Case study: 360º Tour in the Aula Hipàtia of the Cor de María Valls school

At INVELON we are experts in developing Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology solutions for use in companies or institutions across different sectors. One of our latest collaborations has been in the education sector, specifically with Colegio Cor de María Valls, in the province of Tarragona, to develop the INVELON 360º Tour of its Aula Hipàtia.

INVELON, in collaboration with HP, has virtualised its classroom so that it can be explored through a 360º Tour and using Virtual Reality. All you need is a device connected to the internet to visit its STEAM classroom from anywhere.

This need arose because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which unexpectedly changed school routines. With classrooms closed and the inability to hold ordinary open days, the Cor de María Valls school (Tarragona) decided to opt for the Invelon 360º Tour solution to hold virtual open days in its Aula Hipàtia. It was a way for students and their families to visit and discover the possibilities of its new STEAM classroom without leaving their homes.

What is the Invelon 360º tour of the Aula Hipàtia at Cor de Maria Valls?

This Virtual Reality application emerges as an innovative alternative to the classic open day, where the families of prospective students visit schools to choose their education, where the families of prospective students can visit the school to choose their education and see the virtualised facilities in full detail.

Through the virtual experience, visitors take a guided tour of the school's facilities, with detailed explanations of the different spaces that might otherwise go unnoticed at first glance.

The virtual open day helps to present the school as an innovative place that is committed to new technologies within its education system. As they have done at Colegio Cor de María Valls, one of the first schools in Catalonia to promote digital education. Through HP's "Reinvent the ClassRoom" programme, in collaboration with Grupo AE, they have launched their Aula Hipàtia, an innovative learning space based on the new STEAM educational model.

STEAM classroom, innovation in education

The concept of STEAM education (an English acronym for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) integrates these areas of knowledge to develop new ways of learning. It also aims to solve problems through creative thinking and the capacity for innovation, using new technologies. This is an approach that ensures the development of cross-disciplinary knowledge: the content of each branch is not worked on in isolation, but in an interdisciplinary way to achieve meaningful, contextualised learning.

With the newly opened Aula Hipàtia, Colegio Cor de María Valls stands out as the first school to implement this type of classroom in Tarragona, and as a reference for the Generalitat de Catalunya's STEAM schools project. The school thus reaffirms its commitment to promoting digital education and boosting its students' interest in teamwork. All of this takes place in a classroom designed especially for workshop activities, with tools and technology where teachers and students can think, design, create and share. These are the different zones of its Aula Hipàtia, which can be accessed virtually thanks to the 360º Tour:

• In the Think zone, students can brainstorm to create and develop new projects. It is a space to debate, exchange ideas and find solutions for the projects they are working on.
• In the second space of the classroom, Design, the ideas created in the first zone (Think) are given shape. For this, topics related to 3D and creativity are used.
• The Build zone is linked to activities where robotics is key to experimenting with new technologies and putting into practice what has been learned through theory.
• The last of the spaces is Share, an agora where students present their finished projects to their classmates. It is also an exhibition area for projects for parents and other visitors.

What advantages does a virtual visit with the 360º Tour resource offer?

• The doors of Cor María Valls are always open. Families and students do not need to arrange a date to visit. The visit can be made at any time and repeated as often as needed to get to know the spaces better and make sure this is the kind of school we are looking for. Open access means more visitors and a commitment by the school to technological innovation that is reflected in its projects. In addition, the virtual tour for the education sector does not require school staff to guide visitors, as it has been digitised beforehand.
• It is a cost-effective and flexible alternative to an in-person visit that positions the Cor María Valls school as a creative and innovative school.
• It gives us a permanent resource on the Cor María Valls school website, as an attractive calling card for visitors. We can cover all the spaces of the school that it wishes to include in maximum-resolution images and with a guide so that users do not get lost during the visit.
• It gives us the possibility to share the 360º Tour by email or on the Cor María Valls school's social media, so it can go viral among groups of parents or prospective students.
• Cor María Valls can find out the number of visitors who use the application thanks to a registration log and analyse their behaviour while they use the technological application.
• Speed and excellent results: at INVELON it took us 1 day to virtualise the Cor María Valls school and, within 4 days, it was ready to be shown.