A Push for Virtual Reality Kits in All Robbinsdale Schools

The Seven Dreams Foundation hopes to raise $50,000 and purchase virtual reality kits for every school in the district. Media specialists put together the proposal. They say virtual reality is a great way for students to learn.  Currently the district has one virtual reality kit shared between schools. The upcoming Bird Bash on Feb. 9 will be a fundraiser for this effort.

Virtual Reality at Lakeview Elementary

Lakeview Elementary teacher Arden Leali-Broberg believes virtual reality is a cutting edge way for students to learn. During our visit, Leali-Broberg and her fourth-grade kids used virtual reality to learn about water in all forms.

“Today we’re going to be talking about the hydrosphere,” Leali-Broberg told the class. “So that includes frozen water like snow. Liquid water like rain. Gas water like in clouds.”

When the students put on their virtual reality headsets, they step out of the classroom and into a virtual world of education.

“You can see they get really into it,” Leali-Broberg said. “They’re exploring. How many other ways can you take kids under the ocean?”

“I see rain clouds, thunder clouds and then I see clothes,” said one student. “Then I see the sun, then I see the rain drops.”

“There’s no comparison,” Leali-Broberg said. “Even if I showed these exact same pictures on the projector, there’s no comparison to having it all around you and having your movements react to the picture.”

Push for More Kits

Currently there is just one kit for the entire Robbinsdale School District and it rotates from school to school. But the Seven Dreams Foundation hopes to provide more. It plans to raise $50,000 to get kits for every school in the district.

“In fact the proposal was put together by all the media specialists in our district,” said Diane Dickmeyer from the Seven Dreams Foundation. “They’re very excited.”

The Seven Dreams Foundation has a fundraiser called the Bird Bash. It takes place at the Northwest Marriott on Saturday, Feb. 9. Tickets are currently on sale.