

• ARVRinEDU.com
• AR Course
• VR Course
• Everfi Metaverse Course

5. How Do I Know My VR Lesson Is Successful?  

The more that our VR lessons can be student-directed, the better. “I think a successful lesson is letting the students own the technology,” Donally says. “When students are building and creating experiences, sharing those experiences with others, and that’s something that others can enjoy and maybe even be inspired by. I think that's really when we're going to see this kind of technology take off.” 

Too often there’s is a reluctance to hand students the reins. “We tend to want to control every piece. We have to know every aspect [of a lesson]. I don't know, every aspect,” Donally says.  “Every time I talk to teachers or students I learn something new. And I think when we can all look at it from an approach that we are in this together to learn this together. This technology is changing so rapidly, that we always have room for growth and to learn together. I think that that's when you have a successful lesson.” 

• Best VR Headsets for Schools
• The Metaverse: 5 Things Educators Should Know
• Using Virtual Reality To Enhance Existing Lessons

The students’ faces tell the whole story. 

Even with their eyes covered by virtual reality headsets, you can see laughter and expressions of joy as they participate in virtual reality experiences tailored to their classroom lessons. 

“Students are just in awe of what they're seeing,” says Michael Jaber, coordinator of Instructional Technology Sheboygan Area School District in Wisconsin. 

For years, much of the conversation around virtual reality (VR) in school has focused on the future potential of the technology. However, districts across the country are increasingly offering students a variety of experiences built around existing lessons. 

While VR will likely improve dramatically in the future, there is a lot educators can and are doing with it right now. 

Virtual Reality in Action  

Jaber recently purchased a set of 32 ClassVR headsets for each of his department's three technology coaches to use with various classes. These headsets are in such demand that principals at various schools have begun looking to purchase their own sets. 

Using the headsets allows for access to Avanti’s World, an educational VR theme park and other VR experiences. Students have visited the island they read about in Lord of the Flies, explored classic paintings in three dimensions, visited the moon and Mars, and flown with bees. 

“It's been transformational for us,” Jaber says. 

The experiences students engage in are customizable and are directly tied to classroom activities. For instance, the students who visited the Lord of the Flies island were asked to go on a scavenger hunt to find key items from the book and then discussed how the VR rendering of the island differed from the picture they had in their heads. Younger learners read Little Red Riding Hood and then tour scenes from the book.

“It changes their learning and perspective so much when they're a part of it and it's not just words on paper,” Jaber says. 

Educators can also design their own custom-made VR experiences. “I took a 360 camera to one of the tech schools,” Jaber says. He went through the school’s welding area, recorded interviews, then uploaded it all so kids in a career class could take a 3D virtual tour of the facility without leaving their classroom. 

Virtual Reality Best Practices  

Géraldine Fauville, an assistant professor of Education Communication and Learning at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, says educators looking to incorporate extended reality (which encompasses virtual reality and augmented reality) should ask themselves three questions: 

1. What are the learning goals? “We know that XR is not appropriate for all kinds of learning goals,” says Fauville, who researches extended reality. “For example, if your goal is for students to memorize something, XR might not be what you need.”

2. Who are the learners? “You need to make sure that the hardware and application are accessible to your learners,” she says. “Is it age-appropriate, does the equipment fit in their hands, on their head?”

3. What is the context? “You don’t organize a learning activity the same way in a large classroom of high schoolers or in the library with young kids. It is important to make sure they will be safe, they won’t bump into each other or into furniture,” she says. “Moreover, you need to think about how the 10- or 20-minute long XR learning activity will fit into a larger learning context. How do you introduce the XR activity? What information do the learners need to understand before jumping in? How do you debrief after the XR learning activity? How do you continue the learning journey?” 

Jaber also believes context and connecting the VR experience to the lesson is essential. “You don't want to use it as a gimmick, you want to make sure that there's educational value,” he says. “You don't want it to be a substitute, you want it to be an enhancement of what teachers are doing.” 

• What is Virtual Reality? 
• How To Setup Virtual Reality Or Augmented Reality In Schools For Free
• The Metaverse: 5 Things Educators Should Know

A group of leading virtual and extended reality (XR) educators have authored a report on the metaverse – a network of interconnected 3D virtual worlds that may be the next evolution of social communication and collaboration – and its potential in education. 

“After considering many conversations we have had with both educators and technology creators, we felt there was a real need to provide an introductory guide about XR, based on our expertise and grounded in the research to date on learning and immersive technology,” says Eileen McGivney, a PhD candidate and researcher at Harvard University, who adds that the report’s research team originally considered conducting a systematic review of research into extended reality or conducting new research looking at the technology in learning. 

Ultimately, she says, “We wanted to help the education community understand the technology, and the technology community to understand education.” 

Their evidence-based report, “An Introduction to Learning In the Metaverse,” was published by Meridian Treehouse. McGivney and other co-authors shared some highlights from the report. 

1. The Metaverse Doesn’t Actually Exist Yet  

“When talking about the metaverse, we mean a whole ecosystem of interconnected virtual spaces distributed across various technologies,” says Géraldine Fauville, an assistant professor of Education Communication and Learning at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. 

However, these interconnected virtual spaces or worlds are still in development. 

“This ideal of the metaverse doesn’t yet exist but the main technologies creating the foundation for its future do,” says Wesley Della Volla, founder of Meridian Treehouse. 

Despite the media coverage the concept has received, the metaverse still requires improvements in technology to become a reality, says Daniel Pimental, assistant professor of Immersive Media Psychology at the University of Oregon. “For example, advancements in artificial intelligence – computer vision – blockchain technology, and increased bandwidth with 5G connectivity, will form the foundation for the scalable, immersive learning ecosystem we envision,” he says. 

2. The Metaverse May Offer Great Potential for Educators 

In the future, if used correctly, the metaverse may have the potential to open new learning experiences to users. “For too long, learning has been thought of as transmitting information devoid of context, but when designed well, the metaverse can provide rich contexts for people to learn more than just content knowledge,” McGivney says. 

Fauville is interested in the ways in which students' and teachers’ increasingly complex avatars in the metaverse will impact education. “The virtual bodies we inhabit have profound short- and long-term effects on how we think, feel, and behave,” she says. “Giving learners autonomy over their self-presentation will undoubtedly influence their learning experience, from driving engagement to increasing the self-relevance of the subject matter.” 

3. The Metaverse Will Not Be A Silver Bullet  

The authors of this report agree there is enormous educational potential for metaverse, however, educators should temper expectations. “Let’s make sure we do not overestimate the potential of the metaverse for education,” Fauville says. 

The metaverse is not a silver bullet, Volla says. “It is part of the future of learning but cannot exist in a vacuum. Learning doesn’t stop once you take off the headset or turn off the AR filter.” 

The key will be finding creative ways to use the metaverse to supplement traditional learning experiences. “I would caution educators from trying to replicate classroom structures within XR, and rather take their time to play and explore the technology to consider new learning opportunities that they can’t usually provide,” McGivney says. “This includes giving students lots of agency and allowing them to create their own metaverse technologies and experiences.” 

4. The Metaverse Needs to Be Inclusive and Equitable

“The hardware that is currently used to access metaverse experiences, like VR headsets, are not affordable and are difficult to wear for many people from groups who are underrepresented in the technology industry,” McGivney says. “Many of these technologies are also designed in a commercial environment that prioritizes profit over things like data privacy and effective educational design. Further, there are issues we point to in the report about XR experiences themselves, which are not designed in a way that is beneficial or accessible for all populations.” 

The report points out, for example, that someone with limited mobility in their hands might struggle to use controllers. Others might have difficulty if they wear glasses, and most current headsets can’t be worn over head coverings and many hair styles. 

“The most pressing question is how to make use of the metaverse in learning in a judicious, inclusive, and effective way,” Fauville says. “Also when and how should learning activities in the metaverse be embedded into existing learning practices.” 

5. The Blueprint for Metaverse Education is Still Being Designed  

It’s important to remember that we are at the genesis of the metaverse in education and that many stakeholders should be involved in the evolution of its use going forward. 

“Taking a rigorous, evidence-based approach to building a blueprint for the future of learning is critical to success,” says Erika Woolsey, PhD, a visiting scholar at Stanford University. “We need as many people as possible collaborating on open-access research to answer questions ranging from big picture ones like, ‘Is utilizing new technology even beneficial to learning?’ to more tactical ones like, ‘What forms of interactivity influence a learner’s sense of agency?’”

Woolsey adds: “Right now we have a lot more questions than answers, and we think that’s the best place to start.” 

• VR in Education: Potential and Barriers for Effective Use
• What Is Virtual Reality?

Augmented reality, or AR, is a combination of virtual displays and real-world backgrounds. So this isn't VR, in which a headset is worn that cuts out the world to view screens as if in a digital location. This combines the two.

AR uses screens and cameras to overlay digital objects on the real world. As such, it is ideal for use in schools as it can create virtual items that might otherwise be prohibitively expensive or dangerous to have in the room.

Augmented reality can add digital elements to the real world to make textbooks 3D or turn a classroom into a virtual escape room. It can also mean a large space such as a gym can become an area populated with structures to explore, as if transporting students to a far away or ancient land.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about augmented reality in education.

• Virtual Reality Teaching: Successes and Challenges
• Best VR and AR Systems For Schools

What is augmented reality?

Augmented reality is, as the name suggests, taking the real world and changing it by overlaying digital objects. Consequently, it requires a display and screen to work. While the most immersive way to do this is by using a headset such as Microsoft Hololens, these are still very expensive bits of kit.

That said, there are now more and more augmented reality headsets with cameras built-in, which can be used to feed in your surroundings and overlay digital objects. As opposed to virtual reality, in which even the background is digital too.

There are also more and more augmented reality apps appearing now for use on smartphones and tablets. Since Apple launched its ARKit, it's made developing this kind of software easier than ever. What once required huge amounts of processing power can now be done even on older devices.

Augmented reality can be used to place a virtual character in a room, to bring a book to life with videos, to touch and interact with a virtual experiment, and much more. 

How can augmented reality be used in education?

Augmented reality, as you can see in the above image, can directly enhance the classroom experience for students. At its most basic, an app can be used with a textbook, for example, to bring that content to life. Images from the book can be placed into a 3D format in front of the student. In some cases it can also allow the student to interact with the object, manipulating it to see the effect.

From learning human anatomy and the star system to performing a virtual experiment, the possibilities are myriad. Imagine an entire class being able to carry out a physics experiment without the need for any equipment, as each student simply uses their own devices. 

Not only can this be cost saving but it can also save time and valuable storage space. It can also allow an opportunity to try experiments that might be dangerous or not possible in a real school scenario.

Exploring and building virtual worlds, overlaid in real space, is another option. As you can see in the images above and below, students can create using building blocks and then walk around their scaled up creations. In the case of Sandbox AR, students can explore ancient civilizations on the other side of the world that might otherwise be out of reach to them.

Manipulate parts in a virtual machine, see data overlaid on the parts of a real system, follow guidance on how to operate a device looking through that AR display. The possibilities are vast and growing every day.

How can schools get augmented reality?

Schools can invest in headsets, with many sold in bulk now, aimed at entire class use. These often come with supporting software, which is designed specifically for teachers to use, guiding the students in the augmented virtual world.

But there are more affordable ways, such as using already owned hardware including smartphones of students or the school, and tablets too. As long as the device has a camera and screen, isn't more than about five years old, and runs Android or iOS, it should be able to run augmented reality. There are even lots of free AR apps available now to get students and teachers started right away.

Since Apple introduced software advances that make building virtual reality easier, it has grown massively in education. One leading name is Discovery Education, who offers a good example of augmented reality with their new app that was featured at Bett 2022.

We've also compiled a list of the best virtual and augmented reality headsets for schools, which shows the options out there and can give you an idea of pricing.

• Virtual Reality Teaching: Successes and Challenges
• Best VR and AR Systems For Schools

Virtual reality, or VR, is a digital world that was developed decades ago but has come into its own in recent years. This is because only now is the technology small enough, powerful enough, and affordable enough to reach the mainstream. For those reasons, virtual reality is now starting to get used in education.

VR represents a new media platform that can allow for a more immersive way for students to learn. But, importantly, it can also be an option to offer greater opportunities and experiences to all students. 

For example, students in positions of physical limitations, or schools with limited funding, are now able to experience virtual trips to real places they could not have reached before. 

Read on to find out all you need to know about virtual reality in education.

• Virtual Reality Teaching: Successes and Challenges
• Best VR and AR Systems For Schools

What is Virtual Reality?

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-based system that uses software, screens on each eye, and interactive controls to allow a person to enter a virtual, digital world. It can also be achieved using tablets and smartphones with the screen as the virtual world, but this is a less immersive way and often applies to augmented rather than virtual reality.

By placing the displays close to the eyes, usually in a headset, it allows the person to feel as if they're looking at a giant screen, close-up. The makes for a very immersive view that is coupled with motion sensors so when you move your head the view changes, just as in the physical world.

While virtual reality has been used widely for gaming it's also now being used in work-based training and, more recently, in education. One of the big factors in this relatively recent uptake was Google Cardboard, which used a super affordable cardboard phone holder with lenses built in to create virtual worlds. This works with smartphones, allowing students and teachers to easily and affordably experience VR.

Since then, virtual reality has had lots of funding thrown at it by big name companies, universities, and technology brands. With a global value at $6.37 billion back in 2021, which should reach $32.94 billion in 2026, it's clear this is a fast-growing area that's going to mean big changes in education long term.

How can virtual reality be used in education?

One of the most powerful ways to show off virtual reality in schools is to take virtual tours. This can mean visiting a location, anywhere in the world, without the usual issues of cost, transport, waiver forms, and even crowds to worry about. Instead, students and teachers can slip on VR headsets and all go on a tour together. But it goes further as this can also go beyond time, allowing a class to go back and visit an ancient city that's now gone, for example.

The uses for VR extend into a variety of subjects, however, for science, for example, students could visit the stars or carry out virtual lab experiments safely using digital versions of the real thing but that react in the same way.

This goes further with some schools actually setting up virtual classrooms that children can visit remotely. The Optima Academy charter school in Florida provides its 1,300 students with Oculus VR headsets to participate in virtual lessons. This can include history lessons taught in the Oval Office, virtually, or among the planets for astronomy.

How can schools get virtual reality?

Getting virtual reality into schools consists of two main parts: the access to virtual reality headsets themselves and the software required to run it all. There are now companies that specialize in providing kits with enough headsets for an entire class. Most also now have their own software, compatible with others, which allows teachers to manage the experience of the class and gain access to lots of educational apps and games.

There are also apps that offer virtual reality experiences on phones and tablets without the need for a headset. Think Google Earth, in which you can explore the planet virtually by panning and zooming about. That's not as immersive, but certainly classes as a virtual reality experience. 

Since Apple introduced software advances that make building virtual reality easier this has grown massively in education. One leading name is Discovery Education, who offers a good example of augmented reality with their new app that was featured at Bett 2022.

We've also compiled a list of the best virtual and augmented reality headsets for schools, which shows the options out there and can give you an idea of pricing.

• Virtual Reality Teaching: Successes and Challenges
• Best VR and AR Systems For Schools

A research team at Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab surveyed and interviewed more than 300 parents and legal guardians about their children’s virtual reality (VR) use between April and July 2020. 

The team led by Marijn Mado and Dr. Géraldine Fauville recently published their findings in Technology, Mind, and Behavior.  

Key takeaways include: 

• Children’s median VR usage increased from 20 minutes to 30 minutes per day since the start of the pandemic
• Parents saw potential for VR in education, particularly when VR experiences were enhanced by supporting materials before or after the lesson
• Many parents had difficulty finding educational VR resources for their children
• Some women surveyed in the study experienced motion sickness using VR and had more concerns about the safety of the technology
• Despite most VR headset companies suggesting 13 years as the age limit, many younger children used the technology.

As VR technology grows increasingly popular, educators looking to incorporate it into their classrooms should keep in mind its strengths and limitations. 

“VR can provide this inspiring spark, and it can start discussions in our classroom,” Mado says. “But I think in order to really properly learn, and to get a very nuanced kind of rational view of what's going on in a certain social context, it's important to scaffold VR with all sorts of educational materials.”

VR’s Potential for Education: Context is Key  

One mother interviewed for the study described how while in lockdown her daughter spent time exploring the Anne Frank House VR experience, which gave her an appreciation of just how small the space in which Anne Frank hid was and sparked other important conversations. 

However, many parents talked about how their children need contextualization of the VR experience. “The Key is a VR experience that is really premised on the refugee crisis, but it's also quite abstract,” Mado says. “One father told us his son went through The Key, but never ended up really making these connections with the refugee crisis and what that meant, even though his son had been learning about this topic in school and had been learning about it in other contexts.” 

Meanwhile, another family used The Key experience to more meaningfully engage in conversations about the refugee crisis. The difference, the researchers concluded, was all about context. 

“It's like any kind of learning material,” Fauville says. “You would not have students running an experiment in a lab without having them understand some principle, and understanding what are they going to do, why they are going to do it, how they are going to do it.” 

After a lab activity, there would be a debriefing session, which is a model educators should follow with VR learning experiences, Fauville says. 

VR Accessibility  

The parents surveyed for the study were found through the research team’s social networks. Because these are technology researchers, the participants they found tended to be tech-savvy VR enthusiasts and many worked for VR companies. Therefore, they were perhaps better able to guide their children in the use of the technology than an average parent from the general population might have been. However, even the parents surveyed had trouble finding educational VR experiences for their children. 

“We can imagine that this problem might be even bigger for someone who buys a VR headset because their kid is interested without having a special connection to that world,” Fauville says. 

To help parents find the educational resources that are available in VR, the team put together a list of the 169 VR applications included in the survey, which now serves as a resource for parents and educators. 

More troublingly, the study found that VR technology was gendered, which may hinder its usage among women and girls. Some of the women discussed experiencing cybersickness, a type of motion sickness associated with screen and VR use. “The women in our study who mentioned symptoms of visually induced motion sickness are no anomaly,” the paper noted. “As studies find that females are more likely than males to suffer from visual-induced motion sickness, such as cybersickness, when exposed to VR.” 

Previous research suggests this may be because the VR kits are designed for men and not women. Men often have larger interpupillary distance (distance between pupils) and most VR headsets cater to the interpupillary distance of men, which might increase the incidence of cybersickness in women, Mado says. In addition, the headsets can be uncomfortable with long hair. 

Beyond these physical concerns, there were other factors that seemed to make females less likely to enjoy VR. Several men surveyed mentioned that their wives have fears about hardware close to children’s brains and the disconnect from physical reality. The study authors also noted, “Women also appear less interested in VR due to their disinterest in video games and computer culture in general.” 

“One of the recommendations that we have is to include women in the design process, and actually all stages of VR development to make sure that it becomes and remains a digital technology that's equally accessible to women as it is to men,” Mado says. 

• Best VR and AR Systems for Schools 2021
• How VR and AR Can Be Used to Support Students with Special Needs

Part way through the 2020-21 academic year, Cristina Lopes, like so many other educators, was tired of lecturing via video. 

“As a professor, the experience of teaching online on Zoom is talking to a black screen, and seeing only yourself, in the little preview,” says Lopes, professor of informatics at University of California, Irvine. “It's like you're talking to yourself.” 

But unlike so many other teachers, Lopes had an alternative. More than a decade ago she helped create OpenSimulator, an open source multiplatform, multiuser 3D application server. 

Lopes decided at the end of the fall semester that she would use OpenSimulator to create a virtual reality experience for the students in her introductory computer class “How Computers Work.” 

Using winter break to prepare, Lopes built the class into an immersive virtual world that hosted every aspect of the course. Lectures were conducted in virtual reality and students had their own treehouse that served as their home in the world. While in the virtual environment, students would collaborate with one another on group projects and interact with immersive simulations. 

Virtual Reality: Strengths  

Lopes used the visual potential of virtual reality to full effect. “I developed simulations of computers, blown up so that you can actually see what's going on inside,” she says. “You'll see exactly what happens in the registers, in the memory, and the CPU.” 

She also created simulations of how information is sent on the internet. For example, students had projects in which they worked with these simulations to learn more about computer hardware. Lopes says this aspect of the class went really well and is something she will work into future classes, even those offered in person. 

“In introduction to computers, the projects tend to be very abstract because you're not going to put 150 students in a physical lab and give them physical hardware,” she says. “So the alternative to simulations is just completely abstract reading or maybe watching videos. Simulations really bring something super valuable to the table that we didn't have before.” 

 Virtual Reality: Areas That Could Use Improvement 

Lopes lectured within the virtual environment. She appeared on a screen within a large virtual hall. She also streamed these lectures on Twitch. As the semester progressed, more and more students were opting to watch the lectures on Twitch rather than logging into the virtual environment. Eventually, Lopes gave in to student preference and moved the lectures out of the virtual world entirely. 

In the future she will likely plan on having the lectures take place outside of the virtual environment. “The projects, the simulated computers, and the simulated internet, that's the part that I think worked really well,” she says. “The lectures, not so much.” 

The Future of Virtual Reality in the Classroom 

Lopes is scheduled to teach “How Computers Work” in person this fall but plans on incorporating the virtual world into her class so students can learn from the simulations and work with some for projects.  

Educators can use OpenSimulator to create their own virtual class experiences. Lopes has posted demos of some of her work online. She is also willing to share a template for the environment she used in her class with those who contact her. 

While there is a lot of potential for virtual reality, Lopes believes that for now it is best used strategically. “A virtual reality environment is one of those things that is always so close, but never here. It's been like that for the past 30 years or so,” she says. “The technology is there, but it's a little bit clunky. I think until something radically easier comes along, the right thing to do is to use it as an enhancement of other technologies for teaching.” 

• 3D Game Design: What Educators Need to Know
• Why Zoom Fatigue Occurs and How Educators Can Overcome It

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have helped teachers educate, motivate, and increase classroom interaction for students of all ages and abilities by making learning more accessible, memorable, practical, and engaging. 

VR immerses the user in a 3D environment in which they hear, touch, smell, and taste stimuli. Students interact either through a traditional desktop and VR software or wear a head-mounted display (HMD) and data glove. AR enhances physical content with 3D effects so that users remain external observers and observe the augmented effects through apps such as Google Lens.

The challenges implementing VR and AR are mostly logistical and technical. Qualified staff and plenty of space is required for VR, plus users can become easily distracted and need to be trained in digital competencies. Apps entail data security and privacy issues. Equipment can also be expensive.

Still, schools can employ even limited AR and VR solutions, especially to support students with special learning needs. 

Supporting Students with Special Needs 

Both AR and VR have been shown to increase motivation, facilitate interaction, develop cognitive skills, improve short-term memory, and make lessons more enjoyable. The greatest effect lies in improving communication skills, especially in students with hearing problems. For autistic students, VR seems to facilitate social interaction. 

Examples of VR and AR being used to help students with disabilities abound. Teacher Veronica Lewis uses Google Chromecast to enlarge images for visually impaired individuals, and employs VR screen readers, such as VoiceOver and TalkBack, that describe the environment with information from alt text in the images and videos. Morehead State University researcher Sue Parton has shown how deaf students benefit from Google Glass and from video and 2D barcode camera phone scanning. In The Deaf and Dumb School in Gujarat, India, where some students don’t recognize their own names, staff uses VR images processed through a program called Foton to teach them. Multiple studies have shown that VR and AR help users on the autism spectrum recognize facial emotions and improve their social skills.

For learning disabled individuals, AR can improve vocabulary through gamefication. In India, educators have created an interactive textbook that uses 3D images, audio clips, and videos to explain text. Other studies show how VR has been effectively used to improve social anxiety, language deficiencies, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), physical or motor disability, cognitive deficits, dyslexia, and Down syndrome, among other disabilities.

At the 53rd St. School in Milwaukee, Megan Rierdon, a special needs educator, uses Google Earth VR for field trips. “The kids sat down in a chair, put on a virtual reality headpiece and saw a tour walking around an entire greenhouse,” Rierdon told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “[They] were reaching down to touch the dirt and waving to the people they saw.” 

AI-based Training with Molly Porter helps prepare students to discuss their disabilities with interviewers.

Too much sensory overload? At the Perkins School of the Blind relaxing 360-degree videos of animate or inanimate objects or locations is used to calm students. 

More Promising VR and AR Options on the Horizon 

With developments in VR and AR on the rise, applications are immense. For example, a team of researchers at the University of Michigan are developing iGYM, an augmented reality system designed to teach wheelchair-bound children community-level sports.

Developers are also beginning to prioritize accessibility during design, leading to lighter headsets and more user-friendly controllers, among other gear, for users with physical disability; appropriate color choice, audio descriptions, and text and image magnification for children who are blind; and clear transcripts and closed captioning for users who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Ultimately, teachers will be able to use virtual and augmented reality to make a classroom environment that fits the needs of any student.

Leah Zitter, Ph.D., is a High-Tech Writer and Research Scientist. 

Lenovo™ (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is introducing its new portfolio of technology for education at the 40th annual Future of Education Technology Conference® (FETC) in Miami. New solutions include the Lenovo VR Classroom 2, as well as laptops and tablets specially tailored for learning and teaching. 

Lenovo education technology experts are also presenting insights on new experiences and trends at FETC®, including the development and benefits of esports in education, as well as smarter classroom orchestration. 

Lenovo is introducing VR Classroom 2, a solution that allows teachers and administrators to integrate virtual reality lessons into their curriculum. 

Lenovo VR Classroom 2 is a complete solution for teaching with VR, providing fully integrated hardware, content, training, and support designed specifically for middle schools and high schools. The solution comes with a new headset and content management system, as well as diverse curriculum-mapped experiences, including STEM, virtual tours, and career exploration. 

Online ­and­ onsite training plus all-in-one support­ take­ this VR education solution to the top of the class. Optional hardware, accessories, and professional development are available. 

The Lenovo VR Classroom 2 will be available in Spring 2020. 

An all new Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet is the latest addition and a tool for K-2 students to begin their education journey with problem-solving games, assessments and hands-on learning apps.

Highlights of 10e Chromebook Tablet:

• Specifically designed to withstand the rigors of a classroom environment with rubber bumpers and a super tough DragontrailTM Pro Glass that meets MIL-STD-810G testing
• Powerful but efficient MediaTek processor that conquers daily classroom tasks
• ·Versatile detachable keyboard folio case with anchored and water-resistant keys1
• Eight years of auto-updates2, world-facing camera, Universal Stylus Input support and access to tons of creativity tools and learning apps. 

The latest ThinkPad™ 11e Yoga™ is  thinner and lighter than ever (19.9mm and 3.1 pounds).

Highlights of ThinkPad 11e Yoga:

• Durability of ThinkPad Education design specifications that meets MIL-STD-810G testing with rubber bumpers and Corning GorillaTM Glass
• Powerful Intel® processor that meets the needs of any students or teachers
• Versatility of Pencil Touch Technology allowing students to use a No. 2 pencil to interact directly with the screen, and an optional garaged active pen when more precision is required
• Optional World-Facing Camera making it easier to record and take pictures and videos in all modes

Lenovo is also refreshing the 2nd generation of 100e, 300e and 500e Chromebooks and 100e, 300e Windows with the latest processors. 

Pricing and Availability:

Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet will be available from March, starting at $269.
ThinkPad 11e Yoga Gen 6 will be available from February, starting at $699.

Chromebooks:
Lenovo 100e 2nd Gen Chromebook will be available from now, starting at $214.
Lenovo 300e 2nd Gen Chromebook will be available from now, starting at $319.
Lenovo 500e 2nd Gen Chromebook will be available from now, starting at $399.

Windows:
Lenovo 100e 2nd Gen will be available from now, starting at $299.
Lenovo 300e 2nd Gen will be available from now, starting at $349.

See a demonstration of Lenovo’s technology for education at booth #2400 during FETC in the Miami Beach Convention Center January 14-17, 2020.

Editor's note: Google has recently announced it is scrapping its VR projects leaving educators questioning the place of this technology in the learning environment. Virtual reality (VR) expert and global conference presenter Kai Liang unravels the findings of this news report and sheds light on the reality of virtual reality. 

Proponents of VR believe that it is an excellent educational tool which allows students to play a more active role in learning by exploring and manipulating three-dimensional, interactive environments that create a feeling of ‘being there’; especially beneficial for concepts that can’t be ‘seen’. Taking chemistry as an example of one curriculum area, rather than trying to understand atoms from a textbook, using VR, students can ‘fly’ inside various molecules, making invisible atomic and molecular concepts visible and experienced on a human scale. 

I play an active part in the majority of EdTech developments in China, Australia, Romania, UK and South East Asia. In China in particular, the government is committed to VR in education. With all this in mind, I was interested in finding out more about Google’s perceived move away from VR production. Of course, as with many news items, the headline doesn’t tell the full story.

At first glance, the headline suggests its move away from VR is because it doesn’t believe in the benefits of the technology. However, when you read further, the report actually stated that it was simply a case of its VR hub funding coming to an end.

Google’s decision to move away from VR hardware development was also not based on its lack of belief in the power of VR in education; it was because it doesn’t see a future for smartphone-based VR in a box, and I agree with this. The second reason is an age-old problem that we see too often in education: it’s not a big enough audience to attract these multi-national giants. The current uptake of VR in schools is gaining good speed, but this is simply NOT comparable to the quantity of business Google expects in the consumer space. 

The changing face of VR content supply

When I started out in the VR space, there were more than a hundred VR content developers in China; these companies were trying to be everything for everyone. Unsurprisingly, today, this has thinned down to leave only those who are fully committed to supporting the education sector. 

Of course, while the hardware headsets are important, the quality of the content is the real king! Google Expeditions, zSpace, Lifeliqe are good examples but the strength of education content developers such as MEL Science is based on their starting out as science education companies, not VR developers. It’s not about VR, it’s about using the technology for education to enable students to learn knowledge points better by interacting with otherwise invisible micro-level processes; for me, this is the right way to approach VR content development. 

So, where do decisions like these leave schools who appreciate the value of VR in the classroom? 

As the appreciation of the important benefits of VR leads to more schools committing to the technology, we will see these high quality EdTech developers grow further, increasing the quality and diversity of their learning content. The future is bright! 

Google’s decision is, in a way, a positive move for schools. The education content providers that are surviving are the good ones that are carefully matching the content to the curriculum; in effect the market has created its own natural filter of quality. 

VR hardware maturity

At an entry level schools can actually make VR headsets very easily out of cardboard! One step up from this is DIY kits that produce a plastic headset; a slightly better VR experience for around $25. Taking another step up in terms of cost and quality comes manufactured headsets such as Oculus Go’s for $199. Huawei’s new super light and relatively cheap VR Glass headset is expected to sell millions and ignite the market; good news for the quality content providers in education. 

When we look at the growing maturity of VR technology, it’s interesting to note that there are an increasing number of universities offering a degree course in VR, something that was unheard of a few years ago. So, whether you use VR because of its incredible education power or because students will undoubtedly be using the technology in their future lives, VR is here to stay.

Discovery Education today announced the acquisition of leading virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) provider Inspyro. Terms were not disclosed.

While VR and AR content is currently available across Discovery Education’s digital services, the purchase of Inspyro provides the company an in-house ability to quickly design, build, and integrate new VR and AR content into its  Math,Science, and Social Studies Techbooks, the new Discovery Education Experience, and other digital solutions.

Winners of multiple Bett Awards, Inspyro is a  experienced VR and AR developer.  The creators of curriculum-aligned learning modules supporting science, history, and geography instruction across the UK, Insypro is a full-service company whose assets can be scaled across multiple platforms and are compatible with various VR headsets and displays.

For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com.

Looking Glass Factory today announced the Looking Glass Pro: A Holographic Workstation, an all-in-one 3D visualization solution available for pre-order for a limited time at $5,500. The Looking Glass® Pro is designed for enterprise customers seeking a turnkey holographic display solution for groups of people without the need for VR or AR headsets.  The Looking Glass Pro Workstation will be showcased to the public for the first time at AWE 2019 (Booth #705). Pre-orders start today at http://look.glass/lkgpro

The Looking Glass Pro is a general purpose, self-contained holographic interface that comes with a suite of software tools, including the HoloPlay Unity® SDK, HoloPlay Plugin for Unreal®, and the three.js Looking Glass library, enabling companies to generate holographic applications in the fields of 3D design & simulation, volumetric and 360 3D video capture, architecture, medical visualization, education, and experiential marketing. The hardware features a proprietary 15.6” lightfield display with an embedded computer for fully standalone functionality, an integrated full-size 15.6” touchscreen, secondary fold-out 2D display for UI navigation, and a Leap MotionTM controller for 3D spatial interaction. 

When customers turn on The Looking Glass Pro for the first time, they will see a sample app library containing dozens of holographic apps in the system which they can browse and experience. Customers can then use some of the apps to display and interact with their own content holographically or use a special commercial version of the Looking Glass Unity, Unreal, and three.js SDKs to generate their own holographic apps for the Looking Glass Pro.

Pricing and Availability

The Looking Glass Pro Workstation lists at $6,000 and will be offered at a special pre-order price of $5,500 from May 29 - June 2.  The units will begin shipping mid-July 2019.  

While our ELA students are reading the Diary of Anne Frank play which coincides with the World War 2 unit in Social Studies. Using our Oculus Go devices, my students visited the Secret Annex, from the Diary of Anne Frank. 

After training half of the students on how to use the Oculus Go headsets, the students then trained their peers to operate the device. We found that there was a relatively low learning curve for successfully navigating the experience.

This immersive experience that brought new life to Anne Frank’s account. Check out one student’s journey… Click here to see a bit of the experience (created using a green screen we can record what the student is seeing live).

We are looking forward more VR experiences like this in our school. 

cross posted at micahshippee.com

Micah Shippee, PhD is an out-of-the-box-doer, a social studies teacher, and a technology trainer. He works to bridge the gap between research and practice in the educational sector. Micah explores ways to improve motivation in the classroom and seeks to leverage emergent technology to achieve educational goals. As an innovative "ideas" person, Micah likes to think, and act, outside the box. Micah is motivated and energetic, taking a creative approach towards achieving goals. As an Educational Consultant, and Keynote Speaker, he focuses on the adoption of emergent technology through the development of an innovative learning culture. Micah believe that innovativeness is the pedagogy of the future.

One of the advantages we hear about virtual reality is the ability to visit locations and see artifacts that we can’t visit in person. With the recent devastation of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, it seems an apropos time to review what options exist for virtual field trips and other instructional uses of virtual visits. 

Even with the flashing lights of the fire apparatus showing in the video, we can visit the remains of the Cathedral of Notre Dame via this Digg video. A second version was posted by the BBC. Several extant virtual tours of the Cathedral prior to the fire are still posted including the 360 Cities Virtual Tour, the France 24’s  France in Focus (this includes a short historical introduction before the tour; it mentions that the spire lost in the recent fire actually dated from 1844.), and the WorldSiteGuide, maybe the most comprehensive of the virtual tours. The WorldSiteGuide’s tour of Neuschwanstein Castle is another great virtual tour.

The Smithsonian Magazine explained the process of developing a VR version of the Cache Caves in California, sacred to at least one Native American tribe, the Tejon. A short video of interactive artifacts from the caves is available here. The prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux can be visited virtually as well as the Sculptor’s Cave in northern Scotland complete with stone carvings from around 400 A.D. Having students take a virtual walk through the cave paintings seems much more engaging than seeing a couple of images in the text. Far more recent, the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor, the world’s oldest warship still in service, can be visited virtually as well. Many more sites can be found on Sites in 3D including the only remaining wonder of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid. They can be viewed via a browser or an App for Android or iO/S. 

For teachers looking for support, TeachHub includes instructions on how to create lesson plans for virtual field trips. Internet4Classrooms includes a curated list of virtual field trip opportunities your teachers can utilize. 

Both Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are emergent technologies primed to make a real impact on learning and training. The excitement around them is great for quickly engaging an audience on a topic or theme, but the challenge for fields focused on learning and training is to leverage these technologies to achieve meaningful objectives.

I have been making a deliberate effort to increase exposure to these tools in my own middle school classroom. Most recently, my social studies classes were researching various battles in World War 2. We began with my students completed a pretty standard short research project criteria: Dates, Countries Involved, Significance of the event, etc…

After a day of research, I shared what we can do with their research in CoSpaces EDU. Through CoSpaces EDU, users can include 3D models from Google Poly and code them with the CoBlocks (a block coding program). I asked my students to try to image the battle they studies in VR. After building with their Chromebooks, I was pleased to see diverse interpretations of my direction. 

Finally, students who were ready to preview their work, shared it to my teacher account to view in the Oculus Go app. 

I am looking forward to seeing what we can create and use with these awesome tools next! 

cross posted at micahshippee.com

Micah Shippee, PhD is an out-of-the-box-doer, a social studies teacher, and a technology trainer. He works to bridge the gap between research and practice   in the educational sector. Micah explores ways to improve motivation in the classroom and seeks to leverage emergent technology to achieve educational goals. As an innovative "ideas" person, Micah likes to think,   and act, outside the box. Micah is motivated and energetic, taking a creative approach towards achieving goals. As an Educational Consultant, and Keynote Speaker, he focuses on the adoption of emergent technology through   the development of an innovative learning culture. Micah believe that innovativeness is the pedagogy of the future.

Virtual reality in Pre-K isn’t about using headsets with early learners. Instead, we are focused on sharing exciting, informative content connected to instructional goals. This content could include 360 images and 360 videos. Displaying this media can take place on individual student screens (like tablets) or whole class screens (like interactive display boards).

You might have seen my post from earlier this summer on using Nearpod with early learners. Nearpod is a dynamic, interactive presentation tool for students of all ages. One of my favorite features of Nearpod is the ability to embed 360 images to present students with experiences with virtual reality in Pre-K or at any grade level.

Of course, Nearpod isn’t the only tool for accessing virtual reality experiences for early learners. But I’ve had the opportunity to lead lessons using this tool with Pre-K students. Whether sitting in a circle together on the rug or circulating around the classroom, it’s amazing to see how this tool can connect students to engaging and relevant content.

Virtual Reality in Education

Virtual reality in education can be a game changer for students. It can help them explore faraway spaces and spark conversations. For our youngest learners, it can help them envision what life is like in other parts of the world.

In Taming the Wild Text: Literacy Strategies for Today’s Reader , a book I co-authored with Pam Allyn, we describe some of the reasons virtual reality is used in today’s classrooms:

“Virtual reality is technology that simulates the real world. The most popular form of virtual reality uses a headset. With virtual reality, students can be “transported” to new places, like a coral reef or a rainforest… Tailor a virtual reality pre-reading activity to the book you are reading and the technology you have available. In a low-tech classroom, this could mean exploring a 360-degree video with students on an interactive whiteboard. In a high-tech classroom, students can take turns using VR headsets with a smartphone.”

As you design learning activities for Pre-K students, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind. Is the content you are choosing developmentally appropriate? Is the 360 image or 360 video you have decided to share with students connected to learning goals? These are just a few things to consider as you get started.

[Classroom Tips for Biography Projects with Spark Page]

Virtual Reality Tips for Pre-K

Although virtual reality absolutely has a “wow” factor, you’ll want to make sure you are introducing it thoughtfully to students. When working with a group of early learners this year, the content area goals included an exploration of animal habitats. I shared 360 images with students to illustrate different places where animals lived. Even though it would have been plenty of fun to “swim” around a coral reef. Our goal was to make observations and discuss the animals we saw in this habitat.

In addition to clear learning goals, you may want to refer to tthis list of virtual reality discussion prompts. You can tailor the prompts on this list to many different learning environments. They can be used during a virtual reality experience or at the conclusion of a VR exploration.

Do you have a virtual reality experience with early learners to share? What type of content would you like your students to view as a 360 image or 360 video? Share in the comments below!

cross posted at classtechtips.com

Monica Burns is a former classroom teacher, author, speaker, and curriculum & edtech consultant. Visit her site ClassTechTips.com for more ideas on how to become a tech-savvy teacher.