When we decided to launch Apple Vision Pro at scale at La Crosse Polytechnic, we knew we were breaking new ground. Putting a few headsets into a classroom is one thing… creating a system where 30 Apple Vision Pro devices can be shared by students, integrated into instruction, and used as a regular part of the curriculum is something entirely different.
We had to think beyond the technology itself. How would students find the right fit? How would we manage lenses, batteries, apps, and accounts? How would teachers see what students were experiencing? And perhaps most importantly… how do we make sure Vision Pro becomes more than a cool technology students get to try?
Our answer has been to build the infrastructure around the learning experience.
Start With the Fit
With a shared device environment, fit matters. We use school iPhones to scan each student’s head and determine the appropriate fit. We have multiple light seals and straps available so students can quickly grab the equipment that works for them. For students who wear glasses, we use ZEISS optical inserts, along with the Fit & Demo app, to identify the appropriate prescription lenses.
Every device is also color-coded and numbered. The color helps students identify the correct fit, while the number identifies their individual device. For larger projects, students even put their Vision Pro number on their name tag so they can quickly find the same device again.
We’ve also created a simple battery system. A green bin means the batteries are charged and ready to use, while a red bin means they need to be charged. Students use a wipe on their face before putting on a headset, grab their equipment, and get ready to learn.
Every time a student puts on a Vision Pro, they complete Eye Setup. All of these small systems add up. Finding equipment, getting set up, and getting seated takes about four minutes.
That four-minute target is important. If technology takes 15 minutes to get ready, it becomes an obstacle to instruction. If students can be ready in about four minutes, Vision Pro becomes much more practical as part of a normal class.
Building a Shared Device Environment
Vision Pro wasn’t designed specifically for the way we’re using it in a school where students share devices throughout the day, so we had to develop some creative solutions.
For accounts, we use personal Apple IDs on the Vision Pros because in-app purchases don’t work with school-managed Apple IDs. Apps are deployed through our device management system, and a student volunteer helps make sure each Vision Pro stays updated and ready to go.
Monitoring was another important consideration. While students are working, they are required to AirPlay their Vision Pro view to an iPad facing the teacher. This gives the teacher visibility into what students are experiencing. Apple Classroom provides another layer of monitoring when needed, and our Technology Integration Specialist and technician are on site during launches to provide technical support.
The goal isn’t to create a surveillance system. It’s to make an immersive technology experience manageable in a classroom where the teacher still needs to know what students are doing.
We Didn’t Build a New Network
One of the questions we received early on was whether Vision Pro would require us to completely rethink our network infrastructure.
It didn’t.
We adjusted the settings on our existing access points in the spaces where Vision Pro is being used and use a caching server to improve delivery of frequently accessed content.
Sometimes innovation isn’t about adding more hardware. Sometimes it’s about looking at what you already have and figuring out how to use it differently.
Don’t Turn Vision Pro Into a Reward
Perhaps one of our most important decisions has nothing to do with the technology itself. We intentionally keep all 30 devices together… or use two sets of 15 for smaller classes.
We don’t want four or five Vision Pros sitting in a classroom becoming a reward. We don’t want Vision Pro to become a special station that students rotate through while everyone else does the “real” work.
We want Vision Pro to be part of the curriculum.
That distinction has shaped nearly every decision we’ve made. It allows the teacher to really focus in on what the students are doing, and what standards they want to reach. It's intentional, not playtime.
Start With the Standards, Not the Technology
When students use Vision Pro, we don’t start with, “What can we do with this cool new device?” We start with the curriculum.
For example, while learning about tourism, students explored locations around the world using an education app we piloted with a developer James from Explore Immersive in New Zealand. He created an education version of his app so that our students were able to freely explore all the content the app has to offer. But the technology wasn’t the assignment. Students researched locations, captured screenshots as evidence, researched history and tourism, and then gave tours to their classmates.
Suddenly, the students using Vision Pro weren’t just consumers of an immersive experience. They became the experts. And then they taught one another.
That’s the part of this work that excites me most.
Students have also created Keynote presentations and captured spatial photos and videos using Vision Pro and our iPhone 16 Pros. And we’re just getting started. This year, we’re expanding into art through a new partnership in the Netherlands while exploring opportunities in science and Career and Technical Education. Our students are already beginning science experiments with the UnrealChemist app (available on iPad, even better on Vision Pro!) and exploring incredible art from around the world, hearing the stories that inspired it, and even beginning to create their own works inspired by what they learn.
Each new partnership opens another door for students to create, explore, communicate, and demonstrate what they know in ways that weren’t previously possible.
The Goal Isn’t to Teach Vision Pro
It’s tempting with new technology to make the technology itself the learning objective.
“Today we’re going to learn how to use Apple Vision Pro.”
But that’s not really what we’re after.
Our goal isn’t to teach students how to use Vision Pro. Our goal is to use Vision Pro to make new opportunities possible.
To let students explore places they may never physically visit. To allow them to create and experience spatial content. To give them opportunities to teach one another. To connect classrooms across the world. To bring new perspectives into art, science, tourism, and career exploration.
And ultimately, to give students another tool for their educational adventure.
Because when we talk about innovation in education, the most important question isn’t:
“What can this technology do?”
It’s:
“What can our students do now that they couldn’t do before?”
That’s where the real adventure begins.
#VisionProAdventures
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