Latest education updates from around the world
‘Walkabout Mini Golf’ Gets Wallace & Gromit Course This Week, Trailer Here
Walkabout Mini Golf developer Mighty Coconut announced its long-awaited ‘Wallace & Gromit’ paid DLC course is coming this Thursday.
Starting July 25th you’ll be able to step into the duo’s 62 West Wallaby Street residence where you’ll play through a bevy of ingenious contraptions and “iconic moments from the beloved films.”
Granted, it’s not a 1:1 replica of the original, although you’d be pretty hard-pressed to see where the studio took liberties—outside of looping an entire mini golf course through the Edwardian row house, that is.
“The house is a […]
XR News Bits – New VR Brawler Launches Alongside Big Updates for Existing Games
Brazen Blaze is a unique VR brawler that’s just launched on Quest and PC VR. Meanwhile, Chess Club, Ironlights, and Battle Talent have all gotten exciting updates.
Those of you who have been reading Road to VR for a long time might recall the ‘Oculus Rift News Bits‘ articles we ran more than a decade ago. These were roundups of smaller pieces of news pertaining to the Oculus Rift (as there was little else happening to cover at the time!) that we felt were worth sharing, even if each one individually didn’t need a full article.
Today we’re reviving this idea […]
EdExec Summit: The Networking Event Connecting Industry Executives Serving the Education Market
The annual EdExec Summit from Tech & Learning brings together top executives from the K-12 industry
I Tested Grammarly’s AI Writing Assistant For Teaching. I Love And Hate It
When Grammarly’s AI writing assistant is working it’s great, but when it’s bad, it’s very bad.
Writable: How to Use It to Teach Writing
Writable offers guided learning to free up teacher time for better student engagement in class
‘Metro Awakening’ Interview Reveals New Screenshots, Game Details & Locomotion Options
Metro Awakening is set to launch on all major VR headsets sometime later this year, and while we got a good eye-full in its announcement trailer from January, developer Vertigo Games tells us a bit more what to expect in an interview on the PlayStation blog, including new screenshots, VR implementation details, and a bit about locomotion too.
The game’s standalone story, which has been created in collaboration with the series’ original author Dmitry Glukhovsky, is slated to take place before the events of Metro 2033 (2010).
If you’ve never played or read Glukhovsky’s eponymous novel, Metro 2033 is set […]
Magic Leap Lays Off Sales & Marketing Amid Report of “last ditch” Pivot to License AR Optics
Storied AR headset unicorn Magic Leap has laid off its entire sales and marketing departments, making for around 75 jobs cut from its rolls.
Initially the focus of a Bloomberg report, Magic Leap has now confirmed the layoff round, stating the move was to adjust its strategy moving forward:
“Magic Leap has been evolving our go-to-market approach to better align with market dynamics and emerging opportunities, optimizing how we support our customers and our ecosystem,” Magic Leap told Bloomberg. “As part of this, we have consolidated our frontline engagement to our developer support and care teams. We will continue to […]
‘Disembodied’ is an Inventive Platformer for Quest That’s All About Hand-tracking
Disembodied is a unique platformer coming to Quest that answers the question: how do you build a ‘traditional’ game entirely around hand-tracking?
Retroactively adding hand-tracking to existing games is a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes it works just fine, like in the case of Cubism or Job Simulator, although adapting many games originally built for motion controllers isn’t so straightforward—one of the major reasons (beyond price) why Vision Pro isn’t chock full of immersive games right now.
That’s where Disembodied comes in, featuring a unique style of platforming gameplay that puts it squarely in the camp of ‘hand-tracking native’.
“Just hold […]
Quest Sleeper Hit ‘Yeeps’ Reveals Player Population, Talks Past & Future of the Studio
Yeeps: Hide and Seek is an App Lab sleeper hit that the developers say reached 360,000 monthly-active users, even before its debut on the main Quest store this week. Speaking to Road to VR, the studio shares the impetus of the project and where it’s headed next.
Created by Trass Games, Yeeps: Hide and Seek was developed over an eight-month period, culminating in a Closed Alpha launch in February 2024. The game officially launched on App Lab in March, and just this week launched on the main Quest store.
The development team, consisting of co-founders Jack Southard, Nathan Jew, and […]
High-flying Co-op Adventure ‘Windlands 2’ is Finally Coming to PSVR 2 Next Week
Windlands 2 (2018), the co-op platforming adventure from Psytec Games, is finally making its way to PSVR 2 next week.
Both the original Windlands (2016) and Windlands 2 have been available on the original PSVR for years now, but come July 25th, PSVR 2 players are going to get a chance to step into the high-flying combat platformer.
In addition to its new 90hz native refresh rate, adaptive triggers, and headset haptics, the game is coming as a free upgrade to owners of the PSVR version. Of course, this also includes cross-play with SteamVR, Rift and Meta Quest players.
You might notice that the original […]
What to Know About Buying a VR Headset
By buying a VR headset you could be making learning more immersive and memorable
Apple Unveils New Immersive Video Series and Films Coming to Vision Pro
Apple is launching a new slate of immersive video content for Vision Pro using Apple Immersive Video, a 180-degree video format combining 8K 3D video and spatial audio for immersive experiences.
Premiering on July 18th is Boundless, which features unique travel adventures, starting with a hot air balloon journey over Cappadocia, Türkiye—the episode suitably named ‘Hot Air Balloons’.
In August, Vision Pro users will get to see the next installment of Wild Life, a nature documentary series captured at Kenya’s Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Coming in September is Elevated, which promises aerial views of stunning landscapes, beginning with Hawaii.
Meta Reportedly Targeting Quest 4 Launch in 2026, Vision Pro Competitor in 2027
According to a report from The Information, Meta plans to release its next flagship consumer headset, Quest 4, in 2026. Meanwhile, a Vision Pro competitor—likely Quest Pro 2—is reportedly planned for 2027.
According to The Information’s Wayne Ma and Kalley Huang, Meta is planning two consumer-focused headsets for 2026. Codenamed Pismo Low and Pismo High, these are thought to represent Quest 4 and a more affordable Quest 4S (or whatever naming scheme Meta picks for a more affordable variant). That would be two years after the widely rumored launch of a more affordable ‘Quest 3S’ that’s expected to be revealed in […]
Meta Reportedly in Talks with Ray-Ban Maker to Deepen XR Ties via Minority Stake in Company
Meta is reportedly in talks with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica to take a minority stake in the company. The move is seen as doubling down on a partnership that created the Meta Ray-Ban smartglasses.
The report, which comes from the Wall Street Journal, alleges Meta is currently considering a stake of about 5% of the Italian-French luxury eyewear group.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the report maintains the investment is not an assured deal, however if it goes through, it could be worth €4.33 billion euros ($4.73 billion) based on EssilorLuxottica’s latest market value of €86.50 billion euros.
This […]
‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ Follow-up Coming to Quest This Fall, Trailer Here
Corptopia Studios, developer behind VR puzzle-adventure Down the Rabbit Hole (2020), announced the release of a follow-up title that takes you back to the game’s winding chasm of enigmatic dioramas.
Called Escaping Wonderland, the standalone adventure is said to arrive on Quest 2/3/Pro sometime this Fall.
The studio says the follow-up “isn’t a sequel to Down the Rabbit Hole per se,” calling it a standalone adventure that has some familiar faces alongside a new set of characters to meet and locations to explore.
Here’s how Corptopia describes it:
Tumble topsy-turvy down the rabbit hole into the fantastical frolic of Escaping Wonderland, where whimsy […]
How A Board Game Night For Educators Turned Out To Be The Right Move
The tale of how a small gathering of board game players grew into a pre-ISTELive ritual drawing hundreds of eager conference goers.
Can a data literacy program make science more relatable?
This story originally appeared on MSU’s College of Natural Science site and is reposted with permission.
Key points:
The Data Nuggets program is starting its third round of NSF funding to improve data literacy in K-16 students
Putting the ‘E’ in integrative STEM instruction
5 edtech tools for the statistics teacher (and other teachers, too)
For more on STEM learning, visit eSN’s STEM & STEAM hub
A data literacy program that’s also changing students’ relationships with science and scientists is entering its third round of funding with a new $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
In collaboration […]
Netflix Discontinues Quest App Following Browser Streaming Quality Bump
Netflix has pulled its video streaming app from the Quest content store.
As first reported by UploadVR, the long-neglected Netflix app for Quest is now gone from the store. If you already downloaded the app before then, you’ll find it no longer works.
That doesn’t mean you can’t watch Netflix on Quest though. The streaming giant recently bumped streaming quality in the Quest Browser to 1080p, which comes in stark contrast to the app’s 480p capped resolution, which notably didn’t support mixed reality passthrough or downloads.
Originally released in 2015 for Samsung Gear VR and developed by former Meta CTO […]
Google’s Early VR Modeling Tool ‘Blocks’ is Getting Revived as Open Source Software
Google announced that Blocks, the 3D asset creation tool released for VR in 2017, is following in the footsteps of Tilt Brush by going open source.
Google announced the news in a blogpost, noting that development of Open Blocks is following the example put forth by Open Brush, a version of Google’s Tilt Brush XR creation tool which was open sourced in 2021.
“We now wish to share the code behind Google Blocks, allowing for novel and rich experiences to emerge from the creativity and passion of open source contributors such as the Icosa Foundation,” Google says.
The Icosa Foundation is also known for […]
Gamma: How to Use It to Teach
Use Gamma AI to create presentations, websites, and documents for class very easily and quickly
The Best Prime Day Sales for Quest 2 & Quest 3
It’s Prime Day which means Amazon Prime members get access to exclusive sales through July 17th. Heaps of Quest 2 and Quest 3 accessories are on sale and here you’ll find our top picks.
Quest 3 on Sale During Prime Day
This one is actually just a coincidence rather than an exclusive Prime Day sale (which means anyone can get in on the savings), but still worth highlighting: Quest 3 (128GB) remains on sale for $430, a solid 14% discount over the usual price. The 512GB model is not discounted.
Quest 3 Prime Day Sales
Quest 3 […]
‘Aces of Thunder’ is Shaping Up as One of the Best-looking VR-native Flight Sims, Now Coming to PC VR Too
Aces of Thunder, from the studio behind the well-known flight sim War Thunder, is set to launch in Q4 on PSVR 2. Alongside a new trailer, the studio revealed today that the game is also coming to PC VR.
From the outset, flight sims in VR have been an obvious choice thanks to their emphasis on immersion. And it’s fortunate that some of the biggest names in flight simulation, like Microsoft Flight Simulator, DCS World, and War Thunder have added support for VR headsets.
But in the vast majority of cases, these VR-optional flight sim games don’t support motion controls fully or even partially. […]
AI Is Getting Better At Grading. Should Teachers Use It To Grade?
AI grading tools can now match human accuracy and consistency in certain topics and situations putting the spotlight on the ethics of machine grading.
Bigscreen Beyond’s Long-awaited Audio Strap to Begin Shipping Next Month
Bigscreen announced that Beyond, its slim form factor PC VR headset, is finally getting its long-awaited Audio Strap starting next month.
Bigscreen Beyond initially shipped in late 2023 with promises that an audio headstrap was soon to follow, with the company saying last December that shipping was scheduled to start sometime in March 2024.
Following a number of manufacturing delays, Bigscreen says the first mass production batches will begin quality checks in early August, with global shipping starting sometime in mid-August.
“Based on current preorder volumes, we’ll be able to produce and ship Audio Straps for all orders received […]
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