First of all, let me introduce myself – I’m Hannah, an Educational Specialist at Avantis, but before I worked here I was a teacher for nine years (mostly in EYFS and KS1). The past few months have been really exciting for us; since we realised that schools needed an affordable, simple way to open up VR for their students, we’ve been working on making that a reality.
Lots of hard work has gone into sourcing high-quality images that will inspire and engage students of all ages (and I have to admit to getting a bit overexcited when I started trawling through incredible 360 astronomy photos!). Our team of former teachers has also been creating lesson plans and activity ideas to help schools get started with virtual and augmented reality in the classroom.
Seeing teachers’ reactions to ClassVR has absolutely been worth all that hard work. Of course, there’s the initial amazement for those teachers who’ve never experienced VR before. But it’s also great to know that our all-in-one headsets that can be managed through our ClassConnect portal are just what so many schools have been looking for. Children’s reactions have been even more rewarding – there’s nothing quite like that ‘wow moment’ when they first look around the surface of Mars or go swimming with sharks!
So far, our journey with ClassVR is only just beginning. I’m looking forward to sharing the technology with so many more teachers and students and getting their feedback about how we can keep improving. We’re constantly adding new 360 experiences and 3D augmented reality models, and thinking of new ways to use ClassVR as a tool for immersive learning. Watch this space for quick lesson ideas, top tips, and updates from our Pioneer Schools about how they’re using AR and VR in the classroom!