Virtual reality (VR) is already making big waves in the education and training industries. From teaching students about reef ecosystems to police training, VR technology is a cost-effective and powerful tool for helping people to learn. One of the companies helping to make this VR education possible is Librarium Incorporated. This metaverse startup is hoping to shift methods for learning and studying to make it easier on students. Helping to lead Librarium Incorporated is Chief Strategy Officer Annie Morley. “I kind of stumbled into virtual reality,” she explained. “I started working in this space in 2017, when I was recruited to head up an organization here in Idaho called the Idaho Virtual Reality Council. The whole premise of the council was to evangelize the technology in our state and try to build an ecosystem.”
While leading the council and speaking to possible partners, Morley became more interested in the capabilities of the technology. “I just kind of became fascinated as I had to really educate myself on all these use cases and understand how VR was being implemented in verticals and across different industries,” Morley stated. During her time leading the council, Morley oversaw initiatives that put 35,000 people in VR over two years. The age range for these individuals was from four years old to 90 years old, all being positively impacted by this technology. “It was so fascinating to see the wonder and excitement from people in trying this technology,” Morley added. She continued to follow her fascination throughout her career, eventually landing a position at Librarium Incorporated.
Now working at this innovative startup, Morley gets to wear many different hats. From app testing to outreach with partners, she works on optimizing Librarium Incorporated’s strategy to expand its reach. “It’s really fulfilling,” she said. “I spend most of my time in education and training. But I also do some consulting with specific organizations that have a deep footprint in virtual reality.”
Morley and the rest of her team at Librarium Incorporated are especially excited to launch their first VR learning app called Librarium. This app is the first of its kind to use VR to create memory palaces for users to help them remember and learn better. The memory palace technique (popularized by the show Sherlock) uses imaginary locations within a person’s mind that they can store mnemonic images to help them remember for later. Studies have shown this technique to be extremely effective, and Librarium hopes to guide users into utilizing this technique for studying. “It’s so different from anything else out there and traditional study methods,” Morley explained. “The last few years have shown us that there are a lot of challenges with how the education system has been built. One of the most powerful things about learning using virtual reality is the ability to engage your other senses.”
The app launches in August of 2022. Librarium also targets students who are specifically studying for standardized tests, including the SAT, LSAT, and MCAT. You can find out more about the app at this link.
As one of the women leaders within Librarium Incorporated, and on the Librarium app, Morley has also been thinking about how to use her position to encourage more diversity in the metaverse industry. “I’ve been asking myself how to do this, as we think about long-term hiring.” She added. “We want to make sure we are building a company that has a foundation focused on diversity and inclusion. Since 2017, I would say that I am seeing more diversity within the industry, which does have me hopeful. But there is definitely more work to be done. And we want to be the ones that are making sure this change is happening.”
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