Use Cases & Trials

UC EDU 1 - XR-enabled Education in Rural Schools

Creating Interactive Learning Experiences That Will Help Students Improve Their Academic Performance

The implementation of XR-enabled education, in 2 rural schools in Romania aims to create a captivating and interactive learning experiences that will help students improve their academic performance and reduce the discrepancies between students learning in rural and urban environments, respectively.

Partners

Use Case Overall

In Romania, digital education is still a privilege, as almost 38% of children under 16 years old and 37.5% of young people aged 16-24 are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, a situation that is particularly widespread among those with a low level of education: almost 55% of people who have only completed primary school are exposed, according to Eurostat data, to poverty or social exclusion, with a significant proportion in rural areas. 45% of Romania’s kids come from rural areas and almost 30% of them are unable to get a passing grade at the National Evaluation, which prevents them to access a high school and university studies. This means that several generations of kids’ chances of employment will be either in dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs or in domains which will provide less chances of making a decent wage. At the same time, some of these jobs will be, within the next 20 years, subject to extinction due to robotization, automatization and machine learning. What all studies on the future of labour predict (from Oxford to World Economic Forum) is that IT and technology skills will be in high demand.

Studies within the Digitaliada program show that there is an important category of teachers who have an open attitude towards the use of new technologies and digital content in the classroom, across all types of schools, regardless of the level of technology.

It is our use-case motivation to drive this attitude towards exploitable results in improving the academic performance of the students, and to reduce the gap in adoption and utilization of technologies in urban and rural schools, respectively.

An equally important motivation is ORO’s and OROF’s commitment to drive the usage of technologies in education, and to improve the existing methods and processes using sustainable new technologies such as beyond-5G networks and Extended Reality technology.

Key Objectives

Validate 6G-connectivity, and technological support for XR-enabled services in the target areas of the trials.

Composition, deployment and validation of trials components using the 6G-PATH framework.

Validate and end-to-end, user-to-platform-to-cloud scenarios, including fixed and mobility settings, for the Digitaliada platform’s XR-capabilities.

Expected Innovations/Outcomes

Improve learning outcomes of schools in rural areas.

Improve teacher attrition in schools in rural areas.

Enhance awareness, availability, and accessibility of 6G XR-enabled learning tools.

KPIs

KVIs

Use Case Alignment with UN SDGs

UC-EDU-1 leverages XR and 5G/6G technologies within the Digitaliada program to provide immersive, equitable, and innovative education for rural Romanian students, directly advancing SDGs on quality education, digital infrastructure, reduced inequalities, and multi-stakeholder partnerships.

The XR-enabled Digitaliada platform delivers free digital content, immersive learning, and teacher training to rural schools, directly reducing rural-urban educational disparities and improving learning outcomes and digital skills for students and teachers
(Target 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5).

By equipping students with IT and technological skills, the program prepares them for future job markets, promoting sustained economic growth and employment opportunities
(Target 8.6).

By deploying 5G/6G-enabled XR Caravans and digital platforms, the UC fosters digital infrastructure and innovation in underserved rural areas (Target 9.c).

This UC specifically targets rural students, helping bridge the digital divide and promoting equal access to quality education and technology skills
(Target 10.2).

Collaboration between Orange Foundation, technology providers, and educational stakeholders exemplifies effective partnerships for sustainable development and educational innovation (Target 17.17).

Small Trials: Initial XR Introduction and Feedback Gathering in Rural Schools

Objective: Launch field implementation of XR in two pilot schools and assess initial perceptions. Activities included interviews, focus groups, and first hands-on use of XR by teachers.

Results: High teacher enthusiasm, highlighting XR’s potential for engagement, inclusion, and conceptual learning. Key challenges included hardware scarcity, connectivity issues, classroom management, and physical discomfort. Mapped strongly to 6G-PATH KVIs such as digital equity, student motivation, and improved QoE.

Large-Scale XR Trial and Teacher Training: Full Implementation and Training Session in a Rural Context

Objective: Validate pedagogical use of XR in real classroom settings and assess scalability across rural schools using B5G/6G.

Results: Teachers received structured training in ClassVR use, lesson planning, and classroom management. Emphasis was placed on safe headset operation and managing XR-related discomfort. Demonstrated the practical feasibility and teacher readiness for XR integration with positive engagement levels.

Second Large Trial for XR in Rural Education: Teacher Training at “Nicolae Russu” School, Sita Buzăului

Objective: Equip educators with a solid understanding of XR concepts, teach them how to plan curriculum-aligned lessons using the ClassVR portal, ensure the safe and effective use of the equipment, and validate the integration of XR in real classroom settings. The training also sought to assess the potential for scaling XR deployments across rural Romanian schools using B5G/6G connectivity.

Results: Teachers gained hands-on experience with XR technologies, learning to operate VR headsets, connect devices, access content, and manage lessons through the ClassVR portal. They practiced lesson planning aligned with curriculum goals and explored real-time classroom management tools to ensure student safety and engagement. The training built confidence, enabled independent session setup, and highlighted the practical value of XR in teaching core subjects like biology and geography.