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For Educators by Educators

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Have you ever heard the expression, “There’s an app for that?”

With today’s 21st century technology, it has become normal for people to use mobile devices like smart phones and tablets for absolutely everything.  Thousands of organizations are creating mobile applications, frequently referred to as “apps,” to perform just about any function you can imagine.  You can go shopping, manage finances, read books and plan meals, all with the click of a button.

At WHRO, we’re doing our part to take advantage of this cutting edge technology.  Through an Enhancing Education Through Technology grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, our Education Department is working with Norfolk State University’s Creative Gaming and Simulation Lab; Old Dominion University’s Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center; Old Dominion University’s Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences; Radford University’s GAMeS Lab; and GladWorks to produce a number of educational mobile device applications for today’s tech savvy students.

Instead of just reading a chapter out of a textbook, students become a part of the lesson through simulations, augmented reality games and information gathering applications for mobile devices.  These apps include everything from adventurous world history games to interactive chemistry quizzes, all related to the Virginia Standards of Learning for each subject.

For example, in “European Exploration: The Age of Discovery,” students can use iPads® to explore the new world as a European power in the 15th century.  Students hire captains, build ships and outfit voyages while learning Virginia World History II Standards of Learning as an integral part of the game.

In “Space Walker,” students use their GPS-enabled smartphones to explore planets and stars which have been superimposed onto their school grounds.  This mobile, physically active and immersive game teaches astronomy facts through augmented reality.

Technology is ever changing, but with the vision of our owner school divisions and the expertise of our staff and mobile device partners, WHRO is leading the way with innovative learning techniques.

All of our educational mobile device apps will be available through iTunes®, Google Play™ or the Windows Marketplace®.