Kai Frazier, a passionate educator with more than 20 years of experience, is fundamentally transforming the future of education through her VR platform, Kai XR. As an accessibility-focused metaverse learning tool, it links innovation with inclusion. It prepares students to enter STEM, the world’s fastest growing career field. Kai XR offers virtual field trips, collaborative 3D maker spaces, and interactive assessments, transforming how elementary and middle schoolers engage with learning.

From Classroom to Metaverse

Frazier’s path toward the statehouse began as a para-educator. That path eventually led to, respectively, educator positions at An Achievable Dream Middle & High School and Manassas Park City Schools. Her conviction about history and education as a whole brought focus on the inequities that most students encounter in getting to quality, transformational, enriching, learning experiences.

"When I started having my own classroom, I taught English language arts, I taught U.S. history, I taught world history." - Kai Frazier

Frazier recognized that limited resources, such as lack of transportation for field trips, hindered students' ability to connect with the material.

"My students do not have a lot of technology. We did not have buses for the field trips, so we just didn’t get to go any place. And it was hard to teach history like that." - Kai Frazier

Frazier was driven by a belief that all students, everywhere, deserved fair access to dynamic and inspiring educational opportunities. He imagined virtual field trips as just the ticket.

"I want to have virtual field trips. I worked at museums. They were like, ‘Well, they can just come here.’ They didn’t understand the challenges of getting kids there…I was teaching 30 minutes from the museums in D.C., and the museums are all free. All of the federal museums they’re all free. We couldn’t afford the buses." - Kai Frazier

A Bold Leap of Faith

Frazier went on to visit Stanford and receive inspiration from its Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL). After such an eye-opening experience, he took the transformative step of relocating to Oakland, CA. To prove her dedication, she sold her home, car, and other belongings to finance Kai XR.

"So once I saw that museums weren’t really there yet and the schools weren’t able to be there, I said, ‘Well, maybe I can really do this for the kids.’ So I sold my house, my car, and everything I owned, and I moved across the country from D.C. to Oakland. That’s where I was received by a beautiful community that said, ‘You’re here for the kids. How can we help you?’ In every corner, Oakland helped me." - Kai Frazier

This was a brave step because it showed her commitment to building a student-centered platform that would revolutionize how students learn.

Impact and Outcomes

Kai XR has already shown its tremendous impact with local and state partnerships as well as pilot programs. In partnership with Ed Farm and Alabama Power, Kai XR created the Introduction to Innovation Mixed Reality Masterminds program. In tandem with the Spring 2024 Kai XR XR Discoverer pilot program, 547 students experienced learning in Kai XR’s Metaverse Makerspace. They partnered with 15 eager and energetic Ed Farm educators.

Results from the new pilot program were astounding, achieving a 90% boost in student engagement and self-directed learning. We were gobsmacked at the 92.5% increase in student excitement! At the same time, 87.5% of teachers saw a substantial uptick in student engagement with the subject material. All of these outcomes point to the impact of Kai XR in creating an efficient, active, and immersive learning experience.

"The makerspace was a huge help with reinforcement of the standard. Students were able to showcase what they understood from the lesson and had fun creating the scene. Many were excited to share with other classmates." - Ashley Dixon

The program’s success highlights the promise of metaverse learning to transform education and improve student outcomes.

"Students were excited about the virtual tour of the University of Alabama. It gave them the opportunity to explore the campus and get a feel for the environment before actually visiting in person. This experience sparked curiosity and made the idea of college more real and accessible to them." - Sonya Thomas

Kai XR is helping students understand the subject matter in deeper ways and preparing them with critical skills they will need for the future.

"They learn how to critical think and problem solve. They learn how to apply what they’re learning in class to the everyday the real world and they also learn to use their STEM skills in a really cross-curricular way." - Kai Frazier