Just in time for the back-to-school season, Schell Games’ virtual reality education tool, Histo­ry­Maker VR, is available today on Steam.

Histo­ry­Maker VR is an immersive content creation tool aimed at middle school students to help them learn history in an engaging way, while encour­aging retention and active learning. Choosing from eight diverse char­ac­ters in U.S. history including Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman, and Sonia Sotomayor, students will upload a speech, prep their stage with a variety of props and set pieces, and record them­selves in character. At the end of the recording, students can export the video files to be shared with their teachers and class­mates. Educators will have access to Classroom Resources that will help them easily integrate this tool into their lesson plans. Histo­ry­Maker VR is an inno­v­a­tive way for students to show off their knowledge of history, civics, and social studies and it is ideal for educators looking to improve student engage­ment, increase lesson retention, and introduce 21^st-century ed tech tools into their classroom.

“At Schell Games, it is our goal to use advanced tech­nology to create new and effective learning expe­ri­ences,” said Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games. ​“With the uncer­tainty surrounding school atten­dance this year, we hope that Histo­ry­Maker VR will be a welcome addition to students studying in class­rooms and homes alike.”

Histo­ry­Maker VR is available now on Oculus Rift/​Rift S at no cost to educators and retails for $9.99 USD on Steam for all others. Educators who are inter­ested in getting access to the tool should go to the Educators Resources page of the Histo­ry­Maker VR website. There, they will fill out a form to receive a free digital key to use on the Steam store. Instruc­tions for redeeming the key can be found on the FAQs & Support page of the Histo­ry­Maker VR website.

For more infor­ma­tion on how to bring Histo­ry­Maker VR to the classroom, visit the website here.

More infor­ma­tion and assets can be found in the press kit. Get a glimpse of the tool in this video.