I had the privilege of participating in the inaugural XR.edu Extended Reality Education Summit hosted by the Hale Institute of Innovation and Research this week. In recognising the emerging potential of virtual, augmented and related reality technologies to have great impact in the education sector, this comprehensive one day event brought interested teachers, education institute representatives and members of industry together to explore, showcase and discuss such emerging technologies and the innovative and inspiring ways they can be used to engage learners.
As a keynote speaker, it was a pleasure to present the Virtual Plant Cell on stage, as well as in the exhibition space, as a leading example of how educational VR is enhancing STEM education. Snapshots were presented from our report demonstrating the educational impact that curriculum-aligned classroom VR can have on learning outcomes, as well as its value recognition by educators.
I shared the stage with the likes of Pradeep Khanna (Executive Director Asia Pacific VR AR Association (VRARA)), Lawrence Crumptopn (Microsoft Hololense Evangelist) and David Hollands (Education Industry Strategy Manager Asia Pacific and Japan, HP) for a productive panel discussion with the audience.
Thank you to Hale School for hosting such an inspiring event and inviting us to be a part of it. We look forward to working with educators, students, tech providers and content creators alike to see the full potential of VR/XR for education realised.
The door prize of an Oculus Go that we were lucky enough to secure will be put to good use in expanding the VPC program for education!
-Karina Price, Science Communications Officer, PEB