The 4.0 School at Collegio Sant’Ignazio in Messina

The digital revolution has begun. Collegio Sant’Ignazio in Messina is embracing the 4.0 education model through the experimental introduction of ClassVR’s StandalOne VR headsets in the newly established Scientific High School with a Biomedical focus. These headsets feature a unique interface for students, incorporating VR and AR resources along with controls for teachers.
This innovative teaching approach places a strong emphasis on the ever-growing need to stimulate learning in a world where the real and virtual increasingly converge. The new generations are digital natives, perceiving technology as part of their daily lives. For this reason, Director Dr. Gianluca Busacca, General Director Prof. Maria Muscherà, and Sector Coordinator Prof. Giuseppe Formica deemed it necessary for the school to keep pace with the times and integrate the use and teaching of augmented reality into the curriculum. Only in this way can the potential of technology be fully leveraged while simultaneously educating our students in critical thinking, highlighting the risks and limits of virtual life.
On a typical school day, students enter the classroom, take their seats, arrange their backpacks, and then, comfortably seated, don their virtual reality headsets. This “immersive” technology, facilitated by a dedicated headset, allows individuals to immerse themselves seamlessly in a perfectly simulated three-dimensional and 360° environment, engaging not only sight but also hearing and proprioception. These tools can sense our movements, recreating the scene as if we were in the natural world: raising an arm in the external world corresponds to the virtual recreation of the same action in the simulation, creating a convincing illusion of being physically present despite the awareness of wearing a headset.
Unlike augmented reality, which merely appears as an overlay, clearly distinguishable from the surroundings, VR enables total immersion in the scene, making it challenging to discern what is real from what has been recreated. Wearing headsets in the classroom to witness the appearance of a cell, molecule, or planet on the desk, simulate various experiments, and handle hazardous materials safely are just a few activities made possible by virtual reality. These experiences enhance learning by allowing students to “touch and see” objects that would normally be impossible. Finding oneself inside a pyramid or the chimney of a volcano, swimming with sharks, and walking in the heart of the Amazon forest are just some of the activities already undertaken by high school students, actively integrating themes covered in traditional classroom settings. Virtual reality and augmented reality are revolutionary technologies that can transform, enhance, and enrich education, providing tangible support to students with learning disabilities (DSA), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and special educational needs (BES), improving their social interaction and autonomy.
Prof. Roberta Caruso
Communication Coordinator, Collegio Sant’Ignazio
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