Latest education updates from around the world

Netflix is Selling the ‘3 Body Problem’ Headset, But Sadly It’s Just a Prop

By |April 5, 2024|

Netflix is selling the headset featured in its latest TV series 3 Body Problem, which heavily features characters accessing a shared virtual reality. Unfortunately, it’s just a prop—but it’s actually pretty cool as far as nonfunctional collectibles go.

Sold direct from Netflix for $110, it’s pretty clear from the price alone that the 3 Body Problem headset is just a high quality model, although it’s actually a little bit more than just a piece of plastic you can wear on your head.

The model’s polycarbonate is finished in silver chrome, letting you actually wear it and see the […]

Vision Pro is Hands-down the Best Movie Experience You Can Have on a Plane

By |April 5, 2024|

After an eight hour flight, I can say that Apple has largely nailed the Vision Pro use-case of movie watching on a plane. But a few key improvements stand to make it more widely appealing.

Nobody looks forward to an eight hour flight. Whether it’s sleeping or reading or working, people want a way to pass the time and distract themselves from the noisy cabin, turbulence, and the general feeling of being packed into a metal tube like sardines.

The seat-back screen—with its selection of movies and TV shows—offers minor refuge from this chaotic environment.

I’m someone who really appreciates ‘cinematic […]

‘Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice’ Studio Has No Plans to Support VR for Upcoming Sequel

By |April 5, 2024|

Ninja Theory, the studio behind award-winning VR-supported game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (2017), says there are currently no plans to bring its upcoming sequel to VR.

Unlike the first game, which brought PC VR support in a free update in 2018, it doesn’t appear we should hold out hope for a similar release for the upcoming sequel Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.

According to a PCGamesN interview with Ninja Theory, studio head Dom Matthews was asked directly if such a VR update was in the cards, which was met with an unambiguous “no.”

Coming to PC and Xbox consoles on May 21st, Senua’s […]

‘Silent Slayer’ Preview – Dr. Van Helsing’s Deadly Game of Operation

By |April 5, 2024|

I went hands-on with Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire, an upcoming horror-puzzle for Quest from Schell Games that tasks you with defusing various arcane traps protecting a coven of sleeping vampires. Much like the studio’s pioneering VR puzzle franchise I Expect You to Die, any false move means certain death, but you’ll need to think twice before fumbling your trusty vampire-busting tools since there’s always a jump scare waiting for you on the other side of inevitable failure.

In my preview of Silent Slayer, I got a chance to play through the first three levels of the game, which are basically tutorials […]

Classic RTS ‘Homeworld’ is Getting a Brand New VR Game for Quest Soon

By |April 4, 2024|

FarBridge, the studio behind the classic real-time strategy franchise Homeworld, announced it’s releasing an all-new VR game for Quest, putting players in its iconic 3D space battles.

The studio, which is working with Borderlands studio Gearbox, says Homeworld: Vast Reaches is an entirely new game (re: not a port or remaster) which has been designed from the ground up for VR in terms of controls, play-style, and optional mixed reality mode.

Here’s how FarBridge describes it:

Experience this strategy space game through a new perspective — get up close and personal to epic space battles, commanding your ships in real-time […]

Warner Bros Announces New ‘Matrix’ Movie Directed by ‘The Martian’ Screenwriter Drew Goddard

By |April 4, 2024|

Warner Bros. announced that The Matrix, one of the biggest film franchises to popularize virtual reality, is getting a fifth installment.

The film, which doesn’t have a release date yet, is set to be directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Drew Goddard, who is also known for writing the screenplay for The Martian (2015) and co-writing and directing The Cabin in the Woods.

“Drew came to Warner Bros. with a new idea that we all believe would be an incredible way to continue the ‘Matrix’ world, by both honoring what Lana and Lilly began over 25-years ago and offering a unique perspective […]

Black students need more STEM career exposure

By |April 4, 2024|

Key points:

Historically, there has been limited Black representation in STEM-related fields

DEI in action: eSN Innovation Roundtable

Navigating cultural diversity in American education

For more news on equity in STEM, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub

Black students across the nation possess the aptitudes for in-demand STEM careers, but lack interest in pursuing them, indicating that a significant career exposure gap exists, likely due to underrepresentation in STEM careers. 

The information comes from the 2024 Black Students and STEM Report from YouScience, a technology provider dedicated to solving the skills gap crisis for students and […]

Building An AI-Friendly Infrastructure in Schools

By |April 4, 2024|

While AI itself gets all the headlines, it’s important to never underestimate the infrastructure building blocks that will set you up for success

Meta Now Requires Mandatory Age Confirmation on Quest Headsets

By |April 3, 2024|

Meta announced it’s adding an obligatory age confirmation feature on the Quest platform, which in addition to asking you for your real birthday, could also put up a hard barrier on younger users accessing apps that aren’t age appropriate.

Within the next few days users will be prompted in-headset to confirm their age by re-entering their birthdate, which essentially divides users according to three specific age groups: adults, teens and preteens.

Here’s what those tiers mean:

Adults (18+): Choose between private or public profiles, control visibility of activity, and manage follower interactions.
Teens (13-17): Default to private profiles, with teens having […]

What Model CTE Looks Like in The Age of AI

By |April 3, 2024|

CTE educators should embrace AI as well as virtual reality as they help their students develop practical skills.

VR’s Best (or possibly worst) April Fool’s Day Jokes This Year

By |April 2, 2024|

April Fool’s Day is more than just a time to pull harmless pranks. It’s also about putting on your ‘skeptic hat’ and really asking whether you can believe your eyes, as trusted companies and key figures in XR dropped a few doozies yesterday that are so great they’re terrible.

‘Virtual Boy Pro’ MR Headset

Nintendo actually teamed up with IGN to poke some serious fun at the biggest XR companies out there—but also apparently anyone who wanted the Japanese gaming giant to poke their heads back into the medium since it last released its Nintendo Labo VR kit in 2019, which […]

Hands-on: Apple Upgrades Personas for True Face-to-face Chats on Vision Pro

By |April 2, 2024|

Apple today released ‘Spatial Personas’ in public beta on Vision Pro. The newly upgraded avatar system can now bring people right into your room. We got an early look.

Much has been said about Apple’s Persona avatar system for Vision Pro. Whether you find them uncanney or passable, one thing is certain: it’s the most photorealistic real-time avatar system built into any headset available today. And now Personas is getting upgraded with ‘Spatial Personas’.

But weren’t Personas already ‘spatial’? Let me explain.

Sorta Spatial

At launch the Persona system allowed users to scan their faces into the headset to create a digital […]

How Sal Khan Uses AI To Teach

By |April 1, 2024|

Sal Khan has embraced AI to help support Khan Academy, but he also uses it in his own teaching practice.

Edtech Show & Tell: April 2024

By |April 1, 2024|

New edtech products that have caught our attention this month

City Builder ‘Tropico’ Comes to Quest, Letting You Become El Presidente of Your Own Banana Republic

By |March 29, 2024|

Your banana republic awaits, as the popular single-player city builder Tropico is now available on Quest.

Developers Feral Interactive and Kalypso Media Digital released Tropico on Quest, bringing Tropico 4 (2011) to VR for the first time in a direct port.

If you’ve never played the Tropico series, the classic city builder lets you take on the role of El Presidente, where you’re given the reigns of your own island-based nation, letting you transform the tropical paradise into an industrial powerhouse, a tourist playground and a budding superpower.

The VR adaptation includes everything from the original, including over 40 missions and an endlessly replayable Sandbox […]

Meta is Discontinuing Quest 1 Support for New Apps Starting Next Month

By |March 29, 2024|

Meta announced last year it was sunsetting the original Quest, which was first released in 2019. While many developers of new apps have since stopped including the nearly five year-old headset as a supported device, now the company says it’s taking choice out of the equation, as no new apps will be able to offer support for Quest 1 starting on April 30th.

The company announced the news in an email to developers, seen below:

Notice to Quest 1 Developers

As we announced last year, we are implementing important changes to Quest 1. Beginning on […]

Vision Pro and Quest 3 Hand-tracking Latency Compared

By |March 29, 2024|

Vision Pro is built entirely around hand-tracking while Quest 3 uses controllers first and foremost, but also supports hand-tracking as an alternate option for some content. But which has better hand-tracking? You might be surprised at the answer.

Vision Pro Hand-tracking Latency

With no support for motion controllers, Vision Pro’s only motion-based input is hand-tracking. The core input system combines hands with eyes to control the entire interface.

Prior to the launch of the headset we spotted some footage that allowed us to gauge the hand-tracking latency between 100-200ms, but that’s a pretty big window. Now we’ve run our own […]

Meta is Removing a Host of Features from ‘Workrooms’, Requiring Users to Download Files Before June

By |March 29, 2024|

Meta announced it’s pushing a major change to Workrooms, its virtual collaboration space that connects both VR and video chat users. The overhaul is set to improve, but also remove a slate of features, so Meta is suggesting active users download important data before the update’s May 30th rollout.

Launched in 2021, Workrooms was designed to be a fully-functional virtual meeting space that leveraged a companion app for both PC or Mac, letting you stream your computer’s desktop and see your real keyboard via a small passthrough window in addition to chatting with users both in VR […]

‘MLB Home Run Derby’ Swings for the Fences on Main Quest Store After Long Stint on App Lab

By |March 28, 2024|

Major League Baseball’s batting simulator MLB Home Run Derby VR (2018) has left App Lab and is now available on the main Quest Store, which also comes alongside a few updates to the game.

Previously launched on PC VR in 2018 and on Quest via App Lab in 2021, MLB Home Run Derby VR lets you swing for the fences from the batter’s box of all 30 MLB ballparks.

Here’s how the MLB describes it:

Utilizing advanced motion controls and realistic batting mechanics, players will feel the rush of every swing as if they’re really at the ballpark. Whether you are a seasoned baseball aficionado […]

Psychological Horror Game ‘MADiSON VR’ Delayed by “a few weeks” on PSVR 2 & PC VR

By |March 28, 2024|

Previously launched on consoles and PC in 2022, the VR version of psychological horror game MADiSON was set to launch this month on PSVR 2 and SteamVR headsets. Now, just a day before its planned launch, the studio says it’s being delayed by “a few weeks” to allow the team to hit a higher framerate.

Perp Games and developer Bloodious Games announced the delay in a blogpost, noting that Unity’s recently released SDK would allow the team to hit 90Hz natively on PSVR 2 instead of the planned 60/120Hz interpolation mode.

“Our ambition is to create a realistic and […]