Meta Expands Quest Services to Education Sector Targeting Young Users
Social media giant Meta has announced the introduction of its Quest services in the education sector, targeting young users from the age of 13. This initiative marks a significant expansion of the use of virtual reality (VR) in educational contexts, an area that has been explored to a limited extent up until now.
The Rise of Meta’s Quest VR Headsets in Education
The VR headsets from Meta’s Quest range, described as the most popular extended reality (XR) headsets on the market, play a central role in this new offering. With an expected installed user base of over 34 million units by the end of 2024, these devices have shown a compound annual growth rate of approximately 27.3% since 2020.
Meta aims to maintain its market-leading position by diversifying its application of XR technologies, now focusing on the education market after initially targeting individual experiences such as games and immersive environments.
New Educational Offering for Meta Quest
According to a post by Meta’s Vice President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, a new product specifically aimed at education will be launched later this year for Quest devices.
This offering will enable teachers, trainers, and administrators to access a variety of education-specific applications and features. It will also provide the ability to manage multiple Quest headsets simultaneously, simplifying their use in learning environments such as classrooms and training sessions without requiring individual updates or preparations for each device.
Concrete Applications in Universities
Meta has provided several examples of current use cases for Quest headsets in educational settings. At the University of Glasgow, a life sciences course immerses students inside the human body for an immersive experience.
At New Mexico State University, a criminal justice course transports users to a virtual crime scene, while at Stanford University, a business course prepares students for job interviews through simulations.
