Immersive technology can take you to the moon and back

In the past year classes at James Passmore’s school have visited the Arctic, the beach, outer space and a tropical forest. The impact on the school’s SATs results, he says, has been dramatic...

The children walked expectantly over frosted grass. It was early morning and what light there was slipped through the tall pines separating the farmer’s field from the road. Far ahead, a huge expanse of multi-coloured fabric could be seen blanketing the ground. Excited whispers and anxious glances passed between the group in anticipation of what was to come.

The children jumped in unison at the sound of gas igniting and the fabric slowly began to inflate. As they drew closer, a wicker basket came into view and, moments later, they could make out several guy ropes stretched taught and pegged into the soil. The day had come; they were going to ride in a hot air balloon.

The sides of the basket were higher than the children had imagined, and climbing over the red-rimmed handrail was not easy, but once they were inside, the rising flames provided a welcome source of heat. With everyone aboard, an apprehensive volunteer leant over the rail to cut the ropes and up they went, passing the tree line to rise above a nearby village. Peering down they spotted their houses and marvelled at how small cars, gardens and roads looked from their unique perspective. Perhaps for the first time they noticed just how green and pleasant the countryside can be.

The children’s first hot air balloon ride was truly magical – a bonding experience that would forever remain a talking point. Looking back on the day, they would describe every detail, recalling their thoughts and feelings – the stimulation of their senses. At least they would have if any of this had actually happened…

Not a single child in Year 6 had ever been ballooning, but they were tasked with writing a high-quality diary entry about taking to the skies – quite a challenge, as anyone who has tried to write passionately about something they haven’t experienced will know. And yet, the children all wrote atmospheric accounts bursting with detail.

If you’re wondering how we achieved this, no – we didn’t blow our annual budget on psychotropic substances. Instead, we took pupils on a virtual ride, using our immersive technology room.

We had the equipment installed last year: twin projectors that display a wall-sized image, together with sound and lighting systems – all of which are controlled by a software package that can be used to create sensory journeys to places of awe and wonder. We can go wherever and do whatever we want. A journey into space? No problem. A ride in a hot air balloon? Up we go!

When I first taught a session to teachers to show them how the immersive room could be used, I took them into a magical forest. Green light filled the room, birds sang, the wind blew and a crowd of closely packed trees stood before them. As they took in the sight and sounds, I began to ask questions and encourage descriptive answers: “What can you see?”, “What can you hear?”, “What does the bark of the tree feel like?” The teachers knew they weren’t in the forest, but their senses told them they were – one was absolutely convinced he could smell pine.

I’m not saying that a virtual experience is any substitute for the real thing, but launching an expedition to the North Pole isn’t always practical. You don’t necessarily need a dedicated immersive room, either. A similar effect could be produced using an interactive whiteboard, speakers, blinds on the windows and lamps with coloured bulbs.

Motivation to write is much higher when using the immersive room. We make a deliberate effort to use all our senses, hold paired discussions and share exciting sentences, thinking about how each can be extended and developed. The children then use clipboards or mini-whiteboards to record their ideas at every stage of the writing and editing process.

Just getting to the room can be an event in itself – I recently saw a class crawling down a World War 2 trench (the corridor) with sounds and images of the Blitz exploding out of the immersive room. Once back in the classroom, children are challenged to transfer what they have seen, heard and felt into high-quality writing.

At our school the impact on writing has been incredible – last year, for the first time ever, our SATs results for writing exceeded our reading results.

About the author

James Passmore is the ICT Manager at Corsham Primary School, the Teaching Schools Co-ordinator for the Pickwick Learning Teaching Schools Alliance and Director of Gecko Learning (geckolearning.co.uk).