Schell Games Director of Education Brooke Morrill, PhD., talked with EdWeek during the 2019 Ed Games Expo. During the interview, Brooke explained why Schell Games was there showing Happy Atoms and HoloLAB Champions, and how each experience was designed to complement traditional education models. She also explained why Schell Games made the decision to make HoloLAB Champions free for educators.

Here's a brief excerpt of the interview.

The price of virtual reality equipment can be a deterrent for many schools and districts, but Morrill said that there have already been drastic price drops in recent years.Furthermore, augmented and virtual reality seem like the best choices for these games, Morrill said. “[Students] can have a safe, productive space to practice and get themselves ready to go into real life,” she said. “We wouldn’t say that this should replace a real chemistry lab. It’s more of an augmentation of it. It’s where they can practice to get good.”

Happy Atoms and HoloLAB Champions were both funded by IES/SBIR Phase I and Phase II grants.