Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation supports high school program pilot for students of color
XR Terra partners with The Calculus Project to offer high school students a 6-week introduction to virtual reality program.
BOSTON, Oct. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- XR Terra today announced receipt of a grant from the Eastern Bank Charitable to support implementation of a summer pilot program to introduce high school students to the technology behind virtual reality experiences. This grant supported the tuition for four students from The Calculus Project to attend the course at no cost.
"Structural barriers in education based on racial, gender, and other differences keep us aprat and perpetuate income and wealth gaps, and we are committed to supporting efforts that give everyone an opportunity to prosper throughout life," said Turahn Dorsey, Foundation Fellow, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation. "XR Terra and The Calculus Project help students build the technical and life skills that will serve them well academically and professionally, and we are proud to support their efforts.
"A core tenet of The Calculus Project is to prepare students of color to pursue STEM careers through a rigorous summer math experience followed by continuous math support during the school year," says Adrian Mims, Executive Director of The Calculus Project. "The XR Terra Intro to Virtual Reality course made explicit for youth the relevance of math through spatial computing and their ability to create experiences in VR."
"Spatial computing is at the leading edge of digital transformation efforts and will afford young people a whole new set of tools to solve problems and connect with others. We are delighted to be able to provide an opportunity for students to learn the techniques and practices to create in VR," says Janet Kang, CEO of XR Terra.
The grant supported the launch of the summer pilot.
Specifically, the course, designed for newcomers or beginners in coding:
- Runs for six weeks and is offered online for four live instructional hours, with additional instructor office hours to assist with trouble-shooting and technical questions.
- Is project-based so that by the end of the course, students have a digital portfolio of VR projects
- Does not require extensive coding skills or expensive hardware. As long as a young person is interested in the topic, has access to a business-ready computer, and puts in the independent study and project time, they will be successful.
XR Terra partners with a wide-range of institutions to bring these learning experiences to youth and adults. Industry partners include Unity, Wayfair, PTC, higher education partners such as Boston University and Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, and professional MeetUp groups such as Boston VR.
About XR Terra:
XR Terra is a workforce accelerator that trains learners in XR (Extended Reality – AR, VR and MR) technologies. Through innovative partnerships with XR industry partners and academic institutions, we are on a mission to empower the next generation of XR talent. XR Terra is a Unity Authorized Training Partner based in Boston, Massachusetts founded by technology education entrepreneurs Hakan Satiroglu and Janet Kang.
About the Calculus Project:
The Calculus Project (TCP) is a grassroots-style initiative to dramatically increase the number of students of color and low-income students who complete AP Calculus in high school. This gives students the content knowledge, the skills, and more confidence to succeed in high-level math classes.
SOURCE XR Terra
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