NEWBERRY — Newberry County Career Center is joining an elite group of schools by entering the Education Metaverse, with help from VictoryXR, a global leader in virtual reality education. Newberry County Career Center is one of the first in the United States to adopt metaverse education, pioneering a new world of 3D immersive learning.

Students participating in the educational metaverse will have the opportunity to become immersed in their content, experience hands-on lessons and connect and learn with students across the state. Students will have the chance to hold molecules in their hands, spend an hour on a starship and take a walk outside the ship in a space suit, visit with Isaac Newton after traveling in a time machine and much more.

“Studies show conclusively that students who learn in virtual reality remember more of what they are taught,” said Steve Grubbs, CEO of VictoryXR. “South Carolina is pioneering this education metaverse initiative to address learning loss in a meaningful way with bold solutions. In a few years, all states will follow South Carolina’s lead.”

“The Newberry County Career Center is honored to partner with VictoryXR to provide the opportunity to utilize virtual reality headsets in our Career and Technical Education programs. Students will have extended access to real-world experiences that they otherwise would not in a traditional classroom setting. We take great pride in supporting our students’ academic knowledge and skill set. This partnership will allow us to take our programs and the content we can provide to the next level. I cannot express how appreciative we are to VictoryXR for spearheading this initiative,” said Sarah Harvey, Director (Principal)

Newberry County Career Center was named one of 30 statewide winners in South Carolina for a bundle of classroom virtual reality headsets and metaverse education classes with live teachers to help address learning loss. The grant, an initiative from VictoryXR and funded by The State of South Carolina, is launching this summer in select school districts. South Carolina is the first state in the nation to launch a statewide learning metaversity.

Newberry County Career Center has received 20 Meta Quest 2 headsets and the opportunity for students to receive tutoring in a group setting, led by a live teacher. Even more, those students will be tutored in reading, science and math.

“I was a classroom teacher and there were always a few students who were difficult to motivate. The South Carolina Metaversity will change that and students will love to learn,” said Melissa Brent, Director of Education at VictoryXR.

In addition to metaverse tutoring classes, students will also have access in-classroom to biology, chemistry and anatomy labs through their virtual reality headsets.

VictoryXR is a leader in the metaverse education space globally and was founded in Iowa in 2016.