'Gaming learning' allows QLD students to muster cattle, drive tractor, plant crops from classroom - ABC News

Teachers telephone it "gamified learning" — a schoolroom acquisition that feels similar you're playing a video game.

Students astatine a schoolhouse connected Queensland's Western Downs person embraced it successful the signifier of virtual world (VR) acquisition exertion designed to promote much young radical into cultivation careers.

The infinitesimal kids astatine Dalby State High School's Bunya Campus descent connected a acceptable of VR goggles and prime up the controller, it feels similar they are right determination successful the gait moving cattle from 1 pen to different — oregon down the instrumentality of a immense tractor acceptable to thrust retired of the shed.

The Endeavour Foundation has worked alongside teachers and students to plan and make this cutting-edge exertion to springiness students, some with and without a disability, a consciousness for handling cattle and broadacre farming.

Safe mode to acquisition farming

Student Erin Taylor believes the VR exertion offers a harmless mode to acquisition the industry.

"People mightiness beryllium frightened and not cognize what to do, truthful I deliberation this is simply a truly large acquisition to get successful determination but not get successful there," she said.

Through a concern with Arrow Energy, Endeavour Foundation began processing VR programs to assistance hole students with a disablement for beingness aft school.

In 2020, it approached Dalby State High School to proceedings immoderate of those programs, which are present successful 30 Queensland schools.

The schoolhouse realised that with 42 per cent of the nationalist feedlot occupancy wrong a 200-kilometre radius of Dalby, determination was a immense accidental for students to find enactment successful that industry.

But galore young students were acrophobic to enactment with cattle.

So the schoolhouse approached Endeavour to spot if VR exertion could beryllium a solution.

Endeavour Service Design spouse Chris Beaumont worked with a fig of Dalby State High School's older students to bring the VR Ag programme to life.

"We came retired present and filmed a batch of the students doing day-to-day practices that enactment into their cert to Ag, with a large absorption connected safety," helium said.

Mr Beaumont says learning to thrust a tractor is simply a large illustration of the benefits of this VR program.

"We tin bring it into a virtual script archetypal to support everyone safe," helium said.

"We get them to acquisition what they request to bash earlier they're really acceptable to spell and bash it connected the farm."

As with earlier programs, Endeavour designed the VR Ag programme for students with a disablement but soon discovered it offered worth to students of each abilities.

Endeavour's Community Solutions Group wide manager Tom Mangen said it utilized a method of learning which was universal.

"One of the cardinal features of learning is repetition learning and virtual world provides an accidental to bash that successful a precise harmless environment," helium said.

VR offers harmless scenarios

Mr Beaumont agrees saying the pathway to employment is much challenging for radical with a disability, but VR exertion tin marque it easier with the added bonus that it doesn't consciousness similar learning.

"We conscionable cognize that kids, with oregon without a disability, are each portion of this gaming generation," helium said.

"We spot kids doing our learning scenarios, but they deliberation they're playing a game, truthful they're truly engaged successful it."

But for students with disabilities, the caller programme was a batch much than conscionable a amusive mode to learn.

Dalby State High School teacher Anne Rathmell says information is paramount arsenic the schoolroom for students astatine the Bunya Campus is simply a 404.7 hectares workplace and VR Ag is an incredibly harmless mode for students to get a sensation of workplace work.

"Virtual world allows students aggregate opportunities to signifier a skill," she said.

"Whereas, if they're successful the yards, connected a tractor oregon successful a real-life situation, they person to get it close the archetypal time."

After spending clip playing with the caller program, pupil Dechlan Green was impressed with some its acquisition worth arsenic good arsenic his and his classmate's performance.

"I was beauteous sceptical astatine archetypal astir however it would crook retired due to the fact that we had to bash rather a batch of takes," helium said.

"But seeing the last product, I consciousness similar it was clip good spent and a bully concern for the precocious school."

VR fashionable with students

From a user's perspective, Dechlan believes it's the cleanable mode for students to consciousness astatine easiness with moving connected a workplace earlier trying it for real.

"I announcement a important quality successful however I tin presumption antithetic aspects of a workplace successful a safer situation if I wasn't comfortable," helium said.

"Everyone tin payment from that."

Fellow pupil Charlie Dudgeon says it was large that seeing him and the different students thriving successful an situation they felt astatine location successful would assistance younger students to consciousness the aforesaid way.

"I reckon it's a large thought for younger kids who are reasoning of joining the Ag program, but they're a spot sceptical," helium said.

"They tin conscionable chuck 1 of these connected and say,' Yeah, I similar this program. I deliberation I'll articulation it erstwhile I'm successful people 11 and 12. So I deliberation it's a large idea."