Virtual Reality in Schools
Climate change has an impact all over the planet - and the oceans are no exception. With the objective of sensitizing children and teenagers about the phenomenon that is ocean acidification, the EDP Institute has created the Virtual Reality in Schools project, an initiative partnered with Stanford University, USA.
Through more dynamic and compelling presentations, this project aims to open horizons in learning through innovating and bringing awareness to younger generations about subjects such as ocean preservation.
Virtual Reality to open horizons
The Virtual Reality in Schools project is developed in collaboration with the investigator Anna Carolina Queiroz, a member of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab, at Stanford University (USA).
It provides a unique experience for the school community through which educational contents explore subjects like CO2 emissions, marine tourism, coral reefs, and inadequate practices of human life on Earth.
Ocean acidification results from the continuous decrease in the ocean’s pH values, caused by the absorption of great amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. This phenomenon happens, mostly, due to fossil fuels burning, used in industrial processes, generating energy, or in transportation, among other human activities.
Consequently, this change in the chemical composition of the water affects marine ecosystems, where bivalves, plankton, and reef corals, are some of the most affected and threatened species. The Virtual Reality in Schools program intends on bringing awareness to children and teenagers about this phenomenon.
EDP in Schools
EDP in Schools program, which includes this project, has the mission to improve the quality of life of both students and teachers. By setting an annual calendar that includes different activities, such as textbook delivery, training teachers, and actions integrated with education, culture, and sustainability.
In 2022, the EDP Institute plans on taking virtual reality to 41 schools supported by the program, in what is already the main project at EDP Institute, the organization that coordinates the socioenvironmental actions from EDP.
