The virtual reality classroom can bring students inside the simulation of human body or straight into a desert safari.
GUILFORD, Maine — Many students and teachers can agree that making learning fun can oftentimes be a challenge. The Piscataquis Community Elementary School in Guildford is getting ahead of the learning curve, unveiling a new virtual reality classroom.
VR headsets are a relatively familiar tool in some classrooms. However, a room with 360-degree projection powered by Igloo Vision is the first in the state and just the second in the nation.
“A cognitive scientist, Peter Klein, once said, ‘Learning should be the best party in town,’ because that’s how it goes to long-term memory,” PCES Principal Anita Wright said.
Using funds from the Avanti’s World grant, the school can load 700 lessons into the room, immersing students into a desert safari or even inside the human body.
“Usually, you show something up on the screen and you shut it down, you have students look at different posters. But here it’s all displayed. It’s seamless,” Wright said.
Alongside lessons, students can scan QR codes on the walls to access notes or classroom activities on iPads.
It all started in 2020, when the school wanted to create a space for kids to self-regulate whether they were having a rough day.
“If a student was having a difficult time, they could come in here, and you could have a scene of an ocean,” Superintendent Kelly MacFadyen said.
It wasn’t until Principal Anita Wright realized the potential for learning that the classroom came to be. Thus far, students say they’re having a blast.
“We got to see animals in the Savannah. We got to see elephants and lions, tons of lions,” third-grader Logan Oakes said.
The school also has purchased 360-cameras for students to start making their own lessons to display in the room in the future.
The school hopes to connect with local businesses in the future to bring the behind-the-scenes onto the big screen to share with students.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for businesses to view the room will be held noon to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4.