Virtual reality is becoming an important, if not integral, part of our daily lives especially when it comes to teaching and learning. Seeing as classrooms have been switched to living rooms at the moment, this technology is now more useful than ever. Apelab’s VR visual programming toolkit, Zoe, makes Remote Learning for Students possible to connect to their learning material and it helps develop critical thinking.
Emilie Joy, CEO, and co-founder of Apelab explained that they had been working with VR headsets in 2014 already and they started building the technology up from there. They used a platform called SpatialStories that allowed a creative team to develop on their own and this was the start of Zoe. She further stated that even though VR is used as a learning tool, it is more important than VR is being used as a creative tool. Zoe motivates and inspires students to remote learning and become agents in their work, not just accepting what they have to learn. They are encouraged to solve problems on their own and use critical thinking skills to tackle several different challenges.
Joy also explained that Zoe is a great tool for teachers and other learning facilitators. They learn at their own pace. They can connect with students, no matter where they are. Special resources are available every week for teachers who are using the platform as a remote teaching tool. Joy encourages teachers everywhere to test it out as much as they can before using it.
Another company that is paving the way for remote learning of chemistry is the team from Nanome. This is a software platform designed to simulate molecules in virtual reality. It allows scientists to collaborate on molecular structures in real-time and it prevents any data from being lost between the remote locations of the scientists.
The Nanome software platform is also being used to investigate the COVID-19 virus which has sent the world into chaos. Researchers have claimed that they are using the VR software to find possible solutions to find out more information about the molecular structure of the virus. Many pharmaceutical companies in Italy and Australia are using the platform to develop a vaccine.
Nanome not only plays a scientific role in the battle against the COVID-19 virus but the company also supports schools that had to be closed due to the virus. Nanome provides a platform that eases the transition from real-time teaching & learning to remote teaching & learning. It offers VR solutions as well as 2D solutions where the user only has to have a mouse and a keyboard. Any company working with the Nanome platform is fully supported throughout the COVID-19 crisis. They receive free setup. Nanome supports the research and the teaching that is currently underway during this time of crisis. Top Ivy-League schools have also purchased the software to ensure that university students stay up to date with their studies.
