Half-Life: Alyx Helped Teachers Hold VR Lessons During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Half-Life: Alyx has proven to be an unexpectedly useful tool for teachers. A Polish high school called Szkoła 33 decided to use Valve’s latest game for their lessons.

After five days of virtual lessons due to the coronavirus pandemic, teachers began to experiment with new formats and try different teaching methods.

With the help of a local firm OFFshot, they conducted six VR classes on different subjects within Half-Life: Alyx.

In the game, they actively used pens and whiteboards instead of a classic blackboard. Among the subjects taught were math, science, and languages. In reality, the teachers were inside an empty classroom with a VR helmet and other accessories.

According to the teachers, such lessons became very popular among the children, who closely followed what was happening with the help of Facebook. The organizers hope that it will be possible to turn this experience into a permanent practice in the future, as the technology allows access to more opportunities.

“We hope to be back at school in September, and if it all works out, we plan to have regular classes, at school, using the VR technology,” Katarzyna Sut, one of the teachers and a webpage administrator, told UploadVR.