The 5G project targets closing the opportunity gap in STEM education by enabling accessible, interactive math and science lessons
T-Mobile US announced a partnership with virtual reality (VR) learning platform Prisms VR to support school districts across the U.S. as they implement VR education tools in their classrooms. Select school districts will have access to Prisms VR’s learning programs on Meta Quest 2 VR headsets that are connected to T-Mobile 5G. The project specifically targets closing the opportunity gap in STEM by enabling accessible and interactive math and science lessons.
Prisms VR is a graduate from the T-Mobile Accelerator program. In Michigan, the Lenawee Intermediary School District (LISD) is going to run Prisms VR’s learning programs on the T-Mobile 5G network across 11 rural school districts. While the VR program has been deployment at LISD since 2022 and the district reported improved lesson engagement and retention, reliable connectivity remained an obstacle.
“A major roadblock our teachers have in implementing new technologies like Prisms VR is often due to unreliable network connections,” explained Ann Smart, educational technology consultant at Lenawee Intermediary School District. “Prisms VR came to us with the recommendation to use T-Mobile 5G paired with their learning programs, which we’ve been able to easily adopt use at over 15 schools in rural Michigan, with outstanding responses from students and teachers.”
According to T-Mobile US, schools with to poor and unreliable network connections — which are often those in rural areas — stand to miss out on the learning opportunities presented by VR tools. Its collaboration with Prism VR, said the carrier, creates opportunities for these schools by enabling them to easily connect with the latest technologies using 5G.
While the program with LISD is the first that transfers and shares headsets across such a wide area, the companies shared that Prisms VR is already in use across 28 states and regularly leverages T-Mobile 5G in schools that require the additional network capabilities.
“Our work with Prisms VR is just another example of our goal to bring 5G innovation to everyone,” said John Saw, EVP, Advanced & Emerging Technologies, T-Mobile. “From major cities to small town America, our 5G network is inspiring and creating opportunities for students to connect with the world around them like never before.”
