VR Headsets for 171 (Christchurch) Squadron

Report by:

Sqn Ldr Matt Marshall (RAFAC)

East Dorset Sector & Officer Commander

171 (Christchurch) Squadron

Royal Air Force Air Cadets

We want to thank the Connaught Trust for accepting our Grant and for the funds given to purchase these ClassVR Headsets. These will continue to be used during a variety of sessions VR Headsets for 171 (Christchurch) Squadron

With the introduction of this new state-of-the-art equipment, cadets from Christchurch, 130 (Bournemouth) and 2358 (Ferndown) squadron have enjoyed exploring its potential.

They have learned several subjects including Principles of flight learning about Newtons Law, Space exploration, Simulations of WW2 and Sustainability in nature. The general feedback from cadets have been great with a lot of them seeing the future potential of the kit.

Below are some scores and words from our cadets about the VRHeadsets.

Overall experience 8/10

What did they enjoy the most?

“How easy it was to use”

“Being able to see it in real life”

“The immersion”

“The experience”

All the cadets agreed that the headsets enhance their understanding of the topics covered.

What bits did the cadets find most enjoyable and useful?

“The Videos”

“The immersion during the principles of flight lesson”

“The principles of flight”

“The simulated war videos”

How comfortable were the headsets?

Cadets said the headsets were neither comfortable nor uncomfortable.

All cadets said the headsets were easy to navigate.

All cadets said the headsets should be used more often because...

“Easier to visualise and doesn't have the trippy hard to read writing, like on some of the PowerPoints” “Because it helps some cadets visualise the lesson”

“Its more stimulating than a normal PowerPoint presentation”

All cadets recommended the headsets for use for other cadets:

“Fun, more entertaining and easier to visualise”

“Because of helps you see the lesson and understand it better.”

“It's fun to use something for a practical other than just read off a PowerPoint slide”

“Its a fun and unique way of learning”

In what other subjects or training areas do you think the headsets could be useful?

“Fieldcraft training”

“Flight Simulation”

“Space”

“Flight recognition”

“Drill Moves and on the march change step”

After each session we asked the instructors to also tell us how they found the ClassVR headsets.

Below is a list of questions and a couple of examples from our instructors:

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your overall experience teaching with the ClassVR headsets? Average score was 8

What aspects of using the headsets in your lessons did you find most beneficial?

“Can guide the class where they need to look if there is a point of interest”

“The ability to see on my laptop what everyone is seeing to be able to individually help them”

Did the headset content effectively support your teaching objectives?

Everyone said yes.

Which lesson or activity using the headsets did you find most effective for cadet engagement and learning? "The sessions where you get to move around a explore different areas"

“Principles of flight”

Were there any content gaps or improvements you would suggest for future sessions?

“No, loads of options and content to explore”

How easy was it to set up and operate the headsets for your lessons?

Responses varied between easy and somewhat easy.

Do you think the headsets added value to the cadets' learning experience?

"Yes, get them more engaged rather than sitting in front of a PowerPoint"

“Yes, it allows the cadets to have a more varied experience which i believe assists in their learning”

Would you recommend incorporating the headsets into more lessons?

"Yes, it’s a new and fun way to get the cadets to learn."

“Yes, it is useful to have a virtual model or video applicable to the content of a lesson”

In what other subjects or training areas do you think the headsets could be beneficial?

"You can use them for anything, there are many options of types of lessons."

Do you have any additional feedback or suggestions for improving the use of headsets in training?

"Really good experience, looking forward to using the system again"

As you can see from the answers above from both Instructors and Cadets, there is still plenty of potential in the headsets for future use with a lot of comments on how interesting the Headsets make teaching, as it strays away from PowerPoint lessons. We are now building a package together to start our STEM and Space Syllabus moving forward in the hope of our cadets achieving their STEM Crest award for Discovery and also the Blue Space Badge.