According to Paulson, students are working with the virtual reality company REM5 to design soda cans for a local company.

“The students are going to work on designing the cans for the soda company, and the artwork going on the can, with the local company using only (VR) software,” Paulson said.

According to Art Tech Department head Trevor Paulson, the department has decided to experiment with VR systems.

“We picked up a (VR) system for an upcoming project that we’re working with REM5 (on) and a local soda company, as well as five students and a couple staff members,” Paulson said.

Paulson said VR will be integral to education in various sectors in the future and he hopes to take advantage of its potential.

“There’s a lot of evidence that VR is going to be another revolutionary piece, so we wanted to hop on before it becomes really big,” Paulson said.

Senior Matt Loftus said he believes technology is an important part of education.

“It is important to further learning with technology, and having VR experience is something that will be very beneficial,” Loftus said. 

According to Paulson, the Art Tech Department is focusing on exploring where VR could be incorporated in the future.

“It’s new, so it’s different, it’s like nothing like we have currently, so we don’t necessarily have the curriculum ready for it,” Paulson said. “We are going to work on incorporating it into a couple units next semester.”

According to sophomore Deqay Koumalasy-Dent, without access to developing technology, students will be put at a disadvantage.

“I think updating tools used by teachers will help introduce students to modern technology,” Koumalasy-Dent said.

Paulson said VR will have educational applications in a lot of different classes, not just design.

“Right now we’ve just chosen to focus on the design side of it, but it’s useful for other classes like science, where you can do things with dissection and human bodies,” Paulson said.