We are big fans of VR! Starting this year we have several VR/AR kits we will be loaning to our school libraries, complete with lesson plans they can use to connect classes with all kinds of great resources.

Sure, it’s fun to play with these. But virtual and augmented reality is playing an increasingly important role in a lot of other areas. We are going to look at a different use each week, so you can work with your community members to help them learn about the great things possible for them today, and tomorrow.

If you are a swimmer, you know what it’s like to get lane hypnosis. You are just chugging along, staying rhythmic with your breathing, and keeping an eye on that black line below you.

Now – was that lap number 5 or 6? How fast was I going?

And when you are a glasses or contacts wearer, you know what it’s like to walk into the pool area. Is…that the pool? Is that a kid I’m about to step on, or something I’m about to fall over? So looking at the clock is completely out of the question.

This is an area that is calling out for some good virtual reality tools!

Check out these swim goggles from the business FORM. These goggles give you information as you are swimming, and downloads it to an app so you can check on your progress!

“The only swim goggles with a smart display that delivers metrics like split times, distance, and more—intelligently, as you swim. Developed in collaboration with top competitive swimmers and coaches, the FORM Swim Goggles are the missing piece in every swimmer’s swim bag.”

These do look interesting. It’s a small step in virtual/augmented reality – but the idea of adding information into your everyday life to help you work through your life better seems really cool!

It’s a year of STEAM at CMLE! Each week we admire some aspect of STEAM education that is being tried by people and organizations all over the place.

We applaud schools trying new things in the science, technology, engineering, and math areas; then when they add in art programs, the kids who get these advantages really can shine!

Check out this program for the Boston Public schools, helped out by a community group. Reaching out to your community to help with ideas, with funding, and with other assistance can really make your school’s STEAM so successful! (Read the excerpt below, and click on the link to get the whole thing!)

Putting an A in STEM education – ARCK celebrates 8th anniversary

The Art Resource Collaborative for Kids is celebrating 8 years working with Boston Public Schools to bring the Arts into STEM education

“”Most people have heard of STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), well we see something missing there,” said ARCK Founder Sara Mraish Demeter. “Today, STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) is the gold standard and ARCK is working to put the A, the arts, in STEAM.”

ARCK hires and trains teaching artists to collaborate with classroom teachers, integrating art lessons with current classroom curriculum to address each school’s academic objectives. This combined effort makes a deeper impact on the student and fosters a broader understanding of the lesson. The program promotes social-emotional well-being, teamwork and empathy for others and is based on three modules: Leadership; Civic Engagement; and Social Justice.

ARCK’s core program runs for 36 weeks during the school year and is offered free to Boston public school students in grades K-8, many of which come from underserved communities in Boston. The program currently serves thousands of BPS students but hopes to triple those numbers in the near future.

We are big fans of VR! Starting this year we have several VR/AR kits we will be loaning to our school libraries, complete with lesson plans they can use to connect classes with all kinds of great resources.

Sure, it’s fun to play with these. But VR is playing an increasingly important role in a lot of other areas. We are going to look at a different use each week, so you can work with your community members to help them learn about the great things possible for them today, and tomorrow.

This week we are admiring an article about a student turned entrepreneur from MIT who is using VR headsets to help patients with dementia to help with depression. Check out the excerpt below, and click the link to get all the information.

Thanks to Student’s Hunch, Seniors With Dementia Are ‘Coming Alive’ Again With the ‘Magic’ of Virtual Reality

“As Reed Hayes stood inside an assisted living facility in front of an elderly man struggling with dementia, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

The man sat slouched in his wheelchair, unmoving, his eyes barely open. Hayes had enrolled in MIT’s Sloan School of Management with the idea of helping older adults overcome depression and isolation through the immersive world of virtual reality. Now he needed to test his idea.

Hayes turned on a virtual reality experience featuring a three-dimensional painting by Vincent Van Gogh and a classical piano playing in the background. Nervously, he placed the headset on the man. What happened next stunned everyone in the room.

“He just came alive,” Hayes remembers. “He started moving around, tapping his feet, laughing. He was all of a sudden much more engaged in the world, and this from someone who was slouched over, to now kind of bouncing around. [My classmate] Dennis and I looked at each other like, ‘Holy cow, we might be onto something.’ It was remarkable.””

Check out the rest of this story here!