KALISPELL — The Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) Library in Kalispell is offering a new series of free classes this summer focusing on the world of virtual reality and media creation.
“We think of VR, and we think of just fun games, and we’re here to let people know that there is some really cool innovation that’s happening on the education front,” said FVCC Director of Library Services Morgan Ray.
The relationship between technology and education is on full display this summer at Flathead Valley Community College.
Learn about what's going on at FVCC this summer:
“Libraries are really good at bringing in different resources to make sure that we have a well-informed community,” said Ray.
Ray said the college has launched a free Virtual Reality and Recording Studio Workshop Series to help build media creation in the Flathead.
“So not just books but having the technology, the 3D printers, the podcasting, the recording studio, VR, to make sure that students are getting a well-rounded experience here.”
Each week features a new topic or activity, like virtual reality games and educational apps.
“We kind of Magic School Bus ourselves into the human body in some apps, so we have anatomy and physiology apps, we have one that we will do a run through today, where you can see different stages or progressions of a disease and what that treatment might look like,” said Ray.
Ray said the Virtual Reality opportunities vary depending on comfort and skill level.
“We have walk-throughs of Anne Frank’s House, we have the National Geographic apps that are phenomenal, we’ve got some Astronomy and then we do have games, students definitely take some study breaks in there as well.”
The weekly workshops are free and open to the public thanks to a partnership with the Montana Campus Network for Civic Engagement and AmeriCorps.
“You don’t have to be a student to come attend, and so they are free for you, they are here to make sure that if you don’t have that exposure to that type of material, that you can come in and have that same experience as our students do.”
More information on workshop schedules and how to sign up can be found here.
Workshops are open to the public, with age recommendations varying by session. Ages 13+ and all adults welcome, and anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
