Los Gatos High teacher partners with Stanford in virtual reality study

Studying virtual reality

Los Gatos High School social studies teacher David Homa is partnering with Stanford University’s Human Virtual Reality Design Lab on the use of virtual reality (VR) in schools.

Homa, along with a Stanford professor and two graduate students, is collaborating with global organizations to learn how effective VR is in helping students develop empathy and long-term learning and retention. Students have begun to integrate VR into their class lessons.

“The primary goal of this project is to see what value the use of VR in the classroom may have in helping students develop greater empathy for other people and places from around the world,” Homa said in a statement.

In the coming months, Homa’s class will begin working with teachers and students from the Doha Debate Ambassador Program and the Global Schools Advocates Program. The students and teachers in these organizations will create their own content from their part of the world and share it with Los Gatos High School students via Zoom.

Parks commission renamed

The Los Gatos Parks Commission has been renamed the Parks and Sustainability Commission by the town council.

The commission “will continue working to improve and expand our parks, but the individuals on this commission will now also work on meaningful changes to make Los Gatos more environmentally sustainable,” said councilmember Rob Moore in his newsletter.

The town council also approved the town’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Plan and identified priorities for the first year of the DEI Commission.

The Town of Los Gatos is recruiting for its commissions, boards committees through Nov. 10. For more information, visit https://www.losgatosca.gov/385/Application-Process.