“It really does leave you in awe of how incredible this can be for our students,” said teacher Kate Fites shortly after she slipped off the Prisms VR headset that her students will soon use to apply math concepts to real-life problems. 

Prisms of Reality engages students through touch, movement, and pictures to solve real-world problems, enhancing their interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

More than 300 educators from across the Cobb County School District gathered at Wheeler High School to immerse themselves in the experiential learning platform to learn—and see—firsthand how the tool will transform the classroom experience for their students. 

“This is fantastic. This is the best use of a digital learning day of anything that I've attended before. It honestly has me very excited to try and get back to the school. I'm already planning lessons I saw on different topics,” Ms. Fites added. 

Testing out the futuristic headset made the Campbell High School teacher reflect on her time as a student and what it would have been like to have the technology back then. 

“I was the kid that needed something like Prisms. To be able to have kids put the headsets on and be able to move around, stand up, and actually engage in the material that we're giving them where they're learning for themselves is going to be monumental,” the veteran educator insisted. 

The Campbell teacher’s excitement was echoed by her fellow educators at the training. 

“I jumped right in, and I was having fun. My rule is if I'm having fun, students are usually having fun too,” declared Cody Gordon, Allatoona High School, SPED IRR, and Small Group Math teacher. 

Mr. Gordon is excited about working with students who struggle to engage in class because they do not see how the math concepts relate to their lives. Using Prisms, that won’t be the case. 

“I think they're going to really buy in. I've learned when students are just sitting, they tend to get jittery, but when they're physically moving around, their brains are activated a lot more,” explained the Allatoona teacher. 

Tapp Middle School teacher Jennifer Morrison agrees. 

“I think it'll definitely bring engagement to students, especially for those who don't always feel successful in math. This is for sure a way to get them engaged because they all love video games,” the Tapp Math teacher added. 

The Cobb high school buzzed with excitement as teachers from 7th grade through high school tinkered with the new learning tool, exploring lessons and getting tips on how to use the 3D graphing calculator, 3D annotation tool, natural interface, and more. 

Watching Cobb teachers light up when using the headset makes Anurupa Ganguly, Prisms' founder and CEO, smile. As a former educator herself, she understands why they are excited to teach in a whole new way.

“Cobb County is a lighthouse, not for VR, but for scaling experiential, spatial, and problem-based learning. Cobb is one of the first districts in the U.S. to roll this out across tens of thousands of students and hundreds of teachers, and really put a stake in the ground that we must radically change how we teach,” Ms. Ganguly said. 

Hightower Trail Middle School's Ashley Kaplan was one of those teachers who was fully immersed in the training. 

“The kids are going to love this. The fact they do the VR now, at home all the time with their friends and incorporating this in the classroom, this is very, very cool to bring their interest into the classroom,” Ms. Kaplan said. 

Earlier this year, the District announced the expansion of the Prisms high-quality learning tool to 20 additional Cobb schools across the county. Students enrolled in the Cobb Virtual Academy (CVA), Cobb Online Learning Academy (COLA), and Cobb Horizon High School have already been using the virtual learning tool, and their teachers have seen the impact. 

“My students are having ‘fun’ engaging in Georgia Math Standards using Prisms. This technology supports personalized learning by allowing students to progress at their own pace and according to their unique needs. Prisms empowers both teachers and students,” shared Jeanine Holihan, a Cobb Horizon math teacher. 

The educators agree that the tool transforms learning into an experience, igniting their interest while ensuring they master the standard being taught. 

“As an educator, I am thankful for how Prisms answers the question so many students ask, ‘when are we ever going to use this?’ by showing them the relevance of math in everyday life, adventures, and real-world applications,” added Cobb Horizon Math teacher Tammy MacLean.