HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – Alabama A&M University (AAMU) became one of 10 colleges and universities in the country to have the latest technology. Partnered with VictoryXR and its Meta Immersive Learning technology, students are able to walk and learn at the digital twin campus from the comfort of their own home.

Starting this fall, students will be able to take biology lab courses through virtual reality.

Assistant Vice-President for Distance & Continuing Education and Instructional Studies Rhonda Jackson said this program will provide an extensive learning opportunity for students majoring in STEM studies.

“It really transforms the learning experience completely because we’re able to have this immersive hands-on experience that we really cannot duplicate in a traditional online environment,” Jackson explained.

Each student will receive a Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset to use during the course they are taking. It will allow them to walk around campus, walk through doors, pick up books and take notes when needed. Unlike Zoom, the headset allows students and teachers to interact during the virtual meeting.

The headset will alert users if they move out of safe spaces or boundaries they set for themselves when interacting during the course. If at any point they move too close to the edge of their barrier, a grid will pop up on the screen to warn them. If they move outside of that boundary, the headset will actually time out and show them where they are in their workspace.