As immersive technologies continue to transform education, it’s no surprise that Virtual Reality (VR) is making its mark in the world of agricultural education. At the forefront of this change is CattleVR, a groundbreaking tool designed to revolutionise cattle handling training.
Thinking about making the leap to innovate your classroom with CattleVR? We’ve come up with ten compelling reasons that may help tip the scales:
1. CattleVR Increases Skills Before Hitting the Yard
Handling cattle can be overwhelming (and potentially dangerous) for students with little or no experience. CattleVR provides a safe, immersive environment where students can develop essential skills like understanding flight zones, moving cattle safely, and operating gates, all before stepping foot in a real cattle yard
2. CattleVR Improves Animal Welfare
Training on live animals can stress them out, and frequently handled cattle may become overly docile, which doesn’t reflect natural behavior. With CattleVR, students learn effective cattle handling without putting unnecessary strain on live animals, ensuring better animal welfare outcomes.
3. CattleVR Improves Safety for Students and Animals
Untrained individuals working with cattle can lead to unsafe situations. CattleVR allows students to experience dangerous scenarios, fail safely, and learn the correct techniques, drastically reducing the risk of injury for both students and livestock.
4. CattleVR Has a Support Course Hosted By Agricultural Experts
As digital innovators who grew up on farms, the team here at Think Digital understand that adopting cutting-edge immersive technologies such as VR can seem like a daunting task at first.
Thankfully, CattleVR comes with world-class teaching support from experts like Dr Mandi Carr, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide. Through video tutorials and personalized coaching, educators are fully equipped to maximize the benefits of VR training in their classrooms.
5. CattleVR Can Monitor and Track Student Progress
CattleVR provides educators with in-app report cards, allowing teachers to effectively monitor student performance. This feature makes it easy to review and assess whether students have mastered key skills before moving on to the next modules, or whether the student should give a module another go first.
6. CattleVR Simulates Real-Life Cattle Handling
CattleVR offers a variety of modules, from the basics of flight zones and moving mobs to advanced techniques like drafting cattle and safety in large mobs. The in-app step-by-step guidance and diagram overlays ensures that students can build confidence progressively and apply their knowledge in real-life scenarios.
7. CattleVR Will Future-Proof Your Curriculum
By adopting CattleVR, you are future-proofing your curriculum by incorporating immersive technologies such as VR, and preparing students for the latest in cattle handling practices.
Furthermore, the team at Think Digital is constantly developing new modules for CattleVR, such as “Fit for Load” (loading cattle safely), “Health Check” (performing basic health checks), and “Emergency Disease Identification” (diagnosing cattle).
8. CattleVR Boosts Engagement Through Gamification
Learning cattle handling techniques can feel daunting for first timers, but CattleVR makes it fun and engaging through gamification. Students are motivated to keep learning as they strive to stay out of the “red zone” and avoid being kicked by a virtual cow!
9. CattleVR Is A Cost-Effective and Scalable Solution
Setting up real-life cattle handling sessions can be expensive and logistically challenging. Especially with a decreasing availability of live herds. With CattleVR, you have a cost-effective solution that can be implemented in any classroom, offering the flexibility to scale up as needed.
10. CattleVR Bridges the Gap for Inexperienced Students
Many students come into agricultural programs with little to no experience handling large animals. CattleVR bridges this gap by giving students the chance to practice and gain confidence before they interact with live animals, ensuring they are better prepared for real-life practicals.
CattleVR is ready and available to be used in your classroom. Don’t miss the opportunity to innovate your classroom, increase the skills of your students, and improve safety & welfare for both students and animals.
So what are you waiting for? If you’re interested, contact us or send an email directly to us at [email protected] and we’ll sort out the rest!
