Texas K–12 District Utilizes Federal Grant Money for VR Equipment

  • By Matt Jones
  • 12/05/23

The San Isidro Independent School District in south Texas recently announced that it used a federal grant program to purchase virtual reality (VR) headsets for its middle- and high-school students, according to a news release. The district was one of 13 in the Texas Region One Educational Services Center service area to take advantage of the “GEAR UP Pathways to the Future” grant to purchase ClassVR from Avantis Education.

ClassVR is an all-in-one VR/AR headset that features thousands of pieces of educational content across a variety of K–12 subject areas. The package features all hardware and software, tools, training, and support and implementation services needed for school administrators to deploy the technology. Content ranges from the inside of an atom to an Arctic encounter with polar bears to a WWI trench.

“The GEAR UP program has been great for bringing technology and training to our district,” said San Isidro ISD’s GEAR UP facilitator, Cristobal Vela. “ClassVR provides an excellent opportunity to have students experience places that they otherwise would never be able to visit.”

The news release reports that Avantis recently aligned more than 400 of its ClassVR lessons to meet U.S. state standards in science, English/language arts, and social studies. ClassVR equipment qualifies for both the GEAR UP grant and ESSER funds through its ability to help teachers address learning loss.

“Utilizing grant funding for ClassVR is really a great way to support equity in schools because it gives students access to cutting-edge technology and allows those who might not have had opportunities to travel, to experience different places through the power of virtual reality,” said Huw Williams, CEO of Avantis Education. “GEAR UP grants offer a great opportunity to bring technologies like ClassVR into schools to help enhance lessons and support academic success in secondary school and beyond.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Belmont Abbey College Selects Architect for New Performing Arts Center

    Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., recently announced the selection of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting (Little) to serve as the project architect for its new Visual and Performing Arts Center, according to a news release. The 1,000-seat theater will serve the college and local community as a home for theater, visual arts, performing arts, art exhibitions, and other cultural and educational events.

  • University of Kentucky Receives $2.5M Donation Toward Renovation Project

    The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., recently announced that it has accepted a $2.5-million donation that will transform Pence Hall into the home of the university’s College of Communication and Information, according to a news release.

  • Zurn Elkay Announces Updated Line of Filtered Bottle Filling Stations

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently released an updated line of its Elkay Filtered Bottle Filling Stations, according to a news release. The new line features a sleeker design and functional upgrades to help simplify filter maintenance and reduce long-term labor costs.

  • OpenStax Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Providing Open Educational Resources

    OpenStax, which expands access of K–12 and higher-education resources and research-informed educational tools, is celebrating its 25th anniversary as 2024 comes to a close, according to a news release. The educational initiative from Rice University has served almost 37 million students in 153 countries and saved students nearly $3 billion in educational costs since its launch in 1999.