Studying virtual reality
Los Gatos High School social studies teacher David Homa is partnering with Stanford University’s Human Virtual Reality Design Lab on the use of virtual reality (VR) in schools.
Homa, along with a Stanford professor and two graduate students, is collaborating with global organizations to learn how effective VR is in helping students develop empathy and long-term learning and retention. Students have begun to integrate VR into their class lessons.
“The primary goal of this project is to see what value the use of VR in the classroom may have in helping students develop greater empathy for other people and places from around the world,” Homa said in a statement.
In the coming months, Homa’s class will begin working with teachers and students from the Doha Debate Ambassador Program and the Global Schools Advocates Program. The students and teachers in these organizations will create their own content from their part of the world and share it with Los Gatos High School students via Zoom.
