Latest education updates from around the world
Everything Announced at the August 2026 VR Games Showcase
The VR Games Showcase’s second anniversary event just wrapped up, delivering massive new game announcements.
Missed the show? Fear not – we’ve wrapped up every announcement for you right here, including all trailers show in both the main and pre-show. Enjoy!
VR Games Showcase Main Show Titles
1. Total Chaos VR Revealed For Meta Quest & SteamVR
Game Name: Total Chaos VR
Developer Name: Trigger Happy Interactive
Publisher Name: Apogee Entertainment
Platforms: SteamVR, […]
Quest’s Second Best-selling VR Game of All Time is Getting a Flatscreen Sequel
FarBridge, the Austin-based studio behind Quest strategy Homeworld: Vast Reaches (2024), has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help support the development of a flatsceen entry in the Job Simulator series.
The News
Called Job Simulator: Human Relations, the officially licensed flatscreen co-op physics game is set to be developed in collaboration with Owlchemy Labs, the IP holder and Google-owned studio behind the original.
The flatscreen sequel, which is slated to include four-player co-op, is based around workplace disasters which FarBridge says will “challenge, delight, or challenge and delight you and your co-workers.”
Assessment After AI: Designing Student Work to Show Real Thinking
As a longtime educator, I’ve spent a great deal of time designing assessments that promote student choice and voice and enable students to truly show what they know and can do. However, with the rise of artificial intelligence in education, deciding how to assess students has become more challenging.
Students may have access to AI both in and outside of our classrooms. It can generate summaries, write essays, provide explanations, create outlines, and offer feedback within seconds for them. AI can help learning, but it requires educators to think beyond traditional assessments that worked well before AI.
A major concern […]
Hit VR Game ‘Beat Saber’ Gets First Price Cut After 7 Years, and I Think I know Why
Breakout VR rhythm game Beat Saber has been priced at $30 ever since its 2019 launch, and has never once gone on sale since. In a surprising move, Meta has quietly slashed the price of Beat Saber to $20 on Quest, SteamVR, and PSVR 2.
The News
Beat Saber is one of the best selling VR games of all time, accumulating more than $200 million in sales as of early 2025, and surely plenty more since then. Its breakout success was so notable that it
Teaching Veteran Students
Educator and retired Major General Matt Smith has advice for fellow college educators: “Get to know your veteran students.”
Doing this is important not only because it enriches the class environment for all but because veterans or actively serving members of the military make up a significant portion of the student body at most universities. In fact, nearly 5% of college students are active military or veterans. Roughly half of that 5% are veterans and the other half are active-duty member of the military or the National Guard and reserve. That’s all according to data on
‘Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ VR Mod Nears 1.0 Release, ‘Mario Kart 8’ VR Mod Teased
Crementif released the ‘BetterVR’ mod for Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) last December, bringing full 6DOF support and motion controls to the game on PC VR headsets. Now, nearing the mod’s 1.0 launch, not only has BetterVR gotten even better, but Crementif teased a Mario Kat 8 (2014) VR mod is also now in the works.
BetterVR is a flatscreen-to-VR conversion mod for BotW, which is available for free on the project’s GitHub, including 20 updates since the first trailer was released in December […]
View From The Top: How Edtech CEOs Lead Through Market Uncertainty
We talk with Tammy Wincup, CEO of Securly — a cybersecurity company exclusively focused on how to help students be safe, well and ready to learn in their digital footprint — about the state of the market and how edtech CEOs can effectively lead in the current climate. You can enjoy engaging insights into these important topics during the CEO Keynote Panel: Strategies for Leading Through Market Uncertainty at the upcoming EdExec Summit, taking place September 10-11 in Chicago.
“You’ve got two polar conversations happening right now in terms of digital safety,” says Wincup. “There is […]
Apple Brings Live MLB Games to Vision Pro Starting August 28
Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) announced they’re bringing a handful of live baseball games to Vision Pro, with livestreamed games starting on August 28th.
When Apple initially announced the number of games it had licensed in the August baseball schedule, it wasn’t clear whether Apple TV subscribers would get any immersive games to round out the 2026 season.
Now, Apple announced it’s bringing four live ‘Friday Night Baseball’ games leading up to September 18th, which will feature commentary from Paul Severino (play-by-play), Xavier Scruggs (analyst), and […]
Teaching With CoChat
CoChat is an AI-powered tool that provides educators, students, and researchers with a host of capabilities when it comes to conducting research.
While there are other AI research tools, a common problem is citation hallucination. CoChat is designed to cut back on those hallucinations, and that feature is definitely a plus in my experience with CoChat.
Additionally, CoChat is great for deep research. When I searched topics, I was well-versed in, it brought up papers that had taken me hours and, in some cases, days, to track down on my own the old-fashioned way.
After using it […]
What is NoodleTools And How Can I Use It to Teach?
NoodleTools is a research and citation platform designed to help students manage every stage of the research process, from finding sources to creating accurate bibliographies.
Rather than simply generating citations, the platform encourages students to think critically about the information they’re collecting, organize their ideas, and develop original written work.
Concerns continue to grow around plagiarism, AI-generated assignments, and students’ ability to evaluate trustworthy online information. As such, research skills have become more important than ever. Teachers need tools that don’t just automate academic tasks but actively teach students how to research, analyze, and synthesize information responsibly.
That’s where NoodleTools […]
‘MemoMind One’ Kickstarter Hits $1M, Making a Strong Case for Camera-less Display Glasses
China-based projector manufacturer XGIMI launched a crowdfunding campaign in June for its first smart glasses, MemoMind One, which is banking on consumer interest in display-clad smart glasses that don’t contain cameras. Now the campaign has reached $1 million, giving the segment anther early vote of confidence.
The News
MemoMind One quickly surpassed its lowball fund goal of $80,000 HKD (~$10,000 USD) when the Kickstarter launched on June 28th, going on to secure $500,000 in less than a week after launch. Now the project just topped $1 million with […]
Valve Quietly Lowered ‘Steam Frame Verified’ Badge Requirements for Native VR Games
Valve quietly changed the requirements for games aiming to run natively on Steam Frame, the company’s long-awaited standalone headset.
The News
Valve first announced at Game Developers Conference (GDC) earlier this year that developers would need to hit two specific stats if they hoped to get the coveted ‘Steam Frame Verified’ badge, meaning their game natively runs well on Frame.
Apps needed to hit a minimum of 90 fps, which is higher than Frame’s minimum variable 72Hz refresh rate and a minimum of 30 fps at a resolution of 1,280 […]
Winds Of Change: Launching A Virtual High School, Boosting CTE Pathways, and Supporting Digital Wellbeing
For Melissa McCalla, the winds of Hurricane Harvey did more than cause damage to her school in Pasadena ISD–they blew her into a new chapter of her career.
McCalla had been a teacher, an assistant principal, and finally a principal, when the devastating storm struck Texas in 2017. It flooded homes and shut down her school, but did also have unintended positive consequences.
“It kind of fundamentally changed me as a leader,” McCalla says. “I had an opportunity to really engage with our technology division teams. Eventually I was leading libraries and instructional materials as part of that […]
The State of School Purchasing Report (2026)
Survey Methodology: Online survey conducted with 2,277 US-based education decision-makers within the SmartBrief and Tech & Learning audiences.
The K-12 educational landscape is transforming, and the strategies schools use to acquire resources are evolving rapidly alongside it. Today’s education decision-makers face a unique intersection of challenges: shrinking budgets, persistent staff shortages, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.
The resulting data from our survey paints a clear picture of a market shifting toward year-round agility, localized decision-making, and a strong demand for authentic vendor partnerships.
The Timeline: A Constant Cycle
Historically, education […]
Viture Pro 2 is the Company’s Thinnest & Lightest AR Glasses Yet, Priced at $300
VITURE today launched its latest AR glasses, VITURE Pro 2, which the company calls its thinnest, lightest and most comfortable yet. Alongside it, Viture also unveiled a new, more pocketable USB-C dock which lets you connect to a wider range of devices, such as Nintendo Switch 2.
Viture Pro 2 – $300
Like many of the company’s AR glasses, Viture Pro 2 is mostly meant for traditional gaming and computing, albeit on a virtual screen projected in front of you thanks to its see-through AR birdbath optics.
VR Games Showcase Returns August 13th with Major Flat2VR Studios Reveals & More
VR Games Showcase is turning two years old soon, and this time around VR’s biggest gaming showcase is promising another slate of VR game reveals and updates from this year’s most anticipated titles.
Mark your calendars for August 13th at 11AM PT (local time here) for what VRGS is calling their “biggest show yet,” as VRGS co-founder Jamie Feltham reveals we’ll be getting an eye-full of new reveals and updates from over 25 titles.
Games are said to include new titles from […]
Setting Up Your Google Classroom and Using AI
One of the first steps in starting a new school year is setting up your Google Classroom.
The post Setting Up Your Google Classroom and Using AI appeared first on Teacher Tech with Alice Keeler.
Empowering The Fall Classroom: A Strategic Guide to 6 Essential AI Tools for Educators and Students
As the academic year approaches, the integration of artificial intelligence into educational settings has shifted from a novelty or optional consideration to more of a necessity.
This summer as I engaged with my students, I had them each evaluate 10 to 12 generative AI tools of their choice. This summary is based on analysis of their notes from recent explorations and highlights a core group of “top-tier” tools that provide substantial value for both instructional efficiency and student success.
By focusing on tools that prioritize research synthesis, administrative logic, and visual communication, teachers and students can navigate the […]
‘URXR One’ Mixed Reality Glasses Kickstarter Passes $500K in First 24 Hours
Unseen Reality’s crowdfunding campaign for URXR One surpassed $500,000 within 24 hours of launch yesterday, showing clear demand for the company’s first slim and light mixed reality glasses.
URXR One was only asking for $50,000 as its initial funding goal when it launched yesterday—admittedly low for an XR hardware project—although it handily blew past in the opening minutes of the crowdfunding campaign. Now, just 24 hours later, and URXR One has garnered over $590,000 with 44 days to go in the campaign.
What Is Dabble And Why Is It Helpful to Teachers?
Dabble is a writing tool and word processor designed to help novelists and writers of any long or scholarly work stay organized and focused.
I’ve been using Dabble to write a nonfiction book for more than a month and have been impressed with its ease of use and the way it allows me to jump back and forth between various chapters and stay organized with research. I’ll be recommending it to my master’s writing students going forward, and would also recommend it to educators undertaking long writing projects of any kind, from a thesis for a master’s program to […]
Beyond Frames Sells Off Publishing Rights to Popular VR Shooter ‘Ghosts of Tabor’ in $1M Deal
Beyond Frames Entertainment is the main publisher behind many of Combat Waffle Studios’ VR titles, including Ghosts of Tabor (2024), Silent North (2025), and GRIM (2025). Now the VR games publisher announced it’s selling off publishing rights of all three titles for a total of $1 million.
The company’s press statement doesn’t specify the games’ new publisher, which isn’t a legal requirement in the EU. It does however note the purchase price for all three titles will be paid in annual installments leading up to Q1 2029, with the […]
Apple is Reportedly Eyeing Fitness as the Killer App for Future Smart Glasses
While Apple’s first-gen smart glasses aren’t expected to include fitness tracking, although a recent report suggests the company ultimately hopes to put fitness at the center of its next big product segment.
The News
According to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is working to turn its future smart glasses and XR headsets into health and fitness devices.
As noted by Gurman, Apple initially hoped to include fitness tech in Vision Pro, which could have seen Apple Fitness+ run on the headset so users could work out while […]
4 Times Not To Use AI as a Teacher or Student
Even the most ardent AI in education enthusiast will admit that there are times when it’s a mistake to use AI. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently.
While I never encouraged my students to use AI in any capacity, there were many uses, such as brainstorming, which I was okay with, in theory. These days, I am less open to this and other uses and more wary of AI in general. I’m not the only one.
We’re currently in the midst of what The New York Times recently referred to as a backlash against […]
‘Great on Frame’ Page Now Boasts 50+ Games & Apps Optimized for Steam Frame
Valve’s ‘Great on Frame’ page highlights games specifically optimized for Steam Frame, and it’s now grown to over 50 titles.
‘Great on Frame’ initially kicked off last month with a half-dozen titles guaranteed to be optimized for Steam Frame, which wasn’t exactly encouraging, although now the curated portal—similar to Great on Deck—features 50+ games and apps.
Notably, a majority of the ‘Great on Frame’ titles are native VR games (as you might expect), although there’s a growing number of flatscreen-only titles that have been recently added too, including […]
Edtech Show & Tell August 2026
Welcome to the August Edtech Show & Tell, in which our editors share some of the new edtech products that have caught our attention this month. These are not reviews or endorsements, but a showcase of education-friendly items, platforms, and more that we think might be noteworthy for you.
This month’s new offerings include new digital curricula, an AI-powered smart pen, an air quality sensor, and much more.
Audiotool | 3.O
A step toward eliminating the bottlenecks musicians face […]