Various educational systems based on interactive whiteboards and projectors and large interactive displays are actively and effectively used in schools. The use of VR technology for educational institutions has become commonplace. Like any other process, education inevitably undergoes digitalization when high technology replaces or supplements old materials and techniques.
According to experts, shortly, VR and AR technologies will become a full-featured educational tool in parallel with teaching aids because this format is the most exciting and understandable to the modern generation of schoolchildren.
Any discipline can be studied in a new and more effective way. The possibilities of the technology are vast, so the extent of its use in the educational process is limited only by teachers' desire.
Using VR has been proven by an experiment in which some students studied a subject using VR technology. At the same time, their peers from a parallel stream looked it using traditional methods. The study showed that those who used VR while studying had a 13% higher average exam score than their peers.
A distinction must be made between VR learning and virtual reality learning. In the case of the former, VR is not the end goal but only an auxiliary tool for mastering a subject, like textbooks, interactive whiteboards, or apps for mobile devices. And in the second variant, children master new knowledge with the help of technology: they learn 3D modeling, programming skills, system administration, user interface development, work with such platforms as Unity, Unreal Engine, and the like. Consider the first type-learning in virtual reality, equipment availability, and content (VR training programs).
The duo of leaders
ERC is the official distributor of the two companies supplying virtual reality systems for education, the leading developers of such equipment - HTC and Lenovo. Stand-alone virtual reality helmets are the most popular in education. Not only does their use require no connection to an external device, a computer, but thanks to the built-in battery, the device can be used for many hours without interruption, even outdoors.
Lenovo's comprehensive technical solution for schools is the VR Classroom 2 kit, created to integrate VR into the educational process of middle and high schools. Through the use of the Lenovo Mirage S3 VR helmet, children have access to a wide range of academic content: courses, training, and virtual tours, while the software allows teachers to monitor and control all devices in the classroom, select and manage content, install or remove software, and remotely set tasks for students.
The Lenovo Mirage S3 headset has a high resolution (1,920 × 2,160 for each eye), a built-in Android operating system, and a 3DoF controller (tracks position in three directions). Built-in memory of 64 GB (expandable thanks to the MicroSD slot) allows you to install many programs and store any content.
The solution has an intuitive interface, so even people without special IT education can manage a virtual classroom with its help. The set can be completed with a case for carrying or storing VR helmets for ease of use.
360° video
The easiest thing a teacher can use in the classroom is a variety of Video 360° videos. This content is filmed with unique cameras that allow you to capture the progress of an event from multiple angles at once. When viewing these files in virtual reality helmets, there is a real presence. New school lessons using such videos have already been developed, for example, as part of the ClassVR virtual reality kit. About fifty high-quality videos can be downloaded from the My Way VR platform, and there are many catalogs of files on various topics or real-world objects in the app stores. You can walk through the Colosseum or the Louvre corridors, showing your children the sophistication of architecture and real masterpieces of art.
