An Emerging Technologies Demonstrator at The Sandwell Colleges was a featured speaker at Meta’s inaugural VR Educators Community Summit hosted at its London headquarters.
Ben Haddock, part of the Fab Lab team, delivered an inspiring lightning talk on their ground-breaking research into smart glasses and education to an audience of top academics and industry figures including former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg, now Meta’s President for Global Affairs.
The event brought together educators and professionals in the field of extended reality (XR) to discuss the current landscape and future prospects of virtual reality (VR) in education and highlight how innovation is shaping the future of learning.
Ben delivered a compelling presentation on how futuristic smart glasses are being used at the College for innovative learner assessments across a wide number of departments, including Professional Studies, Teacher Education, Construction and Automotive.
In 2021, the College’s Fab Lab received a £50,000 grant from the West Midlands Combined Authority to carry out a research project to investigate the use of smart glasses for assessment in further education. The project was led and managed by Debbie Grace from the College’s Teacher Education team.
Last year their work was published in a leading global research journal: “Human Data Interaction, Disadvantage and Skills in the Community” co-authored by a number of prominent university professors, researchers and doctors from around the world.
Sandwell College was the first institution to trial and demonstrate Bodyswaps’ Job Interview Simulator in VR, now utilised by over 250 universities and colleges globally.
Ben says: “Never doubt that a small group of committed people cannot change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
