Author Archives: Elixa Neumann

Curatours – Museum of Plastic 2121

Museum of Plastic 2121 is the first museum tour available on Curatours! Built 100 years from now in an imagined future where things have worked out well for the planet and for humanity. Visitors uncover the story of plastic – its history, science, industry, and impact on our environment. They will learn the importance of establishing a circular economy and find out how activism and individual action happening now will lead to positive change in the future.

Curricular Connections

  • Conservation of Resources
  • Environmentalism
  • Environmental Justice and Activism

Gameplay Length

  • Students can be given a timeslot to explore of less than 30 minutes
  • Full gameplay requires 30 minutes – 1 hour

Player Comfort Level

  • Comfortable

Game Trailer

Website

Museum of Plastic 2121 – Curatours

Curatours on Oculus Quest 2 | Oculus

Curatours on Steam (steampowered.com)

Cost

  • Free

Discovr Egypt: King Tut’s Tomb

Discovr Egypt takes you into the ancient tomb of King Tutankhamun using the HTC Vive, where you can not only learn about some of the rich history surrounding his legacy, but also uncover his treasures. Explore the 3 rooms of King Tut’s Ancient Egyptian tomb with the HTC Vive to see what they might have to say about the life and culture of early civilizations. 1323 BC: a time when Egypt is a recognized world power. Its young leader, King Tutankhamun, has passed away and been buried in what will become one of the greatest icons of Ancient Egypt. The tomb is littered with treasures and artifacts symbolic of Ancient Egyptian culture. Centuries later the tomb is uncovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter, and now you too can explore the tomb. Look around and learn about its contents in Discovry Mode, or take all the treasure before time runs out in Treasure Hunt.

Curricular Connections

  • Evidence: Assess the credibility of multiple sources and the adequacy of evidence used to justify conclusions
  • Features and characteristics of ancient civilizations

Gameplay Length

  • 10-20 Minutes

Player Comfort Level

  • Comfortable

Walkthrough of Program

Website

Discovr™ Egypt: King Tut’s Tomb on Steam (steampowered.com)

Cost

  • Free

FrameVR.io

A new platform under development is Framevr.io. Frame VR is designed to be a space for immersive presentations and meetings. Teachers can prepare galleries or lessons, and students can create presentations or engage in collaborative discussions. The owner of the environment can add pictures, PDF’s, 3D models, videos, 360 photo spheres, and interactable whiteboards, in one of several environments FrameVR has to offer. The mobile affordances of this program allow the user to interact as if they are a moveable avatar in the space with all of the same interactions as a desktop user participating in the world, meaning participants can engage through their mobile devices, computer, or VR headset.

Give your students an interactive and immersive virtual education environment. Go beyond video calls and bring them into a 3D world where learning feels more natural and tangible.

Curricular Connections

Applied Design Skills and Technology (ADST)

  • The ability to design, make, acquire, and apply skills and technologies is important in the world today and key in the education of citizens for the future.
  • The Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies curriculum builds on students’ natural curiosity, inventiveness, and desire to create and work in practical ways.

Player Comfort Level

  • Comfortable

Walkthrough of Program

Website

Frame: Virtual 3D Classrooms in the Browser

Cost

  • Free in BETA mode: Users can make 3 worlds

Section 1: Engagement in the Learning

Comment on this thread to share your own reflection on the following questions.

  • Think about students who were engaged by the activity. What measures increased their level of engagement? 
  • Think about students who did not seem engaged by the activity. What were potential reasons for their disengagement? Could these be mitigated or are they a result of the technology?

Based on your answers above, what would you do differently the next time you integrate VR into your teaching?

To help other educators, it would be helpful to include the name of the VR activity/application, classroom set-up, and technology used.

Section 2: Enhancement of Learning Goals

Comment on this thread to share your own reflection on the following questions.

  • How did the activity allow students to develop or demonstrate a more sophisticated understanding of the learning goals or content? What forms of critical thinking skills were demonstrated? 
  • What aspects of the activity helped the students understand the concepts or ideas more easily?

Based on your answers above, what would you do differently the next time you integrate VR into your teaching?

To help other educators, it would be helpful to include the name of the VR activity/application, classroom set-up, and technology used.

Section 3: Collaboration with Other Learners

Comment on this thread to share your own reflection on the following questions.

  • Describe examples in which the students interacted collaboratively in a positive way. 
  • How did students encounter and overcome challenges while working collaboratively throughout the activity? 

Based on your answers above, what would you do differently the next time you integrate VR into your teaching?

To help other educators, it would be helpful to include the name of the VR activity/application, classroom set-up, and technology used.

Section 4: Authentic and Meaningful Experiences

Comment on this thread to share your own reflection on the following questions.

  • During the activity, did the students have opportunities to learn or strengthen soft skills which they use in their everyday lives? How was the skill embedded into the activity? 
  • Did you observe any indications that the learners might have felt the activity/activities are valuable for their learning? Provide an example with evidence from your class.

Based on your answers above, what would you do differently the next time you integrate VR into your teaching?

To help other educators, it would be helpful to include the name of the VR activity/application, classroom set-up, and technology used.

Section 5: Challenges and Stretches

Comment on this thread to share your own reflection on the following questions.

  • What challenges did your students encounter while engaging in the activity? Why do you think they had these challenges?
  • What challenges did you encounter setting up, executing, or taking down the activity? What did you do to overcome these challenges?

Based on your answers above, what would you do differently the next time you integrate VR into your teaching?

To help other educators, it would be helpful to include the name of the VR activity/application, classroom set-up, and technology used.

Section 6: Accessibility for All

Comment on this thread to share your own reflection on the following questions.

  • During the activity, did the students have the opportunity to express themselves in different ways? Provide an example.
  • Describe examples in which students’ varying abilities and needs were supported during the activity.

Based on your answers above, what would you do differently the next time you integrate VR into your teaching?

To help other educators, it would be helpful to include the name of the VR activity/application, classroom set-up, and technology used.