Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

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

  • Image courtesy of Kahler Slater

    UW–Madison Announces Completion of Morgridge Hall

    The University of Wisconsin–Madison recently announced that construction is complete on Morgridge Hall, a new academic building, according to a news release. The facility opened September 3 at the start of the fall semester, consolidating the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences into a single facility for the first time.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • Pitzer College

    Designing for Change in Higher Ed Learning Environments

    Higher education will continue to evolve, and learning environments must evolve with it. By prioritizing adaptable infrastructure, thoughtful reuse, strong energy performance, and wellness-centered design, campuses can create spaces that support learning today while remaining flexible for the future.