BRINGING VR TO THE CLASSROOM ESSER Funding Allows Lauderdale County School District Students to Experience Health Care in a New Way

By Brock Turnipseed

COVID-19 impacted education in ways never faced before. School doors were closed, and students had to learn virtually.

For career and technical education (CTE) students, vital hands-on learning opportunities were disrupted. Even as schools reopened and a return to a “new normal” began, stricter health and safety guidelines began to be implemented, making those on-the-job training opportunities more difficult.

The Lauderdale County School District (LCSD) found a way to bring those career experiences to the students by using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding through the Mississippi Department of Education to purchase virtual reality (VR) headsets that brought career experiences to the students.

“With VR, students can simulate re- al-world scenarios and practice their skills in a safe, controlled environment,” Rob Smith, LCSD CTE director, said.

“They can also receive immediate feedback from their instructors, which can help improve their performance and understanding of the material.”

Heather LaCoste, Ed.D., a student

services coordinator in the LCSD, guided the ESSER fund application process. The application noted research-based data suggesting VR’s ability to engage students of all learning types, decrease learning acquisition time and improve information retention.

LaCoste searched for vendors to help select and program the headsets and train the teachers. She learned Meridian Community College instructor Daniel Ethridge was using VR in his classroom and had launched his own company, VMXO. After going through the vendor selection process, Ethridge was awarded the contract.

“It was really a smooth transition. He’s made himself available to do training just with the health science teachers as well as multiple trainings with all the CTE teachers. He made those trainings as small and convenient as possible,” LaCoste said.

Teachers trained with Ethridge in July and started using the headsets in the fall. VR has enhanced teaching methods and provided additional resources to make learning more engaging for students.

“We have medical mannequins in our lab for simulations, but having VR opens up opportunities for my students to experience simulations they may not have otherwise had,” Jessica Lee, an LCSD health science instructor with more than 20 years in the health care industry, said. “(VR) simulations are much more realistic and interac- tive, allowing students to get a more precise idea of how to effectively and accurately perform a skill before ever having their own patient.”

VR has allowed Lee’s students to study human anatomy in new ways and immerse themselves in realistic training experiences in the classroom. It has reinvigorated the learning process.

“VR gives us hands-on experiences without endangering real-life patients,” Harley White, a Health Science student at Northeast High School (NEHS), said. “It teaches us the skills we need to be better prepared for health careers.”

“Virtual reality makes learning about health care fun and exciting,” NEHS student Christiana real. All I keep thinking about, though, is how much fun it is.”

Students love using the headsets so much that providing equal access has been a welcome challenge for LCSD to navigate. The headsets are housed in a portable case, allowing for easy transport to each of the four high school campuses in different corners of Lauderdale County.

Teachers in the district have seen the benefits of using VR headsets and inquired about how they can use them in their classrooms.

“We didn’t expect the middle schools to start reaching out to us,” LaCoste said. “I had a teacher inquire about using the VR headsets to let her students tour the Anne Frank house.”

LaCoste and her fellow student services coordinators started taking the headsets to the middle schools’ English Language Arts classrooms as a recruiting tool for the CTE programs. With so many students using the headsets, the district learned proper cleaning procedures from a local virologist.

As VR becomes more entrenched in the CTE classroom, it has the potential to reduce operating costs and open the doors for more students to take CTE courses.

“By using VR simulations, schools can reduce the need for expensive equipment and materials, which can make these programs more accessible to students from low-income backgrounds,” Smith said.

And the immersive experiences available through VR will build skills that make the future workforce even stronger.

“Virtual reality will open up endless simulations that will better prepare students for the health care industry of the future,” Lee said.