Teleportation in education!
Let's provide students with a unique learning experience through VR, the latest that digital technology has to offer
Donations are being collected until December 20th, support us now!
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Virtual reality or VR is a new technology, one that has so far brought us the closest to teleportation or at least to the feeling of it.
VR is currently the most powerful tool in storytelling and transfer of knowledge. Many countries that encourage digital technologies in education are starting to use VR for this purpose. After we opened the first specialized VR cinema in Croatia earlier this year, VR cinema KEK, and then built a traveling VR cinema that can go wherever it is needed, the introduction of VR technologies in education is now a possibility in Croatia as well!
We contacted all the schools in Croatia and offered them this opportunity, and their reactions exhilarated us: almost all of them told us that they were eager for innovative content and new technologies. We have already made arrangements with over a hundred schools. Some schools visit us in Zagreb, and we use our traveling cinema to tour around schools all over Croatia.
However, we have also been contacted by numerous schools, especially from less developed parts of Croatia, who want their students to be part of this story, but cannot do it financially on their own and need support. That is why we came up with the idea to try to raise funds with your help, to introduce as many schools and students as possible, as well as their teachers, to this new, powerful tool in education, and thus enrich their learning and teaching experience.
HUNTER-GATHERERS & DAVOR ROSTUHAR
VR cinema KEK in the center of Zagreb, as well as the traveling VS cinema KEK and the VR film ‘Hunter-Gatherers‘, are unique projects realized by Davor Rostuhar and the Club for Expeditionism and Culture (KEK).
Together, Davor and the KEK team have achieved many great endeavors, including the projects Love Around the World, Polar Dream and National Geographic – Croatia from above. In each new project, Davor Rostuhar travels, researches and records, in order to shape everything he has experienced into stories that he narrates in various ways – through travel books, documentary films, photographs and multimedia lectures. In each story, he tries to deal with an important topic, such as: what is love?, how to make dreams come true?, how to preserve natural and cultural treasures and traditions?
To tell the story of us, humans, of who we are and where we are going, Davor Rostuhar spent several weeks with one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes in the world – the Hadza tribe in Tanzania. They live quite similarly to how we have lived for the vast majority of human history and evolution. During this time, our hardware and software – our physiognomy, hormones and feelings – were formed. People who still live as hunter-gatherers therefore offer us a valuable insight into a way of life similar to the one we practiced much longer than agriculture and a sedentary life.
Through the ever more impressive and convincing testimony of one of the last tribes of hunter-gatherers, Davor Rostuhar tells a great story of us, people, and our relationship to nature and society. In order to bring this story to life in an unprecedented way, he used the latest storytelling technology: virtual reality (VR) and shot the first Croatian documentary VR film ‘Hunters-Gatherers‘.
VR
VR cameras record reality in 360° and in 3D, the result of which is getting the impression of being in a different reality whenever you watch a VR film through a VR headset! While sitting in the armchair of the VR cinema, you feel as if you have teleported to another world.
This new technology is getting better and more advanced with every day and every year. It is used more and more in various industries and for various purposes: in the education of children and youth, for employee training, in scientific research, in tourism, in entertainment and art, in medicine and pharmacy, and every day it finds its application in numerous new disciplines.
Now that we have brought the latest VR technology to Zagreb, and then put wheels on it through a traveling cinema, we want to bring it to children and youth in Croatian schools. By watching the documentary VR film ‘Hunter-Gatherers‘, students are teleported into the world of the Hadza tribe, hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, which opens up space for many thoughts, discussions and lessons in history, geography, biology, ecology, sociology, psychology, economics, ethics and philosophy. After the VR experience, the professors, guided by pre-prepared materials, will have the opportunity to discuss with the students about what they have seen. Through these discussions, they will immerse themselves in the topics of intercultural diversity, preservation of natural and cultural heritage, acceptance and respect for diversity, as well as many other themes relevant to the subject and the curriculum. In addition, students will have a new experience of using the latest digital technology, so the discussion can be extended to the role of technology in our lives, and the opportunities and threats that come with it.
BORIS JOKIĆ FROM THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH SPEAKS ABOUT VR IN EDUCATION
It is almost impossible to imagine modern without the use of digital technologies. They allow us to influence students’ motivation, to get them interested in what they are learning. Moreover, they, like virtual reality, VR cinema, enable unique learning experiences. When our generation was going to school, we learned from books. But today, young people can go to the cinema, put on a headset and walk through Africa, live with the locals in the way they lived a thousand years ago. This is exactly what the movie “Hunter-Gatherers” makes possible.
Digital technology in education can be used for many trivial things. However, if we use it in the right way, if we use it to provide students with unique learning experiences, psychological immersion in worlds that they could never experience, then the result is improved education, more motivated students, more satisfied teachers, and what digital technology really is, enrichment of learning, teaching, education and, if you want, life.
PROJECT FINANCING
This project aims to raise funds for 500 schools, or 5,000 schoolchildren.
We need €600 for each school or 100 students to whom we want to offer the unique experience of the VR film ‘Hunter-Gatherers‘.
The amount of €6 per student covers the costs of the traveling VR cinema coming to one school or bringing one school to the VR cinema in Zagreb.
Included in this amount are:
- a minimum share in the cost of building a cinema, producing a VR film and providing, maintaining and renewing the latest VR equipment
- salaries and travel expenses of two employees on the project
- management of the project by the KEK team and fees for collaborators
- creation of expert accompanying teaching materials in cooperation with expert collaborators
- value of perks and shipping expenses
- fees of the crowdfunding campaign, banks and payment processors
One school includes one period of 8 working hours or a maximum of 100 students. The VR movie lasts half an hour. VR cinema KEK in Zagreb has the capacity of 25 seats. The traveling VR cinema KEK has the capacity of 10 seats.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE PROJECT?
You can support the project by sponsoring students or schools, with as much funds as you want. If you sponsor an entire school, you can also decide which school it is, thus perhaps sponsoring a school you once went to!
You can support the project in several ways:
- By donating in exchange for one of the offered perks
- By direct donation to KEK bank account (IBAN: HR8823600001101668914)
- By sharing the campaign
We thank you for all and every form of support in this campaign!
For any questions or comments, feel free to contact us by email at asistent@rostuhar.com
CLUB FOR EXPEDITIONISM AND CULTURE (KEK)
KEK was founded in 2003 with the aim of promoting and improving expeditionism, travel and tolerance.
Our projects strive to propagate diversity and intercultural dialogue in education, culture and art. We are focused on the common good, the needs of the community and the achievement of sustainable development. KEK has staged large and innovative cultural, artistic, interdisciplinary projects that push boundaries and bring multimedia cultural content directly to the public.
Our projects have achieved exceptional national and international success, and in particular ‘National Geographic – Croatia from above’ (2007-14), ‘Polar Dream‘ (2016-18), ‘Love Around the World‘ (2019-21) and ‘Hunter-Gatherers‘ (2023-24).
Our member and president, the famous adventurer, travel writer and photographer, Davor Rostuhar, has published nine books and produced three documentary films, one of which was shot in virtual reality. Rostuhar has also published over 200 reports and 10,000 photographs in various publications such as National Geographic Croatia, Meridijani and Geo. With travel lectures, we visited 260 schools where we tried to present the world as we see it – as a wonderful, colorful and particularly unique place in the Universe, full of beautiful people, customs and diverse cultural and natural heritage.
At the end of 2023, we opened KEK’s own space for the first time – VR cinema KEK. Located in the very center of Zagreb (Petrinjska 51), we are dedicated to providing VR experiences that take viewers on incredible and original journeys and go beyond traditional ways of consuming content. VR cinema KEK is also a meeting place where the worlds of technology and art, education and innovation meet and merge, a place that can be a living treasure of knowledge and a generator of new experiences.
KEK information
Klub za ekspedicionizam i kulturu
Dragutina Kalea 2
10 000 Zagreb
OIB: 05029212031
IBAN: HR8823600001101668914
UPDATE
Teachers who watched the VR film “Hunter-Gatherers” have shared their extremely positive feedback, as they believe the project offers students a unique experience of immersing themselves in the culture of one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes. They believe that this content greatly complements curricula of geography, history, Croatian language, computer science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and ethics, by allowing students to connect theoretical knowledge with practical experience. They also report that with the use of VR technology, students can truly experience the story, helping them better retain and relate the material to topics from other subjects. It is especially important to them that the project is suitable for teaching students from grades 5 to 8 and all high school grades, offering an opportunity to explore other cultures and ways of life.
Teacher comments:
The students were thrilled with the film. They found the virtual reality experience fascinating. Most students were full of impressions after the screening and were eager to share their experiences with other students who had not seen the film. The project is excellent. I think this is a very interesting way to capture students’ attention and engage them in exploring other cultures and ways of life. The plot of the film can be connected to teaching content from history, geography, sociology, philosophy, and other subjects in the areas of social sciences and humanities.
Bojan Stojčević, Pedagogue, OŠ “August Harambašić”, Donji Miholjac
The students were delighted. This is evidenced by their enthusiastic reactions during the film, where they followed every movement of the characters and loudly expressed their emotions, being active participants.
Nataša Oreč, OŠ “Grigor Vitez”, Sveti Ivan Žabno
An excellent project, an opportunity for students to try something new, which will soon become the standard. The theme of the film is excellent!
Senka Čale, Medical School Bjelovar
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