Some teachers recently got a look at how they could integrate virtual reality (VR) technology in the classrooms.
Transcend Technology’s Raphael Saul and Damany Reid held a one-day workshop for the educators, which Saul said “went very, very well” and the response was “very good”.
In an interview ahead of the event Saul, who is the head of business at the St Michael-based company, said the technology could be used to deliver many areas of the curriculum.
“I really want to get teachers in to expose them to the different use cases in the classroom . . . . For various aspects of the curriculum, there are ways that we can incorporate Transcend Technology to help make whatever learning material you’re trying to bring over to the students much more immersive, much more meaningful and, hopefully, have much longer lasting value, especially for concepts that children find difficult to grasp in black and white and on paper.
“We have no problem going to schools and doing a demo, but really it is to identify the subject areas. We can best work with science, history and geography,” he said.
The VR units cannot be taken to schools. There is, however, a mobile unit they have for demonstration purposes at schools.
Saul explained: “We align ourselves with certain aspects of the curriculum, so teachers know they can deliver a particular subject area at Transcend Technology.
“So, instead of teaching plant and animal cells in your classroom, you can actually come to Transcend Technology to deliver that subject using our technology.
“A number of teacher workshops will be held. We’ll display what the technology can do and give them an opportunity to ask any questions. Our vision is long-term. We can actually, through the work that we do, create an environment where Government and private agencies would see the benefit in investing.
Saul said a VR lab could be used for “everything” from computer science to technical drawing.
“We can actually bring them into the school and have a small lab. It might only need five stations, but it can be multipurpose,” he added. (GBM)
