The campus IT department initially blocked the VR goggles from the network entirely. CDW responded by opening up our Greensboro office twice a week all summer, giving the team space to build their pilot and get buy-in.
What It Takes To Launch Immersive AI and VR in Higher Ed
Beyond simply providing headsets, my team at CDW plays a critical role in making sure immersive learning works securely and seamlessly across a university’s infrastructure. At UNC Greensboro, we performed network assessments and deployed mobile device management for the Meta headsets. We also helped the IT team get comfortable with something that initially felt foreign. The goggles weren’t provisioned properly at first, and that made them a nonstarter. But once we showed how they could be secured, updated and fully managed, the IT team came around, and we were off to the races.
I always say to treat the goggles like any other device. They’re no different than a laptop or phone. They need policy enforcement, software updates, visibility and network optimization. That’s where CDW’s full-stack support becomes invaluable. We can tag, provision and ship headsets out of the box, ready to use. Our team stays close to ensure that the network and classroom experience are in sync.
The inspiration didn’t stop there. The Bryan School of Business is now offering AI and cybersecurity courses alongside immersive communication training. The nursing school uses VR to teach needle insertion and heart anatomy without touching patients. The dental school has its own use cases. Every college within UNCG is developing applications, and CDW is helping to scale them. UNC Greensboro also won a grant for innovative, immersive learning. They were approached by HTC with another sizable investment to enable them to go further with this project.
DISCOVER: Get affordable strategies to transform hybrid learning.
Scaling Immersive Learning Starts With Asking the Right Questions
Today, we’re seeing immersive learning take the same trajectory as esports: from a niche investment to a must-have strategic priority. We’re already helping institutions build out immersive rooms and spaces that don’t require goggles at all. They instead use large-scale displays and AI avatars to simulate real-time conversation. You can walk into the room and communicate, coordinate and have a conversation with an avatar and not have to put the goggles on.
But for it to scale, institutions need more than goggles. They also need:
- Network throughput assessments to ensure cloud-based VR experiences don’t lag
- Security-first provisioning, with MDM baked in from day one
- Hardware flexibility, compatible with Meta and Apple Vision Pro
- Pre-sales and post-sales support: from teams such as CDW’s higher education technology specialists and partners
We’re also integrating data and analytics to track learning outcomes. That includes identifying whether students are progressing faster, retaining more or persisting through difficult coursework at higher rates than in traditional modalities.
Universities interested in exploring similar projects or looking to move beyond the pilot stage should start with collaboration and develop support early. They should reach out to other higher ed institutions for feedback on similar efforts and include IT and vendor partners in conversations on long-term vision and whether there will be deployment across departments. This works best when infrastructure and instruction move together.
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