Page 22 - spaces4learning, Summer 2022

spaces4learning A/V TECHNOLOGY
ClassVR, the teacher next to her sees (or he sees) this happen- ing, and they’ve been able to train each other,” said Seneca. “So, they’ll just transfer the devices the next day over to the other classroom, and they’re so easy to use that it’s just that quick.”
“I find a lot of times, I’ll just show one teacher in the group, like a group of third-grade teachers, and they’re all doing the same thing. So once one teacher uses it, she shows the other ones: ‘Hey, y’all gotta do this.’ And then they all are now on board. And so now I’ve got, instead of one teacher who knows, I’ve got five teachers who know how to use it in that little pocket,” Thompson said. “So really, it just kind of grows and spreads like wildfire.”
ClassVR also extends beyond traditional classroom subjects into CTE and wellness. Local companies have approached the dis- trict to sponsor advanced VR opportunities in high schools after seeing how they’re used. “We’re working on that as well, to try to get some more, for example, Career Tech Ed, where they do pipe fitting. And they actually learn how to be a pipe fitter with the ClassVR and that kind of stuff,” Seneca said. “And some of that came from me having conversations with this local partner about what we’re doing with ClassVR, and showing them how we’re starting with the younger kids and giving them experiences.”
Experiences are available related to STEM and CTE topics and careers like helicopter pilots, miners, motion capture spe- cialists, surgical training, car factory tours, Tesla factories, gas turbine factories, aircraft carriers, submarines, oil rigs, space sta- tions, refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers and more.
Even elementary-school guidance counselors have adopted the technology to help with social and emotional learning (SEL). The experience can help students with autism or behavior dis- orders with regard to calming and cooling off, life skills, social situations, sensory experiences and a wide variety of others.
However, in the district at large, the most popular environ- ments are the ones that give students
on the floor with them, looking up like the artist did.” Sometimes, though, teachers use the ClassVR technology to
give students a bit of old-fashioned fun.
“One of the ones that probably got the most publicity, and
in our school district it made it take off, was we did one around Christmastime about Santa Claus,” said Thompson. “The PreK teachers wanted something about the North Pole, and about
a glimpse of the world beyond their own experiences. “Space is popular. Habitats have been popular,” said Seneca.
THESE IMMERSIVE, ENGAGING EXPERIENCES HELP STUDENTS VISUALIZE THE CONCEPT AT HAND, ADDING A LAYER OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUBJECT MATTER.
“I feel like they’re really using it
with their English Language Arts,
seems to be the subject area most
used,” said Thompson. “Because ev-
ery time they go to a new book that
they’re going to study, they check
them out in order to give them some
background knowledge or more in-
formation about what they’re going
to be reading. So that seems to be
the hottest area, is in the ELA classroom. Where, you would think, the history teachers or the science teachers, but they re- ally check it out so much for the ELA. I mean, they check them out in all areas, but I’ll say our hottest spot is through our read- ing curriculum.”
Santa Claus, and reindeer. And so, we were able to find some great vid- eos. One of them was where it’s tak- en from the point of view where the student is sitting next to Santa Claus. So, like, if they turned their heads to the left, Santa Claus is sitting there, and in front of them are the reindeer. And then the sleigh takes off, and as they’re taking off, they see London beneath them, the lights and the city beneath them. And those stu- dents—”
“Those are some great pictures,” chuckled Seneca.
“And it was just great to be in the room with the students because they were just screaming like they’re on a ride with Santa Claus, and it was just so real for them,” said Thompson. “That’s the one that, I think, pushed ClassVR into so many classrooms. Because once one teacher did it, everybody wanted to do it.”
Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Secu- rity & Life Safety. He can be reached at mjones@1105media.com.
Seneca added, “We’ve even had art teachers check them out for their art students to go visit the Sistine Chapel and places like that. We have a great picture of the high school kids lying
22 SUMMER 2022 | spaces4learning.com