Virtual Reality transforming Education
Immersive Education is a VR software company which designs high quality, educational experiences for students of all ages. Since the company launched in 2014, it has achieved great success. The Apollo 11 VR title, which enables students to experience the historical moon landing, has won 5 international awards, one of which was the Time Warner Future of Story Telling award in 2015. Check out the Apollo 11 VR Experience !
The Engage platform allows teachers to create their own immersive lessons which incorporates intuitive presentation and recording tools and social features for pupils. The ER VR app is designed to prepare medical students to deal with rapid response strategies such as when dealing with a road accident victim. This project is in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin.
Immersive Education's current project is Titanic VR which is due to be completed by late 2017, designed for enabling you to explore the shipwreck, experience the emotions and witness the event of the 1912 catastrophe from a survivor's eyes.
When we spoke with CEO, David Whelan, he highlighted the importance of engagement for learning. Immersive Education's software suite allows students to actively participate in class activities which enhances the pupil's experience of learning and their ability to retain information. If we consider Edgar Dale's Cone of Learning and its link to Immersive Educations VR experiences, after 2 weeks have passed, we typically remember 90 % of what we Say and Do, for example, doing a dramatic presentation, simulating a real experience or doing the real thing. This highlights the importance of engagement and interactivity for achieving success in the classroom. Check out Immersive Education's website for some immersive experiences.
Simvirtua, co- founded by James Corbett and John Jennings, also provides innovative and engaging educational VR experiences. Mission V , a subsidiary of Simvirtua , provides schools and industry with cloud based virtual worlds, delivering immersive experiences and promoting learning by doing. It was piloted in 2010 at Gaelscoil Eoghan Uí Thuarisc, Carlow when five students logged on to their 16 acre digital desert island. This was the first time that virtual worlds technology was used to support the Irish primary school curriculum in a learning support setting. Here, pupils learned how to model and programme in 3D using Scratch, to build a complex “city in the sky”, and how to recreate replicas of the Castledermot High Crosses as part of their history lessons. Teachers, who describ
ed themselves as being "far from techno wizards" expressed how they embraced the technology and found it extremely accessible.
Twenty national schools were involved in the second phase of Mission V. Students used geometric building tools to collaboratively build 3D replicas of real world and fantasy structures and programmed those objects using Scratch to generate a fully interactive world powered by their own software. The students of St.Kierans primary school, Broughall recently featured in a Technology.ie article which showcased their most impressive project to date, the recreation of the monastery of Clonmacnoise and its exploration via the use of the Oculus Rift headset.
Check out Mission V here !
The schools chosen, under criteria set by the NCTE, were representative of primary schools nationwide, including both large and small school communities, in rural and urban locations and with a particular emphasis on schools with DEIS status. The project had positive effects on social inclusion, particularly for those children from disadvantaged areas. It provided these children with an opportunity to develop their talents, learn 21st century skills and look to the future.
Simvirtua's main market is industrial education and training , with a particular focus on health and safety. The company has devised prototype simulation solutions for the ESB's safety training. In an Irish Times Think Tech magazine interview , James Corbett explains how Simvirtua is branching out into other markets, namely construction and architecture which is presenting great opportunities for growth.
