MARBLE BAR SCHOOL TOPS IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Shane Wilson is principal of Marble Bar Primary School, which has won an award for its virtual reality program. Credit: Supplied.

GEOFF VIVIAN

A primary school in one of WA’s remoter districts has won a prestigious state award for a virtual reality program involving students and Nyamul elders.

Marble Bar Primary School principal Shane Wilson said the school now had three virtual worlds operating.

“We’ve now got a gallery showcasing the students’ and communities’ scientific and cultural works, with a particular focus on language,” Mr Wilson said.

“Our second world is an Indigenous languages preservation centre that seeks to showcase and preserve the Nyamul culture to audiences anywhere in the world.

“Our third world is a virtual teacher development centre that allows educators and cultural leaders to connect from anywhere in the world using virtual reality.”

Mr Wilson said students were learning skills that would set them up for many future jobs.

“There are so many implications for so many industries, including mining, where they’re controlling trains and trucks from Perth, in architecture, where they’re designing buildings, and also in health, where they’re actually using virtual reality to engage in surgeries,” Mr Wilson said.

So in teaching our students now about virtual reality, they will be armed with so many skills that enable them to enter so many different pathways.”

Marble Bar Primary won the “Innovating Government School of the Year” category in the State’s Incite IT Awards on the weekend in Perth.

Mr Wilson said they now has their sights on the National awards in Melbourne.