Each month, Digital Schoolhouse welcomes you to The Playful Classroom,
where we'll explore the challenges and opportunities shaping computing education today.
Shahneila Saeed is Head of Education at Ukie and the Director of Digital Schoolhouse. She served as Head of Computing at an Inner London school for over 15 years before joining Ukie, where she spearheaded the creation of the Digital Schoolhouse Programme.
She is a prolific author, having penned books like "Hacking the Curriculum: Creative Computing & the Power of Play", "How to Raise a Tech Genius" and the forthcoming “Max Computing” series. She actively contributes to the field as a board member, trustee, and advisor for organisations including NCCE, Digit<all>, and Into Games.
Igniting Ingenuity: Why Playfulness is the Cornerstone of Teacher Training
Teachers possess an abundance of creativity, yet I’ve observed over the years that they often don't recognise this powerful trait in themselves. My aim has always been to cultivate and harness that ingenuity, amplifying it to raise teaching standards across the Digital Schoolhouse network.
That philosophy is why we call our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training days for Lead Teachers ‘Ingenuity Days.’ They are designed to be a platform for ingenious ideas and creative thinking.
Bridging the Gap: Playful Learning in Action
Our Lead Teachers participate in a dedicated annual CPD cycle: an Ingenuity Day in October and January, a regional meetup in March, and a final two-day session in June.
We always set a relevant theme that addresses current priorities. Previous themes have included online safety, ethical use of technology, diversity in computing, and Artificial Intelligence. Last year, we dove deep into the world of virtual and augmented realities (VR/AR). We wanted our teachers to not just understand the technology, but its application, development, and potential in the classroom.
Encountering VR for the First Time
In October 2024, we invited VR developers like Noun Town and Singer Studios to our offices to meet with our teachers. They demonstrated how virtual reality is being used for educational purposes. Teachers were able to get hands-on with the technology, many for the first time, and discuss teaching and learning opportunities for their students.
Funding is always a crucial conversation, so expectations were set early: Digital Schoolhouse wasn't yet in a position to supply hardware. We challenged our teachers to think creatively about integrating their new learning in other ways.
We revisited the theme in January. Bradley Cooper from RiVR shared insights into the application of VR across diverse fields like medicine and policing. We stripped back the basics, exploring different VR experiences and their implications for student engagement. Crucially, we spotlighted student-accessible VR development tools, such as Delightex, which allows students to create their own 3D worlds. By the end of the day, all our Lead Teachers had become creators of their own VR experiences.
The enthusiasm for what this could bring to their students was palpable. This excitement motivated us to go further, to secure the hardware that would unlock these opportunities.
Behind the scenes, a partnership conversation began.
In June 2025, we proudly announced our collaboration with Avantis Education, makers of ClassVR.
This partnership means our teachers are now receiving class sets of headsets, which will be shared across the DSH network. We've used the insights from our VR experts to modify our own curriculum resources; workshops like 'Crazy Graphics' and 'Moon Landing' now have dedicated VR plugins, and we're developing brand new materials in collaboration with ClassVR.
This is just the start. The partnership allows us to deepen our investigation:
- What is the full journey a student takes from experiencing VR to becoming a creator themselves?
Beyond Subject Content
This work is about more than just subject delivery. It’s about enabling all students to experience a wide range of technology, positioning these tools so students can see themselves as the creators of this technology in the future.
Yes, knowledge is important. But equally important is student engagement, joy, and inspiring their own creativity, understanding that these powerful tools are at their disposal to use and embrace.
Some may dismiss VR as a gimmick, but when used well, it becomes a powerful medium for teaching and learning.
During our Ingenuity Days, I saw our teachers laughing, playing, and having fun. I saw the lightbulbs go off, new ideas being developed, and the pure excitement of possibility. I’ve always believed it's rare for a student to enjoy a lesson if the teacher doesn't enjoy it themselves. Teachers having fun is the first stepping stone to delivering fun and engaging lessons.
That is why fun, games, laughter, and playfulness are at the cornerstone of all our Ingenuity Days. And it’s why we are so careful when approaching new partnerships.
ClassVR has arrived at the perfect time. They've enabled us to take what we were investigating and scale it exponentially, bringing these immersive, joyful, and creative experiences to a much wider range of students.
Want to book your school a Digital Schoolhouse workshop using ClassVR? Contact your nearest schoolhouse today: https://www.digitalschoolhouse.org.uk/workshop
