You Have To See It To Believe It!

At Oak Meadow Elementary School, GT Teacher, Mary Koudelka is using virtual reality to teach. “We are taking what the students are learning off the page and into the VR headsets to solidify what they are learning about … and they can conceptually see it and physically kind-of be in that place.” They are currently learning about the geography of islands, the place’s population, climate, and other characteristics by “seeing” them.

Student, Sage Decimo said, “VR’s are my favorite because we get to see different places around the world and that was fun.”

Their enthusiasm for the lessons was shared. Ellison Baer chimed in, “They are really cool, but I wish we could walk around those places.”

Principal Lisa Campos, reminded them, “This was an opportunity for you to see those places because otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to visit those places that are so so far away. So the reasoning for me writing this grant was for you guys to have those experiences that you wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise, right.”

The grant has not only benefitted Oak Meadow’s GT classes but also other GT classes within the Churchill cluster of schools. They take field trips to Oak Meadow and experience the VR lessons, as well as the planetarium, which was a prior year’s NEEF grant.