Woodstock Union High School and Middle School (WUHS/MS) offers students a new way to learn through virtual reality (VR) and now even has a room dedicated to its use.
During the 2021-2022 school year, using funds from the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), WUHS/MS purchased 30 VR headsets and a learning program called VR Prisms. Virtual reality is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that a person can interact with in a seemingly real or physical way using special electronic equipment, such as a headset with a display inside or gloves equipped with sensors.
Prisms VR is a learning platform that offers a new way to learn math subjects, such as algebra and geometry, by solving real-world problems through hands-on virtual reality experiences. It also offers unique ways for teachers to better collect data on students’ difficulties and their overall performance in subjects.
Windsor Central Supervisory Union (WCSU) Superintendent Sherry Sousa was the catalyst for the school’s purchase of the learning program when she learned more about it during a trip to Ithaca Public Schools. “During this journey, [Sousa] met Anurupa Ganguly, the CEO of Prisms VR. Sherry [Sousa] was so impressed with Anurupa and Prisms VR that she scheduled a demo for us after the returnring from Ithaca,” said WCSU Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Raphael Adamek.
Shortly after the demonstration, Adamek explained that the program had impressed the teachers, and the decision was finally made to purchase both the program and the headsets.
Read more in the February 2 edition of the Vermont Standard.