Setting Up a VR Class: Everything Teachers Need to Know

VR is changing the way students learn by providing immersive, active, and hands-on experiences on demand. While VR in education is becoming more popular, it’s still relatively new, and it’s not always clear what is needed to facilitate a productive VR lesson.

That said, this article will help fill in that knowledge gap and aims to equip teachers with the information they need to integrate VR into their classroom.

Table of Contents

• How to Set Up and Manage VR Headsets in the Classroom
  • Step 1: Have the Right Equipment
  • Step 2: Create the Right Environment
  • Step 3: Ensure Proper Hygiene
  • Step 4: Facilitate VR Use
  • Step 5: Monitor Students
• Final Thoughts: VR in the Classroom

How to Set Up and Manage VR Headsets in the Classroom

To set up and facilitate a VR class, it’s important to buy the right equipment, create a classroom conducive for VR use, ensure proper maintenance, manage VR classes, and monitor students’ activity. 

This may seem a little overwhelming at first, but there are a number of VR education kits that equip teachers with everything they need, including lesson plans.

Step 1: Have the Right Equipment

The first step is having the right equipment. You’ll need:

• VR headsets that are compatible with the latest VR education applications.
• A router for independent and comprehensive connection regardless of existing Wi-Fi.
• MDM (mobile device management) software to manage VR devices and monitor student activity.
• A tablet to run the MDM software.
• A sturdy carrying case to transport and store VR devices.

There are pre-made VR education kits with everything teachers need. The Meta Quest VR education kit, for example, comes with all the equipment needed, including a carrying case with integrated charging. For an additional purchase, a certified flight case with a similar layout to the carrying case and integrated charging is available.

 

The kit is designed with a simple “plug and play” setup that comes with a growing library of educational content and lesson plans for teachers. It is also scalable to accommodate a greater number of students.

Step 2: Create the Right Environment

Next, teachers will need to ensure that the classroom is prepared for VR use. While there are educational VR experiences that don’t require extensive movement on the student’s end, others may require a larger amount of “breathing room.”

With that said, depending on the lesson, it’s important to ensure that any obstacles like chairs and desks won’t impede the students’ experience.

Additionally, ensuring proper Wi-Fi coverage is also important, which is why an independent router is often necessary. Teachers can check with the school’s IT department to ensure that there is enough bandwidth and coverage for the classroom.

Step 3: Ensure Proper Hygiene

VR headsets need to be cleaned to ensure proper hygiene, especially for classroom use where students share devices. A water-based and VR-safe antibacterial disinfectant spray is worth having on hand to clean headsets before and after use.  

Disposable hygiene masks are a convenient and affordable option that provides a barrier between the headset and the student's face.

Another convenient option is a Uvisan UVC Charging Cabinet. These cabinets come in various sizes and are designed to store VR devices, charge them, and disinfect them using UV-C light to kill 99.99 percent of bacteria and viruses.

Step 4: Facilitate VR Use

Educational VR applications can be highly collaborative, allowing multiple students at once to interact and work together. However, considering space and device limitations, it may not be possible for all the students to participate in the VR lesson at once. 

In this case, teachers can develop a rotation system. For example, if there are only six headsets and eighteen students, then the teacher can divide the students into three groups. 

If the VR lesson is ten minutes long, like the Virtual Life Support CRP training scenario, then teachers can figure ten minutes for the lesson, along with five minutes to disinfect and pass the headsets along to the next group—or forty-five minutes in total to rotate through all three groups.

Step 5: Monitor Students

With the tablet and MDM software that comes with a VR education kit, teachers can see what their students are experiencing. 

This allows teachers to monitor student progress and activity. Additionally, if the student is stuck or doesn’t know what to do, the teacher will be able to quickly see what problem has been encountered and offer guidance.

The software also gives teachers the ability to start and stop specific educational content. This is especially useful and allows the teacher to pause a VR session to, for example, give the student a break or provide additional instruction.

Final Thoughts: VR in the Classroom

VR provides teachers with a way to better engage students in a collaborative and memorable way, giving students the opportunity to become active learners in the classroom and experience subjects in a hands-on virtual environment. With a VR education kit, teachers can quickly bring VR into their classroom and gain access to a growing library of educational content.