This week, Meta announced a new product release due later this year, ready-to-scale XR headset usage in classrooms and educational spaces.
Meta will soon release a Meta Quest product range that the firm dedicates to education sectors to improve onboarding and understanding of XR across educational professionals.
In a promotional video, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, stated:
We are going to be shipping a new education product for Quest in a few month’s time, which has been designed for and very much designed around the feedback we received from teachers themselves.
Similar to the Meta Meta Quest for Business product model that the firm debuted last year, the education solutions look to empower teachers, trainers and administrators with education-specific XR applications and management features.
New management features mean teachers can simultaneously leverage multiple Quest devices in a classroom.
Moreover, deep device management tools mean that teachers do not need to update devices individually and pre-prepare them manually and separately.
According to the firm, the new Meta Quest for education product will soon help teachers save time and improve student headset onboarding.
The firm has set up the new education product by working with educational clients and developing the product based on feedback.
Clegg explained that Meta’s upcoming product results from “extensive consultation and collaboration with educators, researchers and third-party developers working in the education space around the world.”
The new product aims to make it easier for students to leverage XR solutions to learn, apply and practice new skills.
In his blog post, Clegg also noted that education and training providers represent a “considerable market”, and Meta is witnessing a growing number of developers that are “building and releasing apps aimed at this sector” – with Clegg noting that the is the scope to scale immersive education product at a “much wider scale.”
Meta has not yet confirmed the name of the product. However, Clegg said the name and product features will be revealed in “the coming months.”
When Meta launches the product, the firm plans to make the education product available to its Quest for Business-supported markets and institutions serving learners aged 13+.
Over 2,000 Meta Quest Headsets Deployed in Kentucky Schools
The news comes soon after the Kentucky Department of Education – under the leadership of Dr Shannon Putman, PhD – deployed roughly 2,450 Meta Quest 2 VR headsets across the region’s learning institutions.
The landmark figure marks “the largest school district-led VR deployment in the country,” according to the programme’s MDM solutions provider, ManageXR.
The district decided to use Meta Quest 2 headsets because they are affordable and offer excellent features. Additionally, the district also selected ManageXR to manage the numerous XR devices. ManageXR was chosen because of its experience in the platform and features, such as remote management, update control, and detailed analytics.
The Kentucky Department of Education aims to adopt up to 5,400 headsets following a multiple-phase deployment plan – which started in October last year, with the second phase currently effective.
In the initial phase, the Kentucky Department of Education gained valuable insights and modified its distribution approach to ensure optimal deployment of Quest headsets in educational settings. These learnings were considered during the second phase to scale up the distribution process.
Furthermore, the ongoing second phase involves the Kentucky Department of Education proactively contacting special education groups to ensure they are included in the distribution process.
Meta Quest v64 Update
Moreover, just as Clegg announces a new education-focused product, Meta rolled out version 64 of its Quest 3 headset. The update includes several quality-of-life features and improvements to the device’s passthrough MR features.
The Quest 3 v64 includes passthrough improvements, which enhance graphics, colour, exposure, contrast, and dynamic range. This makes the user experience more immersive and improves spatial awareness.
New passthrough features also allow users to see minor details of their real-world environment, such as a phone notification, which is especially important in enterprise or industrial environments where safety is crucial.
In addition, the update includes the ability to connect external microphones for better audio quality, an improved user experience while lying down, and a continuous casting feature that allows AR/VR/MR content to be streamed when the headset is removed instead of cancelling an application’s operation.
The Meta Quest 3 storefront now includes the Layout application and user interface system, which mirrors the Vision Pro framework. This service allows users to scan their environment and accurately place AR/MR assets that can react to the real world. The service also includes tools to measure an object’s length and height, making the AR/MR assets look more realistic alongside immersive visuals.
Overall, the v64 update, Layout, and passthrough improvements create an optimised user experience.
