Is Virtual Reality...Equity?

We're talking today about the bold risks that innovators in K12 education choose to make toward the goal of educational equity - this time a project from a company called Prisms VR using the tech of virtual reality to make algebra the experience it should be for learners, who when engaging with it through the right context might actually have good cause to consider themselves "math people" in a system that too often inadvertently fosters the math caste system of those who "get it" and those who don't. 

Dr. Luvelle Brown

Superintendent of Schools, Ithaca, NY

Luvelle Brown is an experienced educator who has held positions as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, school CIO, and Superintendent of Schools. Currently, Dr. Brown is serving as the Superintendent of the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) in Ithaca, New York. During his tenure in Ithaca, the Ithaca City School District has experienced unprecedented levels of success.

Dr. Brown has facilitated conversations in multiple communities that have resulted in transformative shifts in culture and achievement. Using systems thinking in schools, Dr. Brown’s leadership has led to innovative programs, redesigned learning spaces, numerous technology initiatives.

Anurupa Ganguly

Founder and CEO, Prisms VR

Anurupa's entry point to Education began as a Physics and Math teacher in the Boston Public Schools. For 10+ years since then, Anurupa has led STEM curriculum and teacher preparation across the largest educational systems in the US including the NYC DOE, Boston Public Schools and Success Academy Charter Schools. Through her experience as a district and charter administrator, she found that she did not have the learning tools to deliver the outcomes her leaders and teachers were accountable for, and the personal sense-making journeys that students deserve while developing foundational mathematical reasoning & proficiencies.

She was awarded a National Science Foundation SBIR grant to build a scalable learning platform that actualizes pedagogies that we know work best, but weren't possible until recent advances in IVR and AI technologies. Her mission is to rapidly improve student performance and  engagement in the mathematical sciences while crafting the instructor aids and training required to operationalize innovative technologies in the classroom. Anurupa holds a BS & M.Eng in electrical engineering from MIT and an EdM in Curriculum & Teaching from Boston University.

Thumbnail image by https://unsplash.com/@shaikhulud

Links from this show:

PrismsVR Home: https://www.prismsvr.com/

Luvelle Brown: https://luvellebrown.com/

Ithaca City School District: https://www.ithacacityschools.org/

Announcements from PrismsVR: https://www.prismsvr.com/blog

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