Leading early years membership organisation the Early Years Alliance has launched a range of innovative immersive virtual reality training modules in collaboration with Metaverse Learning.
The training programme, Early Years Metaverse, consists of a range of immersive virtual reality learning modules, which allows educators to explore different early years scenarios within a realistic virtual reality early years setting and family hub, Tiny Trees.
The virtual environment offers a new format of training that better supports a variety of learning styles, giving early years professionals the opportunity to engage with online training in a more immersive way from the comfort of their home or work.
The courses were designed with the aim of boosting participants’ confidence by preparing them for challenging scenarios from the safety of an immersive virtual space.
The new Early Years Metaverse courses launched this week are:
- Supporting children’s smooth transitions: This course provides examples of transitions children may experience and explores ways adults can sensitively support them.
- Supporting language and communication: This course aims to develop the skills educators need to be able to support early language and communication in a children’s early years.
- Confidentiality and information-sharing responsibilities: This course explores key aspects of information sharing in the early years, including what information must be shared, how it is shared and who it can be shared with.
- Maintaining good hygiene and infection control: This course gives learners the opportunity to explore the practicalities of managing infection and maintaining good hygiene in an early years setting in a virtual setting.
Neil Leitch, CEO of the Alliance, said of the launch:
“I’m very proud that the Alliance has been part of the development of such a groundbreaking virtual training platform. Early Years Metaverse will allow educators to access rich, practical learning experiences from the comfort of their home or work, and support their development in a way that’s both flexible and immersive.
“I would like to thank to Metaverse Learning for the vital role they have played in bringing this vision to life. This is an exciting step forward for our sector and, I believe, a transformative moment in the way we approach professional development.”
The courses are available to access here and are free for members.