Bringing advanced technology to government schools, the School Education Department along with Chennai-based Meynikara, a virtual reality and augmented reality start-up, launched virtual reality (VR) labs in five schools on Monday.
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Called “Meta Kalvi”, the virtual reality labs as a part of this initiative will be opened at three government schools and two corporation schools in the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni Assembly constituency.
The inauguration of these labs took place on Metaverse, a shared 3D virtual environment. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin and MP Dhayanidhi Maran participated in it.
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Mr. Poyyamozhi said the department was keen to take STEM learning across government schools and was planning on distributing STEM kits in the coming months.
‘Immersive learning’
“The amount of immersive learning that VR brings will take it to the next level and make it fun and engaging for students,” said Ganesh Ram, director, Meynikara. By helping them visualise theoretical concepts, “Meta Kalvi” aims to improve the students’ attention span and interest.
“The five schools we will initially be working with have given us a room on their premises. We will install 12 devices and a timetable has been drawn up based on which students will come to the lab,” said R. Raguraman, its founder. “For the next two months, teachers will be trained in using the devices. At present, we have maths and science lessons in English and Tamil that students can experience through VR and we are building up a library for other subjects as well,” he said.
Students will be able to create their own login IDs, as well as have leaderboards to track their performance. Teachers will be able to conduct lab exams, give individual assignments and assess students as well.