Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/912628
zSpace, an interactive and immersive 3-D platform. e Silicon Valley company, whose hardware, software and educational content combine virtual and augmented reality (see sidebar, page 37), has a partnership with Los Altos School District and is piloting this technology at Santa Rita. " There are many activities in zSpace that give students a chance to manipulate scientific experiences that cannot be replicated in the classroom," says STEM teacher Kelly Rafferty, a member of the Los Altos Teachers Association. Students have been using zSpace to learn about the circu- latory and respiratory systems over the last couple of years. It allows them to see inside a 3-D heart to learn how the valves work, and see the size and location of veins and arteries. ey are able to feel the heart pumping through the stylus in their hand. e program is so advanced that even heart surgeons at nearby Stanford University are using it for training purposes. "ZSpace is technology that makes science come to life in the classroom," says Rafferty. "It helps students stay focused and gives a sense of play — but also purpose — to what they are doing." VR helps students stay fit, too While most assume youth immersed in virtual worlds are couch potatoes, a San Francisco State University professor believes that VR is a tool that can promote physical fitness in students. In the first study of its kind in the U.S., the university's Depart- ment of Kinesiology has researched the metabolic energy expended by students playing VR games and found they indeed offer exercise benefits and may be the wave of th e future. W hi le gam es on devices such as Wii promote physical fitness, they are viewed on a screen and do not immerse players in virtual worlds. " We absolutely see VR exercise as something for PE classes," says Marialice Kern, department chair and California Faculty Association member, who is leading the study. "e work we've been doing for the last eight months shows you can get great exer- cise with VR and get as much of a workout as any conventional exercise if you choose the right games and play with interest and vigor." Kern and fellow researchers studied heart rate and oxygen consumption to determine how many calories were burned in subjects performing such activities as boxing in a virtual ring, dodging colorful orbs to a musical beat, and playing other games that immerse students in a 3-D world. e university collabo- rated with the newly established VR Institute of Health and Exercise, founded by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to create VR GOOGLE EXPEDITIONS VR: Google Expeditions VR kits (for 10, 20 or 30 students) include Cardboard viewers and Android phones for students and teacher, a teacher-operated tablet, and preinstalled software that keeps view- ers synced together. You can buy a kit or build your own, to use along with an app from the App Store or Google Play. A kit for 10 students and the teacher is $4,000 at Best Buy and other outlets. See edu.google.com/expeditions for more information. AR : Google is introducing its Expeditions Pio- neer Program for AR in schools now. The technology maps the physical classroom and places 3-D objects such as tornadoes and skeletal systems within that location. Students can walk around the objects, get in close to spot details, and step back to see the full picture. To sign up, go to edu.google.com/expeditions/ar. A volcano "explodes" in Google's augmented reality video. exercise ratings that will eventually be published online. When asked if immersing students in individual virtual worlds could be isolating — or dangerous if they bump into one another — Kern replies that eventually students will be able to play "virtual team sports" in school such as capture the flag or flag football. "All it takes is that everybody on one team has their headset plugged into one computer," she says. "e technology and the games are already here." See video of Aimee Howland's class using VR to explore the world of sharks at tinyurl.com/VR-Enterprise. See our recommenda- tions for VR apps to try with students in Tech Tips on page 58. 38 cta.org Marialice Kern