South Central Los Angeles is an area tainted with a troubled image. Both Hollywood and true crime thrillers have made sure of that.
Carlos Oyarbide, who teaches English Language Development in South Central LA, is all too familiar with his reputation as a regular visitor.
“The violent stereotype is true, but I chose to teach there. It’s a center for immigrants with a great sense of loyalty and community. And this community has an entrepreneurial spirit.”
This spirit was used at Mr. Oyarbide’s school, the Nava College Preparatory Academy. The school was the experimental site for a program that would use the metaverse to teach English to students with limited language skills.
The term metaverse is used to describe a set of virtual reality worlds that can be accessed through a browser or virtual reality (VR) headset.
The idea behind the program is to use the power of VR technology to bypass traditional teaching methods and immerse students in a world of possibilities in a virtual universe.
The idea that VR can be used to enhance learning is not new. A 2020 study by consulting firm PwC found that using VR enabled students to learn up to four times faster than in a traditional classroom environment.
However, the falling price of VR headsets has made them a more affordable teaching tool.
For Mr. Oyarbide, the possibility of heightened concentration among his easily distracted students was very appealing.
“I’ve been teaching for 12 years. If kids can figure out one thing, it’s how not to pay attention! I wanted to try something different, study normally from books for an hour and then switch to VR.”
In doing so, he discovered that a VR environment swept away the inhibitions of many of his students who were struggling to learn a new language.
He says the technology has helped them practice their language skills without embarrassment.
Typical assignments for his students in the VR classroom included building a store and mastering the English language required for signage and advertising.
Students typically used the VR equipment for two or three hours a week.
“They can feel intimidated when they speak English, but when it’s just them and a VR avatar, it’s completely different.”
Despite the positive impact VR has had on his teaching methods, Mr. Oyarbide is no naïve convert to the avalanche of Metaverse hype epitomized by Facebook’s rebranding as Meta.
He says a traditional classroom still has great benefits.
“The old approach of teaching through books is not going away. And you won’t be wearing a headset four hours a day. But it allows you to cut down on teacher talk and create a tangible space for a student’s confidence to grow. “
Meanwhile, Marco Vargas’ parents relocated to Los Angeles from Guatemala.
“I’m a first-generation jack of all trades — a first-generation American and a first-generation high school grad. In high school, I learned how to navigate the educational system and how to use resources myself.”
As part of the first cohort to go through Nava, he missed the more modern VR headsets that are now in use.
Instead, Mr. Vargas had a slimmed down VR experience, using a cardboard viewer connected to a smartphone and Google software.
Despite this, he says his high school’s turn to technology was important to his own academic development.
The immersive aspect of VR learning appeals to him, but he can also criticize his younger generation for taking technology for granted after having it available for so long.
“Yes, we are digital natives, but we lack discipline. We become victims of distractions.”
Proving he can conquer any distraction, Marco won a Fulbright scholarship to study at Dartmouth, a prestigious Ivy League university.
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Today he works for Exponential Destiny, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing new technologies to students in schools in disadvantaged communities. It was Exponential Destiny that provided the VR headsets to Nava College.
Marcus Schindeln manages the company. He was a high-flying management consultant in top companies, where he demonstrated new technologies to company leaders and enjoyed differentiating himself from his students.
“I’m a rich white man,” he says.
Now he’s helping find pathways into technology for teenagers who previously never thought such a career could be possible for them.
“It’s clear that the internet is evolving, so let’s take the time students have invested in mastering platforms like TikTok and show them that creating products in the metaverse doesn’t require hard coding.”
He says the falling price of VR headsets is an opportunity to make the technology more accessible.
This approach to embedding metaverse technologies in the classroom attracts students who don’t see themselves as tech-savvy.
Many of the students who have gone through Exponential Destiny are hired to help out at other schools and expand the program.
One of them is Samantha Aguilar Araujo, the daughter of Salvadoran parents and the first in her family to attend high school.
“I didn’t consider myself a technician, I’m definitely more on the creative side, but I heard about a new class and checked them out to see what they’re like.”
She was excited by a virtual approach to creating computer programs that bypasses traditional coding techniques that alienate many of those who are not technologically savvy.
“I used my avatar’s virtual hands to manipulate and create the environment.”
Powered by artificial intelligence, this VR method is often referred to as “no-code coding,” eliminating the need for complicated computer code.
More students in the US and abroad are likely to see these VR techniques in the coming months.
Exponential Destiny currently has projects in four schools, with plans to roll out the system to two more in the US and four schools outside of the US.
Back at Nava College, a former student, Juan Felix, has returned to guide a class of 18 students with limited English through the technology maze.
His students discover paths to study or a job in a VR world in which they can combine the elements of a cover letter and an application form.
“It’s crazy. They don’t speak English as their first language and had never been exposed to the technology before, but despite these obstacles they are learning very quickly,” he says.
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