Katherine Warington School (Student Age 11-16)
Katherine Warington School in Harpenden, England is enhancing classroom engagement with ClassVR.
We spoke with Danny Cain, IT Technician at Katherine Warington School, about how they captivate and engage students with virtual reality.
Why Virtual Reality?
Why did Katherine Warington School introduce VR? Engagement! Staff wanted to capture students’ attention and truly immerse them in topics – and ClassVR was the perfect tool to help achieve this.
“When the school first started with VR, it was all about helping students engage in lessons and creating a different way of learning. Different from a YouTube video or an image in a PowerPoint presentation. A new way of learning that completely engages the students, and that’s exactly what ClassVR has done!”
Engagement, Engagement, Engagement!
Although they were aiming to improve engagement, Danny and the other staff have been surprised at exactly how engaged their students are with ClassVR! By integrating VR & AR into lessons, teachers can ensure students are excited to learn and fully engaged in every topic.
“The amount of engagement we've had has just been absolutely amazing. When I was a student myself in high school, I never had this much technology. Seeing students actually experiencing VR and hearing their reactions, it's an amazing feeling because you know they're going to be excited for the lesson. They're going to get involved, they’re going to be engaged. It's had such a good impact!”
Supporting Teachers in the Classroom
As the schools’ IT Technician, Danny typically supports teachers while they use ClassVR in lessons. This helps staff build confidence with the technology while also encouraging them to integrate virtual reality into more of their teaching.
“I normally come into the lesson with the VR headsets, just to make sure everything goes smoothly and to give teachers that confidence. By managing it for them and supporting them in the lesson, it makes them more comfortable, and results in them booking ClassVR out more. So now we’re working with teachers, encouraging them to use the headsets and showing them the amazing features of ClassVR. When I’m showing them the resources and all the community playlists we can subscribe to, they just go ‘wow!’.”
Virtual Reality Travel Club
At the end of each day, students at Katherine Warington School participate in ‘mind, body and soul’ activities. As part of these activities, students can tour the world with ClassVR, visiting faraway countries, exploring new cultures and so much more.
“We also have Period 7, which is more of an academic club for students at the end of the day. It lasts about 30 minutes and is a chance for them to wind down and reflect on what they’ve done that day. In these sessions, I’ve been taking students around the world! I’m featuring a lot of different playlists from different countries to show them new places. For example, I’ve taken them to Australia, to Africa. I’ve also taken them under the sea. They’ve seen amazing huge turtles swimming in front them, and they love it! It’s great, great engagement.”
Recap & Revision with Virtual Reality
By planning ClassVR sessions at the end of topics, teachers have been helping students recap everything they’ve learnt! The immersive, engaging VR experiences stimulate knowledge retention – aiding students’ revision and even improving average grades.
“Obviously you’ve got the excitement of VR, but I’ve also spoken to teachers about the impact on revision too. At the end of a topic, some teachers will plan a VR lesson to recap everything students have learnt. After using ClassVR, they’re seeing big changes in grades and engagement in core subjects. Students remember more of the topic because they’re more engaged! It’s a really helpful tool for learning.”
How Would You Sum Up ClassVR?
When asked the big question above, Danny answered:
"ClassVR is an amazing resource for schools, and it really helps with student learning. ClassVR includes simple and easy resources for staff to use in lessons, and the technology provides a stress free learning experience!"
