philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Virtual reality program looking to boost RGV (McAllen, TX)

Standing in the middle of 10 40-inch screens that will connect to one computer, Drew Lentz told his worst, favorite story about why he pushes so hard to teach locals, especially kids, about coding and tech.

A local school teacher once told Rene Ramirez, Lentz’s colleague, fellow Code RGV board member and IT director at Rioco, there are important classes in home economics for students to take, like flower arrangement. With practical classes like that, kids can get part-time jobs paying in the ballpark of $8 per hour.

“Our kids don’t have the aptitude for code,” Ramirez, 41, recalled the teacher saying.

There could be a VR tour of The Louvre in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York, a hot air balloon ride, an African safari, a trip through a Middle Eastern market and much more. The goal is to take people who might not have ever left the Valley and give them that experience to travel the world when sometimes they don’t necessarily have the means to.

“We want to make communities better and people better,” Lentz said. “McAllen EDC focuses on manufacturing and their relationship with Korea and that’s great. But let’s focus on people in the Valley and make them smarter than people in Korea.”

See the full story here: http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/virtual-reality-program-looking-to-boost-rgv/article_6c83da54-44a0-11e6-ab80-13beef42372e.html