Aiken High School Students Discover Virtual Reality | Education
Aiken High School received a special visit on September 28.
The Army Virtual Air Rescue Experience tractor-trailer stopped at the high school after being evacuated from Florida, said Sgt. First Class Joshua Sulkers. He reached out to Nina Dorman, a career specialist at Aiken High School, and asked if AHS would host the Army Simulator. The experiment allowed students to participate in a virtual helicopter simulation.
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“What I find impressive is that when the students put on the equipment and started playing the simulation, there was complete focus and participation and that’s rare in today’s society” , Dorman said. “The children who have come out of the program have been impressed and we are very happy with this opportunity to share with our children.”
Students from different classes came to the simulation, including ROTC and advanced networking classes, Dorman said.
“We brought out networking, our advanced networking classes because of the cyber connection, and then we have our science department, especially our physics classes that come out because of the connection with physics and aviation. So we have the core subjects and the leadership course comes out,” Dorman said.
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During the experiment, the students sat in a chair, put on virtual goggles and headphones, and flew helicopters while trying to put out a fire. For Maya Cianni senior, it was a fun experience.
“I thought that was pretty cool. We had a similar experience last year when we went to Patriots Point in Charleston, but I think this one was cooler, it was like kind of a helmet of virtual reality. So the chairs felt like you were inside the helicopter, and they rocked you, and then the controls were much easier for me to manipulate. Just turn off the fire, then collect the water from the reservoir and everything else,” Cianni said.
About 20 students and staff gathered at Kennedy Middle School on Wednesday morning for See You at the Pole.
Sulkers said he wanted the truck to visit the high school because of what it shows the students.
“We wanted the truck to come here because it gives us the opportunity to show high school students what the military has to offer and to express some of the career benefits they can get,” Sulkers said.
