What you might not know is that EC has a product team. A team entirely dedicated to the development of new and existing products, constantly researching, analysing data and writing new products. Two members of this team were at the 2021 Eaquals conference in Belfast recently and were asked the following question:
How are things going at EC? Anything new and exciting?
Well, there are a lot of exciting things happening at EC. The product team has not been idle over the past 18 months. EC has created EC Virtual, our first entirely online school with both full time and part time courses to meet the needs of our students all over the world. To end the year of 2021, we launched Unibridge, a completely new product in Cambridge designed for students who intend to go on to study at university. This course will develop the skills students will need to be successful in their future studies and their E-Portfolios will help them to secure that position at university. We have carried out a full curriculum review ensuring that the latest research on learning is embedded in our courses around the world.
But one of the most exciting developments of the past 18 months has been Simmula.
What is Simmula?
Simmula is the first entirely VR English language school.
VR?
Yes. Virtual Reality. EC launched Simmula in January 2022, a Virtual Reality school where students from around the world can gather, socialise, network and learn in a VR classroom. Imagine a lesson where students learn to order food in a restaurant and then we take them to a VR restaurant to practise; where we teach students to share their opinions and then we take them to a debate room where they can debate against their classmates; where we teach them to ask questions in a shop and then take them to a shop to practise. We can immediately bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world.
Wow…what do students think?
I’m glad you asked. Let’s hear from some of our students:
“You are in a completely new created world and you can speak with people from all over the world while you are laying in your bed :)”
“It’s a different and funny way of learning, you are very focused”
“It’s like a mix of having fun and learning on the same time.”
“In this time you can’t use your phone. So you only focus on the lessons”
“It’s like being outside a classroom so it’s nearer for our daily life.”