How immersive technology can empower students (and teachers) to learn

Immersive and experiential technology is transforming the way both students and teachers learn. Virtual and augmented reality (AR and VR) provide deeper engagement, collaboration opportunities, and hands-on learning that puts newly acquired knowledge and skills into context.

For students, immersive technology can make abstract concepts tangible through interactive images. But immersive technology is also useful for teachers, driving professional learning that helps educators translate research and theory into actionable practices through dynamic examples.

When specifically designed, augmented reality opens equitable pathways to deep student learning.

Created in collaboration with Verizon Innovative Learningan educational initiative that supports digital equity and inclusion in education, McGraw Hill AR is a free augmented reality app that provides engaging, brief experiences that promote deep conceptual learning. The app creates complex concepts in algebra, social studies, and SHE more tangible through powerful and interactive images.

“What I liked most about using the app was that you could see around you, move around and see the whole shape.” – High school student from Hawkins Street School, New Jersey

Immersive technology must be based on strong pedagogy and content.

the activities in McGraw Hill AR They were intentionally selected based on which learning objectives could best be supported with augmented reality, deliberately leveraging immersive experiences for meaningful instruction. Each standards-aligned activity follows consistent pedagogy and was developed from high-quality content.

Immersive learning has the power to promote equity.

In Verizon Innovative Learning Headquarters, Educators can find free, standards-aligned lesson plans to accompany each activity in the app, designed to make next-generation technology more accessible to all educators and school communities and inspire all students to become innovators and creators. The multimodal nature of immersive technology provides more access points for students, engaging them in concepts that may have previously remained out of reach.

We have only just begun to realize the potential of immersive learning for students.

McGraw Hill AR is always expanding: five more social studies activities will be released by December 2023, science activities are coming in the fall, and Spanish versions are now available. Chromebook support is also coming soon, making the app accessible to schools without tablets or phones in classrooms, further expanding the reach of immersive learning.

Immersive learning is not just for students. Teachers deserve engaging professional learning, too.

Educators are lifelong learners. If we expect them to continue honing their craft and adapting to changes in classrooms, they deserve innovative, engaging, and meaningful professional learning opportunities.

McGraw Hill Plus for PreK–12 is an innovative new tool that simplifies educators’ daily workflow by connecting and transforming data from multiple digital solutions. Use this rich data to generate personalized instructional recommendations, driving scalable personalized learning and empowering schools to implement transformative instructional models, such as mastery-based learning.

McGraw Hill Plus Because PreK-12 reaches its full potential in the hands of a skilled, informed, and creative educator who has been given opportunities to understand what it means to personalize instruction and what modern classrooms can look like. That is where the immersive experience comes into play in the McGraw Hill classroom.

Virtual reality gives teachers a first-hand view of personalized learning in action.

Available through Oculus or on desktop, the immersive classroom experience uses virtual reality to help teachers explore how they can leverage McGraw Hill Plus for PreK-12 to personalize learning and foster student agency. When teachers “enter” the classroom, they can interact with students and explore the tools and materials used in the classroom.

Students in the virtual reality classroom explain to visitors where they are on their personal learning journeys and how the student-led environment allows them to thrive. They discuss how the Standards and Skills Chart (a data visualization tool within McGraw Hill Plus) helps them better understand their areas of growth and how different curricula and materials work together in their classroom. Ultimately, virtual reality provides a controlled, safe, and flexible environment for teachers to explore what their classroom could become and how to make that transformation a reality.

Educators deserve ownership of their learning journeys, too.

Immersive learning makes complex concepts tangible. Virtual reality brings to life transformative instructional models and innovative uses of technology for teachers. On-demand professional learning resources that are related to observed best practices are linked directly within each zone of the Immersive Classroom. Teachers can interact with students, explore classroom materials, and leverage corresponding professional learning resources in a way and at a pace that suits their needs.

Immersive learning experiences have the power to put ownership in the hands of more students and more teachers.

Dr. Shawn Smith, chief innovation officer at McGraw Hill School and whose team created both McGraw Hill AR and the immersive classroom experience within McGraw Hill Plus for PreK-12, believes AR and VR have interesting implications.

“We have just begun to explore the possibilities of experiential and immersive learning for students and teachers,” Smith says. “With powerful and dedicated partners like Verizon Innovative Learning and our own team of learning scientists, we can deliver deeply engaging learning experiences to more teachers and students by expanding our virtual reality and augmented reality to more disciplines, more learning objectives, and more applications.” of pedagogy. “

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