Within the next decade, every school will have an immersive classroom. This is for two seismic reasons. Firstly, educators are recognising the importance of having a space that can be easily adapted to suit the individual and complex needs of every student. And secondly, with attention spans becoming shorter and a reliance on technology becoming more profound, student inattentiveness within the classroom has resulted in educators constantly having to think of new and innovative ways to keep their learners engaged.
Immersive technology combats this however by bringing the walls of your classroom to life, breathing a new approach to learning into your schools curriculum. Though of course, we understand that most educators probably think an immersive classroom installation is a large-scale project that will take up a lot of their time and resources. But with us, this isn’t the case. So we thought we’d tell you all about what you can expect when purchasing an immersive classroom from us, from initial quotation right through to installation.
How Does Immersive Learning Work?
With immersive learning, AR and VR technology are used to transform a single room through 360-degree projection, interactive wall sensors and multi-sensory atmospherics (such as smell, sound and lighting) to create a simulated environment that feels entirely realistic. Whether it’s walking with dinosaurs, reliving the D-Day landing, or taking your students on a field trip around the world – everything is possible with immersive technology. This therefore promotes active learning and keeps students highly engaged, providing learning outcomes and each student’s future prospects.
When purchasing an immersive classroom with us, you will be given a licence to our ImmersiveStudio where you can access an extensive library of virtual scenarios for every stage of education. From early years, right through to university and training – content is created with the curriculum and schools in mind. You also have the opportunity to create your own content however, giving you ultimate freedom to bring lesson plans to life.
What Happens After Getting an Immersive Classroom Quote?
When you first express your interest in immersive technology to us, we will spend some time discussing your options and non-negotiables with you – all so we can put together a package that suits your needs. Every immersive classroom is customised to meet the specification of each individual school, so this is an important step.
We will then send over a quotation for you and your board to consider.
This can be altered if you would like to add or remove elements to suit your school’s budget. If we provide a quotation that is slightly over your budget and you think you may require additional funding, we have an extensive guide we can send to you with a list of funding streams available to educational settings. Further to this, if you haven’t already, we will arrange a free demonstration so you can witness the magic of immersive technology with your own eyes.
After you have given us the green light, we will send you a ‘room ready’ document which tells you everything you need to make your room fully immersive. This may include a vinyl floor or specific paint for your walls. Along with this, you will receive a drawing of how your space will look, allowing you to visualise your immersive classroom while carrying out any works that are needed. If required, we may arrange a site visit to ensure the room is ready for installation and advise on anything else that needs to be put in place.
What Is Included In An Immersive Classroom Installation?
When we talk about ‘the installation of your immersive classroom’, what we tend to mean is the installation of your hardware. This includes projectors, sensors, spatial audio and any optional atmospherics you added on during the quotation phase, including wind and aroma machines.
This will be installed by our reputable team who have over 15 years experience working within education. They will keep you updated while they are on site and will then hand you over to the team who will complete your commissioning and training.
How Long Does It Take To Install An Immersive Classroom?
The timeframe of your immersive classroom generally depends on the scope of your project. For most three wall solutions however, installation can be completed within two or three days. With smaller projects, including story walls or solutions without an interactive floor, installation may only take a day but of course, every project is different. Your project manager will discuss the intended timeframe for installation with you when booking in your slot and will manage expectations throughout.
Once your installation is complete, you will then move onto the final phase – commissioning. This is when your hardware is tested, calibrated and integrated with software – making your new immersive classroom ready to transcend the boundaries of each learner’s reality.
What Training Is Provided After Installation?
Following commissioning, your staff will receive in-depth training on how to control your new immersive classroom and the ImmersiveStudio, where you can create and manage content libraries. You will be shown how to create your own content, how to manipulate templates and how to push this onto the walls in your room. This can be delivered on site or virtually, depending on the needs of your school.
And that’s it – our process wrapped in a bow.
But even when your project is signed off and your staff are confident in controlling their new high-tech classroom, you will continue to receive on-going support from us if the need should arise. We will be on-hand if you encounter any issues that need remote troubleshooting or if you bring on a new team member, we’re happy to provide additional training. If you would like to discuss an immersive classroom installation with our team, contact us today and we will be happy to talk you through your options!