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Arkansas Brings VR to Concussion Education

  • By Sara Friedman
  • 09/05/19

Arkansas is rolling out an interactive experience to give middle school and high school students the resources to recognize the signs and symptoms of concussions using virtual reality headsets. Arkansas is the first state to offer the VR component of CrashCourse, an interactive platform focused on concussion treatment and prevention, to schools statewide.  The platform was developed by TeachAids, a health education nonprofit.

The Arkansas Department of Education launched CrashCourse statewide in December 2018. The program will be distributed for free through the Environmental and Spatial Technology (EAST) initiative at public schools.  Most high schools in the state already have Oculus Rift VR systems through a 2017 partnership between the Arkansas Computer Science Initiative and Facebook’s TechStart.

"The Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas Department of Health, and Arkansas Activities Association saw the need to better educate our students, particularly our athletes, of the potentially life-threatening effects of concussions. By partnering with TeachAids, Arkansas students now have access to state-of-the-art software and equipment that mimic the real-life effects of concussions.  Together, we are empowering our students to know the signs and symptoms and quickly make decisions that lead to better treatment and improved health," said Governor Asa Hutchinson.

More information about the CrashCourse platform can be found here.

About the Author

Sara Friedman is a reporter/producer for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe covering education policy and a wide range of other public-sector IT topics.

Friedman is a graduate of Ithaca College, where she studied journalism, politics and international communications.

Friedman can be contacted at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @SaraEFriedman.

Click here for previous articles by Friedman.


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