LANGKAWI: In efforts to highlight the 5G potential in education, Maxis Berhad has utilised the virtual reality (VR) technology in its ‘eKelas’ programme for students at the Kampung Padang Wahid Internet Centre in Langkawi.
In a statement issued today, the telecommunications company said ‘eKelas’ was a special programme for the community and aimed at improving the academic performance of rural students.
Just imagine attending a science class to study animal cells, and the students, instead of referring to textbook to know how the cells function, they went through a fun and vibrant experience via VR technology while learning how those different parts of the animal cells work.
The class was enlivened by allowing students, equipped with VR headsets complete with a unique student-friendly interface, gesture controls and embedded educational resources, to explore the animal cell parts and they were remotely guided by a teacher who was based in Kuala Lumpur.
Maxis chief executive officer Gokhan Ogut said the telecommunications company had already seen the impact of connectivity through the Maxis ‘eKelas’ programme, aimed at promoting digital learning for students in rural areas.
“We now have more than 13,000 students nationwide connected to the programme. We are excited about the prospect of how 5G can improve the programme and bring ‘eKelas’ to a new level by exploring virtual reality applications, and we are excited to see how exciting it is for students,” he said in the statement.
He said the ‘eKelas’ was a partnership between Maxis and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), as the programme was held at the MCMC’s internet centre which served as a digital hub for rural communities.
The ‘eKelas’ has been recognised by the Ministry of Education as an initiative under the Highly Immersive Programme and students were eligible to collect co-curricular marks from their participation in the programme, he said. – Bernama
