Einstein wisely stated, ‘The only source of knowledge is experience’.
As a teacher, we are always thinking on how can we deliver new experiences to students within the limitations of our school space and time, with many teachers finding it harder to go on school trips because of expense and time wasted travelling, we need to look at how technology can provide a range of immersive and engaging experiences that couldn’t normally happen within a normal school day.
The ClassVR by Avantis Whitepaper tells us that:
“Virtual Reality, by its pure definition, can deliver experiences and interactions for students that are either not practical or not possible in the ‘real world’, provides an unparalleled way to immerse and captivate students of all ages. Virtual Reality helps students feel immersed in an experience, gripping their imagination and stimulating thought in ways not possible with traditional books, pictures or videos, and facilitates a far higher level of knowledge retention. “
With this in mind LGfL and the amazing team at Computeam have looked at updating our Cold war resource, so that it offers an experience that cannot be found anywhere else, that of a Virtual Reality Nuclear blast!
I spoke to Phil Birchinall Education Director at Computeam Ltd about this exciting update:
“Our challenge was to create a scenario that presented pupils with a realistic experience of the genuine level of fear that existed in the country during the late 70's and in to the 80's. Most people then considered it to be a matter of when not if, nuclear Armageddon and 'mutually assured destruction' would take place. We wanted to portray how life could change dramatically and instantly in the case of a nuclear strike. At the same time we don't want to leave students traumatised! Our goal is to provide just enough jeopardy and threat to leave them feeling they have just experienced something significant.
Also, this is a teaching resource so it has to be loaded with prompts and questions for further study and exploration. We made sure that the context is accurate. The sounds are all genuine sounds from the period, even the date it's set, 18th July 1981. The bunker is an accurate recreation of a DIY bunker layout produced in the 1960”
Finally, implementing VR into your curriculum fully can be hard and making sure it has an impact on learning as well as having the wow factor is vital. LGfL with help from ClassVR by Avantis have produced a prompt sheet which can help you on your class journey.
You can find the new Cold War Nuclear Strike app iOS here or for Android here
Tell us how you use VR in your class by sharing either on our Twitter or Facebook pages.