VR IN EDUCATION

Solving the VR in education puzzle

VR in education is truly a puzzle, and even one misaligned piece can create problems, and disappointment.

Coming in 2025
9 years in the making... but worth the wait

The practicalities and realities of VR in education have been worked upon by the members of SVR since 2016, and from some hard lessons along the way, we will soon be able to bring out something truly worth the wait.

The industry as a whole has had a lot of stops and starts, and I would argue that many have not learned the important lessons of the past.

Check back at the end of 2024, and news will be released at that time. We can't wait!

For now, read up on VR in education, and watch the videos. We are confident you will go away far better prepared for your next VR in education purchase.

One misaligned piece creates problems

Hardware

The VR device must be suitable for the learning objectives. Not all are. Simply having a VR device does not mean you have a solution. 3 DoF vs 6 DoF is the major decision here, among a few other considerations. Too many have mistakenly bought devices first, then looked for content later. This is not a sensible approach.

Content

The driver behind any solution is the content, but without the right way to view/interact with the content, you will not be getting what you hoped for. Thus the reason why content is #2, in this list. Interactive content, and lots of it, increases engagement and drives learning toward higher order thinking skills (HOTS).

Online/offline

The easist path forward for a content provider is to have a completely online solution. This is also the hardest for the user because of the large file sizes inherent with VR content. A more important and compelling solution is offline, available to everyone in the world. Don't get fooled by "offline-ish" (go to the Learn More page to... well... learn more).

Ease of use

Mass adoption of a technology, across a wide spectrum of users, is dependent upon an ease of use by both learner and instructor, IT departments, and administration.

Learning is learning

Almost all learning can be greatly enhanced by immersion into a virtual environment set up to mimic real-life experiences. This applies to learning math and science, languages, safety training, soft skills, nursing, electrical, and so on. When multiple headsets are deployed at one location, 3 DoF is the only practical, feasible, and sensible solution to attend to such study.

6 DoF is "better"

For high skills training such as: fine motor control manipulation, welding, surgical training, dentistry, jewelry making, and art restoration, 6 DoF may be beneficial, and possibly worth the extra cost (device cost, IT dept time and effort cost, space and real estate cost, privacy cost, increased complexity cost, and so on). Often, this only requires 1-2 headsets.

Understanding devices

3 DoF
Be fully immersed in a virtual world, but remain in one, physical space (stand and turn around, sit on a swivel chair and rotate). No tracking of movements needs to happen, so there are no privacy issues. Rotational movements only.

6 DoF
Be fully immersed in a virtual world, but move around. Surge, heave, and sway are the official terms. Image that in a room of students! These extra translational movements must be tracked, leading to exposure of user data. If coupled with a social media company, there should be a world of concern.

When is 3 DoF better?

This should be your default. Period. Choose 3 DoF if you are concerned about:

- learning outcomes and efficacy
- student data privacy, security
- increasing VR usage
- ease of setup and maintenance
- space and real estate limitations
- reducing the burden on your IT dept
- ease of use for students and teachers
- separation from a social media company
- usage by special needs students
- a wealth of educational content
- (true) offline usage
- budget (a bonus is that 3 DoF is cheaper)

When is 6 DoF better?

High-skill training such as:

fine motor control manipulation, welding, surgical training, musical instrument practice, dentistry, jewelry-making, and art restoration.

These are learning opportunities where 6 DoF can be beneficial, and possibly worth the extra cost (device cost, IT dept time and effort cost, space and real estate cost, privacy cost, increased complexity cost, and so on).

A Sensible VR Headset

Made for all applications which require advanced technology paired with privacy and security, for ALL learning applications.
A single controller with 3 buttons and trackpad means that this is much easier to learn and manipulate for special needs students, while not giving up the interactivity needed by all.
SVR content is protected, but it is an unlocked device, meaning it is YOUR device and other content can be added and viewed. Looking to explore the metaverse safely, without tracking? This is your device.

3 DoF, recently designed

128 GB (ROM), 6 GB (RAM)

1 TB SD-card expansion

Swappable battery

Touchpad on the side

USB-C, 3-position Fresnel

Nicely balanced headset

Battery on back

The most sensible solution

An easy-to-buy package which is affordable and encourages high usage.

4 high-quality 3 DoF VR headsets, in a padded, soft-sided carry bag
A wealth of content, preloaded on each VR headset
Content areas: STEM, ELL, Nature, plus anything you can imagine **
** Includes the ability to easily make your own interactive, rich, VR content
Purchase based on budget, without sacrificing efficacy or usage
Seamlessly add more sets as budgets dictate. Ideal student to VR ratio is 10:1.
A solution that respects the educational value of learner attention
True interactivity, anywhere and everywhere (offline)
Even if you choose not to renew, you still have the highest quality 3 DoF VR headset on the market! You can't go wrong with this decision.

Coming soon

Learn more

Content: Essential

Virtual reality deals in a 360° world and as such, the file sizes, particularly with videos, can be very large. Herein lies the challenge. Making VR content used to be quite convoluted, and expensive. It is substantially easier now, but without proper foresight, file sizes can still cause a challenge.

At the end of the day, someone has to own the "burden". Will that be you, or the company that makes content?

Create your own!

We are not the first to provide an ability to create your own content, but since those companies first came to us in 2017, we have been mindful that if everything is compiled, edited, and created online, we would not be owning the burden, but would be passing that along to you. We won't do that.

It took much longer, but we have developed an offline tool that ensures everyone, from Kenya to Canada can transform their ideas into learning modules, or fun things to do. That's your choice.

MySense-VR

Pricing that fits almost any budget

Part of accessibility is to ensure that learning is attainable by all. VR can be expensive (especially if sold as a lab or to a group). But, it is a uniquely personal experience. There is a ton of value.

Basic Package

Four (4) high-end VR headsets in a soft carry bag, preloaded with a very large library of interactive, VR learning modules. Perpetual license!

$4499 US

Local reseller FOB China

Platform Upgrade

Individual user accounts for teachers, students, and admin, to monitor progress. This requires a very limited amount of internet connectivity.

$700 US/yr

Get Started Internet connectivity is required

Why the platform/LMS is separate

Regardless of where the learning institution resides, all content will be available to all students, all the time. Real VR educational content is large and heavy by necessity (many MBs/GBs). Moving those while online is a very, very large burden for teachers and admin. It is neither practical nor sensible. For content and learning, an internet connection is NOT necessary.

The value-add part, the platform/LMS, does require a very minor amount of connectivity, and this is by design. If connectivity is available, then this is a great addition for teachers as learning gaps may be more quickly identified, and student progress, good or bad, can be monitored, and then acted upon. Students benefit as well by being able to have some agency over their own learning, and awareness of their own progress. Admin is also benefitted by seeing data on overall student usage of VR devices (to ensure that school resources are actually in use), and having a view into efficacy with respect to student learning outcomes.

The platform also requires work and effort on our end, each year. Student rolls (and roles!) will change, as well as teachers. This is a dynamic platform which has a cost, and maintenance, each year, so it must be charged accordingly.

The system was designed so that should a school or district not have reliable connectivity, or if they cannot afford an on-going charge, then the learning would not be negatively affected by this reality. All the key pieces are still in play: VR devices, carry bag, tons of content.

Learning should never stop, nor be affected by infrastructure.