Iowa Elementary School Launches Virtual Reality Science Curriculum

Image Credit: The Quad-Times, Andy Abeyta.

An Iowa elementary school within the Davenport Community School District has begun using virtual reality (VR) headsets in their science classes.

Several Buffalo Elementary School students used Oculus Rift headsets and tested out VR curriculum from VictoryVR, which recently launched its first installation of a VR science curriculum. The curriculum, designed for students in grades 5 to 8, covers the solar system, the water cycle, ocean life and more.   

In one VR experience, CNN’s International Hero of the Year Chad Pregracke “takes students on a virtual field trip to a garbage barge as he cleans up the Ohio River near Louisville, KT,” according to VictoryVR. As one of the modules in the Water Cycle, students learn “how our nation’s rivers are integral to our well-being as they leave their classroom and stand on a barge with river-activist Pregracke.”

Buffalo Elementary is the first city in the county to incorporate virtual reality into the Next Generation Science Standards curriculum, the Quad-City Times reported. So far, VR is used in two of the 23 science units offered at the school.

A grant from the Bechtel Trust will help pay for the school to use the headsets over the next five years. The grant proposal listed three main benefits to implementing the technology:

  • Removes distractions and helps students focus on a lesson plan;
  • Student are “transported” or immersed in the area of study; and
  • The VR experience help instructors explain a topic and captivates students’ interests.

To learn more, read the Quad-City Times report.

About the Author

Sri Ravipati is Web producer for THE Journal and Campus Technology. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • cloud icon with a padlock overlay set against a digital background featuring binary code and network nodes

    Cloud Security Auditing Tool Uses AI to Validate Providers' Security Assessments

    The Cloud Security Alliance has unveiled a new artificial intelligence-powered system that automates the validation of cloud service providers' (CSPs) security assessments, aiming to improve transparency and trust across the cloud computing landscape.

  • robot brain with various technology and business icons

    Google Cloud Study: Early Agentic AI Adopters See Better ROI

    Google Cloud has released its second annual ROI of AI study, finding that 52% of enterprise organizations now deploy AI agents in production environments. The comprehensive survey of 3,466 senior leaders across 24 countries highlights the emergence of a distinct group of "agentic AI early adopters" who are achieving measurably higher returns on their AI investments.

  • laptop with a neural network image, surrounded by books, notebooks, a magnifying glass, a pencil cup, and a desk lamp

    D2L Updates Lumi with Personalized Study Supports

    Learning platform D2L has introduced new artificial intelligence features for D2L Lumi that help provide more personalized study supports for students.

  • cloud with binary code and technology imagery

    Hybrid and AI Expansion Outpacing Cloud Security

    A survey from the Cloud Security Alliance and Tenable finds that rapid adoption of hybrid, multi-cloud and AI systems is outpacing the security measures meant to protect them, leaving organizations exposed to preventable breaches and identity-related risks.