BT today announced that it has launched immersive spaces for business and public sector customers – creating the UK market’s first 5G-enabled interactive simulation experience.

Launched in partnership with Immersive Interactive Ltd, BT Immersive Spaces simulate real-life environments within an internal or external room, or mobile unit – to create an interactive immersive experience.

The fully immersive rooms are connected to the EE mobile network, using cameras and HD projectors to bring 360° content to life across the space’s walls and floor. Inside the space, users can experience real-life or imagined scenarios in detail, and add interactive elements – virtually transporting themselves into simulated environments, augmented with lights, sounds, and even smells.

Each space comes with a content library of more than 3,000 computer-generated scenarios, real-life environments, games and training experiences. BT Immersive Spaces can be used for anything from training paramedics in a simulated, gamified roadside accident scene or hospital unit, to recreating fan experiences at a football match, important historical moments, or even a trip to a beach in Thailand. The spaces are also compatible with VR, AR and XR technologies to enhance the user experience.

Immersive Spaces offers use cases across a huge variety of sectors. BT is experiencing early demand for training and development use cases across education, healthcare, retail, transport, tourism, construction and sport – creating virtual experiences inside operating theatres, buses, warehouses, supermarkets, building sites and arenas. They are suitable for any business or organisation with a learning or development requirement.

Initial customers for BT Immersive Spaces include Borders College in Galashiels, Scotland and Cadoxton Primary School in South Wales. Both are using the technology to create fully immersive and interactive classrooms.

“The children absolutely love it,” said Hannah Cogbill, senior leadership at Cadoxton Primary School.  “Their favourite one so far is life under the sea. We can't wait to explore more of the experiences and collections and then begin to develop our own content. We are looking forward to using it to support our children's development and progression of imaginative writing. But it will also be a great scaffold to support learners with pre-experiences that they might be nervous about – for example catching a train or going on an aeroplane.”

Construction students at Borders College, who have previously not had the opportunity to access large-scale inner-city developments for on-site learning, can now experience first-hand teachings of the construction environment using the technology. Students taking courses from engineering to medical and health and social care also benefit, as they can manage real-life scenarios and increase their understanding of working in each career path. This will include Electrical Safe Isolation, ambulance training and dementia training.

David Lowe, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Sustainability at Borders College, said: “Thanks to this new innovative 5G enabled equipment from BT, there will no longer be a divide between the opportunities offered to rural and inner-city students. Our students will be able to learn from wide-ranging developments, which is incredibly important in helping them to navigate their career opportunities and understand where their preferences lie in this diverse sector. As lecturers, it will give us far more agility to update our courses as new practices and techniques enter the market, which will unlock a wider and ‘green’ range of skills among students.”

BT’s Immersive Spaces are the first in the UK to allow customers to edit and create interactive content of their choice. As well as a pre-populated content library, this includes the option to film, edit and even live stream their own videos using a 360° camera, supplied by BT.

Alex Foster, Director at Division X – BT’s business innovation team, said: “Immersive Spaces bring together EE’s unrivalled connectivity with the very best immersive tech – combining the real and digital worlds to create new benefits for business and public sector organisations. This technology has the potential to be a game changer for training and development in any industry. Putting the power of immersive content into the hands of customers allows people to experience learning in a completely new way that is targeted specifically to their needs – which can significantly improve information retention and problem-solving skills. It can also enrich remote sales experiences, add a new layer to gaming and sports, and transport people virtually to any location, anywhere, during any point in history.”

BT’s Immersive Spaces are fully supported by EE’s 4G and 5G network. With 5G, users can live-stream content from a real-life location directly into the BT Immersive Space. Where this isn’t possible, they can download content and store content over 4G or even fixed fibre.

David Salt, MD at Immersive Interactive Ltd, said: “The potential for immersive technologies is huge. Being able to interact with every surface of an immersive room, as well as enjoy additional sounds, smells and sensory effects, allows people to become truly submerged and virtually transported to new environments, as if they were experiencing the real thing. We are thrilled to be working with BT to bring this technology, with limitless potential, to businesses and consumers who can benefit from learning in a new, interactive way.”

BT provides customers with an end-to-end service – from building and preparing Immersive Spaces, providing 360° video equipment, right through to training and guidance on how to use the spaces, as well as 24/7 customer service support.

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That’s one big reason why Safer Internet Day is more important than ever. It provides an annual focus for something that should be front of mind every single day in our digital-first world: promoting the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people across the UK.

The theme for this year is, 'All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online', spotlighting how crucial it is to stimulate conversations about online safety between children and their parents and carers, especially as the age of those accessing technology becomes younger and younger.

A focus on gaming and interactive services also provides an opportunity to ensure that young people are listened to and supported when using these platforms, and to celebrate their role in creating a safer internet.

Being PhoneSmart

Gamification is an incredibly effective and engaging tool for learning, an approach we used with the EE PhoneSmart Licence. An online programme in partnership with Internet Matters, PhoneSmart helps children getting their first phone learn how to stay safe and be kind online. It’s also free to everyone, on any network – not just EE customers – because access to these tools is an essential part of creating meaningful change and because we believe everyone should have the skills they need for a brighter future.

The next phase of the PhoneSmart campaign is designed to support parents and guardians in navigating the world of video streaming – supporting their children to stay in control of what they share online and who they share it with.

Paving the way for change

Our research shows that nearly 1 in 3 (31%) of us have witnessed online hate whilst gaming, with 1 in 5 (20%) of online gamers having personally experienced it. As a parent of avid gamers, that’s not something I want my children to worry about when enjoying their time online.

Education paves the way for change, yet 43% of all those who play online games say they don’t know how to deal with online hate if they experience it. We have a duty to help provide people with the knowledge they need to take a stand against hate.

That idea is at the core of BT and EE’s Hope United campaign, formed to make a stand against hate speech online, educating people on the effects of online hate and how to be a part of the solution. The campaign brought the UK’s top footballers together to shine a light on the issue of online hate and the digital skills needed to tackle it.

This year, we’re taking Hope United to amateur football clubs across the UK with a roadshow and online workshop. We’ll also be adding the Hope United kit into the FIFA 22 video game - so not only can players show what side they’re on by wearing the shirt in the real world, their FIFA team can too.

Standing together

Through the BT Skills for Tomorrow programme which aims to help 25 million people in the UK make the most of the digital world, campaigns like Hope United help us make real change; educating young people, empowering them, and giving them the tools to share our message: hope can beat hate if we all stand together.

But perhaps the most important message to get across is that words can be impactful and powerful. The effects of online abuse and hate speech should never be underestimated; hate speech online can have a real impact on someone's life.

We want to enable everyone to stand against online hate. We want everyone to feel empowered to do that in their favourite games, and we want everyone to have the skills to do something about online hate wherever they see it, because hate has no place in any game.

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Led by North Lanarkshire Council, BT and Interactive Immersive Classroom, the UK’s first 5G-enabled immersive classroom has arrived in Scotland.

The new immersive classroom has been developed within the Muirfield Centre in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, where a room has been transformed – using innovative technology - into an engaging and digital learning environment.

The 360-degree room creates a digital projection that uses all four classroom walls and the ceiling to bring the real-world into an immersive experience for students. The concept aims to push beyond traditional methods of teaching to create an inclusive digital experience that helps explain abstract and challenging concepts through a 3D model. It will also have the potential to support students with learning difficulties in developing imagination, creative and critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

BT has deployed its 5G Rapid Site solution to support 5G innovation and digital transformation of UK’s education sector. The solution is made possible through the EE 5G network which brings ultrafast speeds and enhanced reliability to classrooms now, and into the future. With the greater bandwidth that the solution provides, students and teachers can livestream virtually from any location with minimal disruption and connect many more devices than on previous networks. This means students can still enjoy a rich learning experience and not be disadvantaged by their location or by the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pupils at Carbrain Primary School, Cumbernauld, were the first to dive into the new experience with an underwater lesson about the ocean.

A student from Cabrain Primary also said his favourite part was seeing the Northern Lights, a subject he studied at school: “I loved the colours, it was as if I were seeing them in real life!”. Another student enjoyed the Safari experience, saying: “It was so cool to see the animals so close up.”

 “The immersive classroom allows us to break free of the traditional classroom boundaries,” explained Councillor Frank McNally, Convener of Education and Families with North Lanarkshire Council.

“Its potential uses really are limitless and we hope that it can be used to engage pupils who are perhaps turned-off by traditional learning experiences as well as by local community groups such as historical societies.

“This project shows that North Lanarkshire is at the cutting edge in terms of technology and connectivity and demonstrates our commitment to providing our pupils with outstanding learning opportunities.”

The interactive experience is multifaceted and can be used for school learning, college and university workshops, corporate training workshops, gym classes, and tourism, meaning it can be applied to all learners for all ages, and be deployed across many industries in the UK.

Rob Shuter, CEO of BT’s Enterprise unit, said: “By harnessing the power of 5G, we’ve been able to help transform education for students in North Lanarkshire. We know that technology can help to make education richer and more accessible for young people. This is vital for both students and teachers; a blended learning approach can engage and support pupils better than traditional methods only. We’re really excited to be partnering with the Council to use our ultrafast 5G network to provide a UK-first in education.

“Our Skills for Tomorrow programme aims to give 10 million people and businesses the skills they need to thrive in a digital world. We’ll continue to deliver innovative solutions like this right across the UK, to help build better public services for customers and our society.”

With schools unable to host a Sports Day this year, BT is giving children across the UK the chance to race at a virtual sports event, including the opportunity to win brand new tech equipment for their schools.

Through BT Skills for Tomorrow, BT is helping 5 million children across the UK make the most of life in the digital world. As part of this, BT has created Digital Dash: an exciting new game designed for 7-10-year-olds.

Digital Dash invites children to use digital skills to create an avatar and train it to become the best 100m sprinter in the country. A digital leaderboard will showcase the nation’s progress in the run-up to an exciting live event on 23^rd July, which will bring together six finalists from across the UK and will be hosted by Olympic gold medalist Dame Kelly Holmes and broadcaster, writer and director Reggie Yates.

After creating and personalising their very own avatar - for which they can choose everything from skin tone to hairstyle and outfits - players will get straight to work to get their athletes race day ready. Focusing on both the mind and body, training includes building strength, agility and stamina, while boosting their own digital skills through a series of mini-games. From using logical reasoning to spot their athlete’s missing shoe, to learning algorithms by herding sheep in their athlete’s sleep, Digital Dash uses educational elements to help children develop the key problem-solving skills they require for the future.

Marc Allera, CEO of BT's Consumer division said: “With kids across the UK missing out on a proper Sports Day this year, keeping young minds curious and active has never been more important. We know that families are turning to technology more than ever during lockdown, and so Digital Dash has been created to help keep children entertained and educated, inspired to get active themselves, and give parents peace of mind that their children are interacting with technology safely and productively.

“We’re on a mission to ensure that people of all ages have access to digital skills that help them flourish. We hope that Digital Dash will be a fun place for children to keep learning and entertained during lockdown, alongside helping to get them fit for a digital future.”

To play Digital Dash, simply head to the BT Skills for Tomorrow website. Children can opt in to have the chance of competing in the live event, should they top the leaderboard, when downloading the app.

BT is joining forces with the UK government’s Department for Education (DfE) to help the most in-need children in England with online learning.

BT will provide in-need families with six months free access to the UK’s largest Wi-fi network, which extends to 5.5 million Wi-fi hotspots around the country. Access will be provided via a BT WiFi voucher-code system and will allow children to access the web on up to three devices at a time, for six months.

The voucher will allow access with comprehensive content filtering and will point to online resources from BT’s own Skills for Tomorrow and Barefoot learning programmes, as well as BBC Bitesize and others.

The scheme will be offered to those who are most in need and will be launched on June 16^th. The ambitious plan follows the Department for Education’s initiative announced in April, which aims to help England’s most in-need children access vital online learning resources. Over the coming months, supporting hardest hit families is more important than ever.

Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer division, said: “Supporting children’s education in these difficult times is a major priority for BT. Through our Skills for Tomorrow programme, we already have a whole raft of fun and engaging online resources to help children learn at home. Offering up our Wi-fi hotspots estate will ensure that thousands more children will ultimately be able to keep up with their important digital learning and online schoolwork for the rest of term and over the Summer holidays as well as into the Autumn.”

Nick Gibb, School Standards Minister, said: “The Government will do everything possible to make sure no child, whatever their background, falls behind as a result of coronavirus. We have committed over £100 million to support pupils with remote education, including to provide laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers to disadvantaged children and young people, and this initiative will build on that work. High quality internet access will continue to play an important role for children and families as we work towards pupils returning to schools in September, and I am hugely grateful to BT for their support in delivering this scheme.”

DfE has already provided over 50,000 4G wireless routers for children in secondary school with a social worker, care leavers and children in year 10 without access to the internet. There is further work with telecommunications companies to provide mobile data support to school children who are unable to access the internet.

BT is also announcing direct support for several key initiatives, offering access to the BT Wi-fi network as a pilot for the DfE scheme. These are:

• Schools Home Support has partnered with Raspberry Pi via the Bloomfield Trust to quickly provide devices for learning at home to the families they support that don’t have them. These will now come with Wi-fi connectivity for 6 months.
   
• Kids Out’s ‘Kids In’ initiative to support families who are self-isolating in women’s refuges after escaping domestic violence. 
   
• Barnardo’s support for vulnerable children and young people who may be locked down in homes where they suffer from ‘digital poverty’ and so do not have any access to fixed internet at present.

Jaine Stannard, CEO at School-Home Support, said: “Digital poverty during lockdown has created a home learning disadvantage gap for many children and young people. With so much of school being delivered online, access to technology and the internet has become a major barrier to education. At SHS, we have been working hard to connect families with the essential technology they need to succeed - but securing internet access has been a challenge. So, we are thrilled to have the support of BT. This will make a tremendous difference to the families we support, enabling pupils to finally access the online education they have been missing.”

BT’s Skills for Tomorrow programme is designed to empower 10 million people, by giving them the skills they need to flourish for the digital world. Skills for Tomorrow is a portfolio of programmes and initiatives. The portal has a wealth of support for families, parents and children, including educational interactive games and missions tailored for primary age kids.

Since the Covid-19 crisis began, BT has provided support for all its customers – from providing unlimited data for broadband customers and offering unlimited mobile data for any NHS staff on EE, through to supporting the homeless, and connecting the NHS Nightingale hospitals and providing hundreds of free digital skills and educational resources. The resources provide support in a wide range of areas – from home-schooling to business webinars and include help for people with low or no digital skills to ensure they can keep in touch with loved ones and access vital health services.

BT is funding the scheme to provide in-need families with six months’ access to BT’s Wi-fi estate, while distribution is being handled directly by the DfE which will issue families with the necessary voucher usernames and passwords.

Local Authorities and Academy Trusts will be invited to request vouchers, working with their schools to identify those children who are most in need. For more information about this project or the pilot, please contact: COVID.TECHNOLOGY@education.gov.uk.