New Meta for Education Offering Brings Quest to the Classroom to Unlock Immersive Experiences

Meta for Education is now widely available, giving educators access to Meta Quest devices using Meta Horizon managed solutions for education. Announced in April 2024, this new educational offering is designed to give educators, trainers, and administrators access to a range of education-specific apps and features, including management of devices, users, and apps. We partnered with over a dozen participating colleges and universities across the US and UK through our beta program, gathering valuable feedback to help inform our approach. Educators in the beta program found that virtual and mixed reality made educational content more memorable for students and helped educators to explain and demonstrate complex concepts.*

“Improving the life chances of children through education has been something I’ve been interested in throughout my career in politics and technology,” says Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs at Meta and former UK Deputy Prime Minister. “Of all the technological advances I’ve witnessed at Meta, immersive technologies like virtual and augmented reality really caught my imagination because of the potential they have to transform the way we learn. My hope is that, through Meta for Education, we can make it easier for students to learn, practice, and apply new skills; feel a sense of presence with teachers and classmates; and visit places or experience things that would otherwise be impossible. Most importantly, I hope it helps teachers do what they do best: teach.”

The Educational Benefits of Virtual and Mixed Reality

Thanks to their immersive nature, virtual and mixed reality can give students hands-on, interactive experiences that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Whether exploring the molecular structure of a chemical compound or getting a front-row seat to epoch-defining historical events, headsets like Meta Quest 3 and 3S open up exciting new possibilities for a truly memorable lesson plan.

Across 83 Inspired Education Group schools already using immersive technology with teens in the classroom, 90% of students reported increased engagement and interest in their lessons, along with a 25% boost in confidence in their knowledge. Additionally, 85% of teachers found virtual and mixed reality to be a valuable tool to enhance their teaching. Students also experienced a 15% improvement in their academic performance on multiple-choice assessments.

What Is Meta for Education?

Built on the successful foundation of our enterprise solution for work, Meta for Education powered by Meta Horizon managed solutions for education is an end-to-end solution for educational institutions to easily adopt VR/MR (and, in the future, other Meta devices) for their use cases. It includes devices and XR management solution subscriptions with education-tailored device capabilities suitable for the classroom and a rich catalog of tools and apps built for admins, educators, and students. It’s designed to give students access to an immersive learning experience that keeps educators in control.

Serving as a platform for interactive and engaging third-party content that makes learning more enjoyable and effective, Meta for Education provides access to a range of subjects including science, history, and language arts. We believe it represents a significant step forward in the use of immersive technology in education, with enormous potential to transform the way people learn and teach.

Working closely with educators, developers, and policymakers is an essential part of our product development process, helping us ensure that this technology can help more students succeed. That’s why we originally launched Meta for Education in beta with over a dozen colleges and universities in the US and UK in order to get feedback and improve the product offering. Participating institutions included Arizona State University, Houston Community College, Imperial College London, Miami Dade College, Morehouse College, New Mexico State University, San Diego State University, Savannah College of Art & Design, The University of Glasgow, University of Iowa, University of Leeds, University of Miami, and University of Michigan.

“We’re not replacing things that we can do in person, like have dialogues and face-to-face interactions, but we’re exploring things like going into outer space and observing the Earth and the phases of the moon from that perspective, or going underwater or across international boundaries, where in some cases students can’t do that for a variety of reasons, including physical accessibility,” says San Diego State University Senior Director of Instructional Technology Dr. Sean Hauze. “We’re empowering students to do things that would be out of reach otherwise.”

We’ve also partnered with VictoryXR to develop over 30 “metaversities” powered by Engage, including some of Europe’s first. These fully digital twin campuses are now available to students at The University of Leeds in the UK, University of the Basque Country in Spain, and University of Hannover in Germany. Mirroring their physical campuses, these digital environments allow students to explore, socialize, and participate in live classes remotely.

“VR in education using Meta headsets is a game changer,” says Inspired Education Group Computer Science Teacher Zeneptha DeCordova. “It has literally changed what the capabilities are within the classroom. ... It’s transforming education as we know it.”