Irish virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) software firm, Immersive VR Education (IVRE), was announced as the winner of the Best Digital VR/AR Product at last night’s GESS Education Awards in Dubai. The Waterford-based company scooped the prestigious accolade for their work in developing their ENGAGE platform, an online virtual social learning and presentation platform. ENGAGE is a powerful virtual reality collaboration and creation tool, that allows educators and corporate trainers to host meetings, classes, private tutorials, training sessions and presentations with people from all over the world, participating in a safe, virtual, multi-user environment.
The GESS Education Awards are accolades of excellence that highlight and reward the quality and diversity of educational products, resources, services and people, as well as celebrate the best educational establishments and the most dedicated members of the teaching profession.
VR Education beat off stiff competition from hundreds of other award entrants and nominees to take home the prize, which was announced last night at a ceremony at the H Hotel, Dubai. The ceremony was part of the GESS Education Expo and Conference Dubai – a 3-day event which drew over 15,000 of education professionals from 92 countries together to hear inspirational talks and speakers, and take part in dynamic, hands-on workshops from global industry leaders and influential local practitioners.
Speaking of the win David Whelan, CEO and Co-founder of VR Education,
“Huge strides have been made in recent years in education technology and to have our role in this movement recognised by our industry peers and by the people we hope will utilise our creations, is hugely gratifying.
We believe so strongly in the role of VR in education. And we have put so much hard work into bringing our ENGAGE platform to fruition – we have strived to develop a best-in-class product and we see this win as a confirmation of that.
Our ENGAGE platform aims to fully immerse the user into their learning experience, in order to increase learning retention and engagement. It will allow people to receive the best education, from the best educators from around the world, all from the comfort of their own home using virtual reality”.
Picture by Shane O’Neill, SON Photographic
Be ENGAGED
ENGAGE (See Appendix) is an online virtual social learning and presentation platform. It is a powerful virtual reality collaboration and creation tool, that allows educators and corporate trainers to host meetings, classes, private tutorials, training sessions and presentations with people from all over the world, participating in a safe, virtual, multi-user environment.
It is designed to either complement and enhance classroom teaching, or for use in a standalone environment, providing distance learners with access and opportunities to connect at a new level with their fellow students.
The Power of Ed Tech
Mr. Whelan spoke of the exciting future ahead for ed tech,
“Recent studies have shown the use of VR in education has a positive impact on knowledge retention and actually improves the learning experience overall. We are only at the cusp of the ed tech revolution and the possibilities and permutations of how technology can shape the education of future generations is endless. A 2016 report from Goldman Sachs predicts $300 million in revenue for VR/AR educational software in 2020, and that figure is expected to grow to $700 million by 2025.
The developments in automation and innovative technologies within the educational sphere are progressing at a rate of knots and a commonality we find in these advancements is that ed tech has the potential to immerse the student further into the learning experience than ever before – building on and complementing more traditional methods rather than replacing what has gone before.
ENGAGE is the perfect example of this – it has the potential to transform distance learning – taking the conceptual to the practical with the touch of a button.”