East Renfrewshire Council has become the first local authority in the UK to invest in a class set of virtual reality headsets for every school in the area.
The £250,000 investment will ensure virtual reality and 3D learning becomes an embedded part of teaching for all pupils at the Council’s 30 primary and secondary schools.
More than 900 ClassVR headsets, a virtual and augmented reality set designed specifically for schools, are being rolled out across the authority and will offer pupils an enhanced learning experience in all areas of the curriculum.
Designed by educational technology company Avantis, the VR headsets will provide pupils with hundreds of different virtual and augmented reality activities, with full and comprehensive training being provided to school staff by training partners Tablet Academy.
Councillor Paul O’Kane, Convener for Education and Equalities at East Renfrewshire Council, said: “We are committed to providing the best learning experiences possible for all our pupils. By investing in this kind of immersive technology it will provide our children with experiences and sensations that they may never experience in reality and brings learning to life in a way that ignites their imagination. As the first local authority in the UK to make this commitment to virtual reality, there is no doubt that East Renfrewshire will continue to be at the very forefront of digital learning in the country. Combined with traditional teaching methods these virtual reality headsets will enhance our pupils’ learning experiences and push them to new heights. We have already seen from our successful pilot project that pupils using the headsets had a significant increase in engagement and knowledge retention, so I’m looking forward to seeing the benefits of this investment across the whole area.”
Nik Tuson, Chief Executive Officer of Avantis Education added:
“We are delighted to be a part of this ground-breaking roll-out by East Renfrewshire. We have seen incredible results in the classroom from the introduction of virtual and augmented reality during lessons, and the positive impact it has on student engagement. We’re excited to see the outcomes of this project and are working closely with the authority to ensure a smooth and successful deployment.”
Since its launch at Bett 2017, ClassVR has received unprecedented global interest as the first virtual reality system designed specifically for education. With distribution secured in over 20 countries, including the US, EMEA, Australia and Asia, ClassVR has already established over 200 site-wide implementations across the entire education spectrum, from nurseries and primary schools to universities and corporate training organisations.
