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VR Workshop: Discover, Experience & Share
VR Workshop: Discover, Experience & Share
Content
This activity invites young people and youth workers to discover the limitless possibilities of Virtual Reality together.
Step out of your daily environment and use VR as a tool to strengthen talents, explore new worlds, and connect with each other in a unique way. Whether you are managing the technology, guiding the group, or diving into the virtual depths yourself: together we ensure an inspiring and safe experience where learning and doing are at the heart of everything.
What will you learn in this activity?
Want to step into a different world? In this workshop, you'll not only learn how VR headsets work, but also discover new sides of yourself and the world around you. You'll learn:
- Navigating awesome VR experiences with respect for yourself and others.
- How to connect your experiences from the virtual world to your own talents or the real world.
- Collaborate and communicate in a digital environment.
Get inspired
- Virtual Reality (VR) is much more than just gaming. It's a machine that lets you experience what it's like to be someone else, practice skills for the future, or take you to places you'd normally never go.
- Get in touch: Use Spatial. Meet your friends or colleagues in a 3D world you've created yourself. It's the perfect place to get together, even if you're not in the same location.
- Ontdek Mixed Reality: In First Encounters you watch the digital world enter your own room. Shoot holes in your own walls to capture adorable aliens!
- Experience history: Step into the middle of Martin Luther King's iconic speech MLK: Now is the Time! and experience the power of social justice up close.
For this we use the VR Choice Guide with 22 free experiences. Let us know in advance which VR experiences you're interested in.
Take action: choose your role!
We create a great VR session together. What role will you take on today?
- For the youth worker (The Facilitator): You're the guide. Help the young people choose two or three experiences from the guide that align with today's goal (e.g., Empathy or Collaboration). Ensure physical safety and remind everyone of the "safer space" commitments. After the VR session, lead the discussion at the "discussion table."
- For the younger ones (The Explorer): You are the explorer. Put on your glasses and dive into your chosen experiences. Stick to the agreements, such as the "personal bubble," to ensure it remains enjoyable for everyone. Afterwards, share at the "discussion table" what made the biggest impression on you.
- For the VR Guide (The Technical Expert): You're the team's backup. Your job is to prepare the hardware (the glasses and controllers) and monitor the technology. You'll help set up the safety circles (Guardian) and ensure the batteries are fully charged. If there's a technical glitch, you'll be the one to fix it, ensuring the workshop runs smoothly.
Claim your Open Badge
Completed the workshop? Show us what you've done and claim your badge:
- VR Facilitator Badge: For youth workers who have facilitated a session and conducted the reflective discussion.
- VR Explorer Badge: For young people who participated, respected the rules and shared their experiences at the discussion table.
- VR Tech Support Badge: To the experts who prepared the hardware, set up the safety zones and ensured that everything ran smoothly technically.
What is an Open Badge?
An Open Badge is your personal, digital proof of a skill you've demonstrated in practice. It's much more than just a picture: it's a "smart certificate" that securely stores all the information about your performance.
Why is a badge valuable?
- Visible evidence: It makes skills that you don't see on a diploma — such as VR collaboration, technical support or empathy — official and visible to the outside world.
- Clickable information: Anyone who clicks on your badge can immediately see what you've done, which assignments you've completed, and who has confirmed your skills.
- Your digital portfolio: You store the badge in a personal digital vault. You can add it to your resume, LinkedIn profile, or share it with a future employer or educational institution to demonstrate your true strengths.
In short: With an Open Badge, you can convert your practical experience into recognized and shareable proof of your talent.
Background and origin
This activity and the accompanying toolkit were developed by Dutch Cities of Learning within the framework of the project VR in Cities of Learning.
Why are we doing this? The world of young people is becoming increasingly digital. We believe that technologies like VR are powerful tools for personal growth, empathy, and talent development. By linking these experiences to Open Badges, we make the skills young people and professionals acquire in the virtual world visible and valuable for the real world.
Activity cover © Darlene Alderson
Next steps
- Check the VR Choice Guide: Which of the 22 free apps would you like to try next time?
- Continue talking: Use the insights from the discussion table to see which talents you want to develop further.
- Become a Pro: Help your friends or colleagues who are trying VR for the first time.
Get activity badge
The Facilitator Get this badge
This badge demonstrates your ability to lead a VR workshop from start to finish. You know how to use the technology safely, choose the right apps, and conduct a productive discussion at the "discussion table." In short: you'll deliver a fun and safe experience.
Tasks
Task no.1
Evidence verified by: one activity organiser
What are you going to do?
- Prepare the session: Set up the space safely and choose 2 or 3 apps from the guide together with the group (think ofSpatial, First Encounters of MLK).
- Make appointments: Explain what the 'safer space' promises are and how we respect each other's space.
- Help the group: Guide the young people while they wear the VR glasses.
- Speak to: Lead the conversation at the 'discussion table' about what you have experienced.
What are you giving up? (Choose what suits you)
- Image: A few photos or a short video of the workshop (the setup, the group in action and the discussion table).
- Audio: A short voice memo in which you explain the key moments from the debriefing.
- Text: A short update on how the session went and what the young people thought of it.
Organisers
Cities of Learning Network
Badge issuer recognized with
Awero not-for-profit organisation manages this platform and develops it together with leading educational organisations. The European Union's programme Erasmus+ granted co-funding for building the first version of this platform. Contact support@awero.org.
Platform
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