Virtual Reality before 2014 was not available for the general public. It was a possiblity to use it, but back then the costs were enormously high. So you have to know, VR is not a shiny new invention.
In 2014 Google introduced the cardboard which is a VR goggle used with a smartphone. It opened the possibility to visit places and experiences which were either impossible or way too expensive to do in real life.
Parallel to this, companies like Oculus and HTC introduced high end consumer devices, the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. These devices are used by connecting them to a computer and have much better graphics compared to the cardboard + smartphone solutions.
In educational environment the later solutions are more for universities and more advanced studies, for the elementary and high school education the smartphone + cardboard combination is a perfect budget friendly solution.
VR in Education
Not only that is possible. There are more and more application which use VR to make things possible in the classrooms which were not before. This gives the same chance for students. With VR everyone can travel along the Great Wall in China and the next lesson fly over the Mount Everest. Before VR this was only possible for some of the students. But even more is possible. For medical students to be there in person and experience a heart surgery for example in more perspectives. Stop it, rewind, watch again. This in real life is not even possible.
And if you teach in K12 education. Generation Z kids who attend school today, they get excited to use these gadgets in school, because they are technology reliant.
Of course, this doesn't mean students are going to sit in classes with VR glasses all the time. But VR opens a whole new perspective for education.