Red Bank Catholic Tries Virtual Reality In Lesson Plans

RED BANK, NJ - Red Bank Catholic High School this year is introducing virtual reality googles and Google Expedition software to enable students to experience complex concepts in new ways or allow teachers to transport students to other parts of the world, other times in history and through components of life invisible to the naked eye.

It is a sort of "if you can't beat them, join them" way of capturing the attention of bidding technophiles. Technology has always revolutionized teaching methods but this year Holmdel first graders are learning to write code. Will they even miss the crayons?

At RBC, the VR system allows the instructor to monitor the lesson and the students via an iPad. Instructors can direct students to a particular part of the lesson and see where each student is through an icon that appears on the tablet, providing for real-time instruction, officials said.

Science teacher Mary Jane Davis recently introduced her Advanced Placement Biology students to the internal structure of a cell and its components using the VR system. Davis, who also is department chair, said she noted the benefits almost immediately.

“It can be frustrating for students to grasp multidimensional material from a textbook," she said. "With VR, they can be exposed to all aspects of the concept and actually navigate their way through it.”

Senior Amanda Dobrowolski agreed. “The virtual reality component as an instructional tool added the emphasis on how the parts of a cell work together," she said. "We could experience that in real time.”

Davis plans to include VR experiences in her Anatomy classes as students discuss various body systems. Students in a Spanish Culture class made a virtual sojourn to Spain and visited a number of significant Spanish landmarks free from long lines and crowds of tourists.

Red Bank Catholic students are using virtual reality googles such as these to learn new lessons. Photograph by Jae C. Hong/Associated Press.