#VR

Practical ways to integrate high-end VR

September sees the launch of a series of guest articles I am writing for VR Focus. I'll be writing one article a month for them and the content will be fresh features not found here on VirtualiTeach. As such I'll add a link to each one so that regular readers here don't miss out! October's article is the second part of my two-part feature looking at high-end VR integration in schools. This part explores practical ways to integrate limited numbers of headsets in ways that can

Five ways to use AR/VR for language learning

Language learning is one area of education that is genuinely being transformed through the implementation of immersive technologies. Interactive and engaging, AR and VR also benefit from breaking down geographical borders and providing access to native speakers to facilitate experiential learning for the modern student. Both AR and VR have the potential to redefine the way students can learn languages in a variety of ways. Let’s take a look at five different ways that these t

10 Reasons to introduce CoSpaces Edu

CoSpaces Edu has carved out a stellar reputation in the last couple of years as one of the best options for introducing VR into the classroom. I actually got to try CoSpaces back when it was still in beta form (alongside my former colleague Ronan McNicholl who went on to become one of their very first ambassadors.) It’s always impressed me and truth be told it’s been remiss of me to never really shine a spotlight on the app here on VirtualiTeach. So it’s time to right that wr

AR vs VR in Education: The Final Round

About a year ago I started what was set to be a five-part series here on VirtualiTeach around the theme of AR vs VR in Education. It was a common question I was getting asked at events and I thought that to a good approach to tackling the theme would be to look at it from five different angles. My plan was to release one part each week for five weeks, with a winner in each round, building towards a final decision… Anyone who’s been following the site for a while now will know

Taking the plunge with high-end VR

September sees the launch of a series of guest articles I am writing for VR Focus. I'll be writing one article a month for them and the content will be fresh features not found here on VirtualiTeach. As such I'll add a link to each one so that regular readers here don't miss out! The first article is actually part 1 or a two-part feature looking at high-end VR integration in schools. This first part explores the Why. To read the article in full on the VR Focus site, click her

The Greenpeace Virtual Explorer Kit

Just before I went away in the summer, I stumbled across a link to the Greenpeace Virtual Explorer kits. Currently only available in the UK, these cardboard VR kits are essentially free as long as you make a small donation to Greenpeace. Since I was going to be in the UK over the summer, I decided to order one and check it out. Here’s a clip of my daughter and I unboxing the kit: The headset (which is made from recycled materials by the way) will obviously work with any app b

Vikings, Zombies and LBVR for education

Things have been a little quiet on the site for the last few weeks as I’ve been back in the UK visiting family over the summer (and avoiding the 50° temperatures in Dubai!) This year I also got the chance to meet with some of the great folk from Immersive VR Education on my travels – the team behind Titanic VR, Apollo 11 VR and of course the Engage platform I use for #CPDinVR. I first met with Chris Long in London and then later my wife and I flew from Edinburgh across to Ire

10 More Tips for using the HTC Vive

One of the very first articles I wrote for this site was entitled “5 tips for using the HTC Vive in your classroom” It covered five basics of Vive setup and orientation that I found myself being asked by educators at conferences and on social media. You can read the original post here but the topics covered were: 1. PC power – what sort of desktop/laptop you need to run a Vive 2. Room scale space requirements and setup 3. Using the Vive with multiple students and the consider

Taking a Journey to Mars

Two weeks ago I returned to GESS Dubai for my seventh year and delivered a set of presentations on the theme of VR in education. In the lead up to the event I heard that a local company called Alef Education would be showcasing a virtual reality Journey to Mars experience. I’ll admit to being somewhat skeptical as to the format and quality of the experience as I had already been hands-on with excellent Mars themed apps like Mars Walk VR on iOS and the webVR Access Mars projec

10 History Experiences from Inspyro

Some of the most successful and engaging mobile AR and VR experiences I’ve facilitated in the last year have been from using the wide range of apps developed by Inspyro. Currently focused on content for the history classroom (though they tell me that geography is next up), Inspyro's VR apps are all free to access. Their AR content is marker-based and works as a part of their ActiveLens programme, wherein educators can buy the relevant information packs for a given time period

The #CPDinVR First Anniversary Event

In June 2017 I decided to try something new, something that hadn’t been done before in education – to host a professional development session inside virtual reality. I chose the Engage platform from Immersive VR Education as it was the best tool for this job and with the help of Immersive’s founder and CEO David Whelan and Engage’s lead developer Mike Armstrong, I set about coordinating what would be the very first #CPDinVR event. The image you can see below is actually one I

The Ramadan VR Project

The 2017-18 academic year has just finished for me and it’s been a huge one for VR at JESS Dubai with countless projects taking place with students from pretty much every teaching stage. There was one very special project towards the end of the year though, the biggest and most ambitious project I’ve coordinated at JESS – Ramadan VR. Living in a Muslim country like the UAE means that the Holy Month of Ramadan has special significance. It’s a time of celebration as much as a t

In the Golden Circle: Google Tour Creator

I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek’s “Start with the why?” concept and the Golden Circle model that stems from it which is why it forms the backbone on which this new series on VirtualiTeach. Each edition will focus on a specific VR or AR app and break down the Why, How and What of its use in education. I hope that teachers find this approach useful and it helps them get to grips with some new tools. First up – Google Tour Creator. The Why Empowering students to use technology to

Using Within in the classroom

Within has long been one of my top recommendations to educators looking to bring VR into the classroom. It has that trifecta of qualities that make it an excellent option for use in the classroom: It’s free – which is crucial when schools are generally budget-conscious. It works on absolutely any device – from a tablet to a cardboard to aVive. It contains meaningful, engaging content which can be used across the curriculum Within was launched in in 2014 by Chris Milk and Aar

Exploring Mathematics in VR

Of all of the subject areas covered in schools, Mathematics is probably the one with the least content when it comes to virtual reality. In many ways, AR is a more natural fit since it allows you to pull content into the physical world. Various AR apps have utilised this principle when it comes to learning about 3D shapes – whether it be new platforms like Hologo and GeoGebra AR or ones that have been around for several years now like Arloon Geometry. You can also find vario

From Immersion to Deep Presence

Guest post by Caitlin Krause Modern approaches to learning have recently been dominated by the idea of presence — a concept that goes much deeper than attendance in a classroom. In working with mindfulness and technology, I view presence as engagement, a fullness of body and mind. We know, just looking at our students, when they are “on”, involved and invested in the learning, serving as active participants — or, when they are somehow distanced, excluded, absent or otherwise

Experiencing Homelessness in VR

Guest post by Steven Sato "The Fundamental Attribution Error, as coined by Stanford Psychologists, describes how we blame others when bad things happen to them, but blame the external situations when bad things happen to us. There is a misconception that losing one's home is due to who you are and the choices you make. Becoming Homeless: A Human Experience seeks to counter this irrational tendency.” - Stanford - Virtual Human Interaction Lab Virtual Reality is sometimes class

The Virtual Reality Podcast

When Alex Chaucer (former host of the #VReduchat and an previous panelist on #CPDinVR) put out a poll on Twitter about starting a new VR themed venture, the idea to start a podcast received 100% of the votes. It was actually the option I voted for myself since there wasn't really anything out there in the podcast space for VR in education. In March the announcement came that The VR Podcast was indeed coming to fruition but Alex wasn't alone. In fact he had assembled a bit of

The #VRclassroom Experiment

Guest post by Chris Long. “Hey Steve… I’ve got an idea.” Most people know to shut their ears and run for the hills when I say I have an idea. When I approached Steve Bambury and suggested I host a class in the UK and have him port in via virtual reality, he quickly pointed out all the technical challenges, but didn’t say no… It should only be 10 minutes, sandwiched between other events. It’ll be easy! It all started because I had been speaking to Dave Haynes of HTC. Dav

VR and the Internet of Things

This week I took part in Dubai Future Technology Week, a conglomerate of tech-themed conferences at Dubai’s World Trade Centre. I was invited to take part in a panel discussion focusing on the intersection between VR and the Internet of Things alongside some excellent people: Shujat Mirza is the UAE Chapter President of the VRAR Association and someone that I have known for a number of years since his time at local AR startup Pixelbug. Shujat chaired the panel for us. Dr. San