At Changefied, we believe in learning through experience. With our Virtual Reality training courses, we help children and adults gain new experiences in a safe, realistic environment. One of these courses is Virtual OV, through which students learn in a playful way how to navigate independently using public transport. At Special Education School Heliomare De Alk in Alkmaar, teacher Heleen Kroon embarked on this adventure with her students — with surprisingly beautiful results.
In addition to her work as a teacher, Heleen provides training as an I-coach to students in the upper grades aged 10 to 12. She chose not to deliver the Virtual OV training in a whole-class setting, but in small groups or even one-on-one. “For many of our students, practicing in a busy classroom environment provides too many stimuli. In small groups, the children can concentrate better. That works really well.”
“The students were immediately enthusiastic when I showed them the VR headset,” Heleen continues. “They found it super exciting and fun. One student already had a VR headset at home and knew exactly how to use it. For the other children, it was the first time, but they picked it up lightning fast. That was wonderful to see.”
However, a student's physical disability sometimes required adjustments. “One of our students cannot move his hands very well,” explains Heleen. “The controllers were just a little too big for him. But otherwise, the practice went surprisingly well. It shows how flexible and resourceful these students are.”
Learning through experience
At Heliomare De Alk, many students have a learning or developmental delay, and some cannot yet read well. At first, that seemed difficult, but with some guidance from the teacher, it turned out to work out fine. “The game also includes spoken text that students can listen to, and I often read along with them regarding the written texts,” says Heleen. “Sometimes I have to shorten sentences and explain them in three words. But as soon as they understand what is meant, they get started.”
completely absorbed in it.”
The training brings the real world closer. “There were students who had already been on the bus. But there were also children who didn't know that you had to wait for the bus at the bus stop across the street to travel back. Thanks to Virtual Public Transport, they can see and experience this.”
They did that. Experiencing it yourself sticks much better than an explanation on paper
Small steps, big growth!
What struck Heleen the most was how some students started helping each other. “There was one duo that worked together wonderfully. One couldn't read, the other could, and he checked the progress on the supervisor's tablet and read aloud to his classmate: 'This isn't your bus, you know, because this one has a different name.' I thought it was so beautiful to see one helping the other.”
“I found it quite nerve-wracking at first to give this training to our students. But I am really surprised by how well it went,” says Heleen happily. “Sometimes students can surprise you in such a positive way. And that is exactly what this training does: show what is possible.”
Heleen also sees great added value for the future in training executive skills, such as traveling by public transport, in Virtual Reality. “Our students are currently still covered by school transport, but we want to prepare them for independent travel. When they go on to further education, it helps enormously if they already have some idea of how public transport works. And you achieve that by practicing early. Because,” concludes Heleen,
“what you learn young, you do old.”
At Changefied, we see this every day: how technology can lower barriers and offer people new opportunities to learn and build independence and self-confidence. Thanks to dedicated teachers like Heleen, every child gets the chance to grow through play—in a safe, digital world that prepares young people for the real world.
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