On March 31, Clearview Elementary students had the opportunity to travel from California to an erupting volcano, from the rainforests to deep under the sea. Welcome to the next level of education, virtual reality.
Google has teamed up with schools to take students around the world from inside their classrooms to places usually only seen in their textbooks.
Google Expeditions are virtual reality 360-degree panoramas, 3D images and videos that include details and questions that make them easy to integrate into curriculum teachers are already using in their classrooms. There are currently over 100 different expeditions to choose from.
Students go on the expeditions using either cardboard or plastic virtual reality viewers, which have a smart phone inside of them. Teachers guide their tours from a tablet, stopping periodically to ask questions or discuss what they’re seeing. They can click on a point of interest and a white circle will appear on their tablet. The students then see a white arrow in their viewers that direct them to look at it.
Andrea Coultier’s fourth grade class just finished learning about the SE region of the U.S. and was about to move onto the west coast, so she chose to start their expedition with California State Parks.
As her students held their cardboard viewers up to their eyes, Coultier began the expedition and the class erupted with excitement. The students all shouted ‘whoa’ and enthusiastic chatter followed as they moved their heads around to try to see everything at once.
“It’s awesome, great, the best thing in the world!” exclaimed Teighlor S.
“It’s so cool,” said Grace L. “We’re going to different places and learning about them in real life.”
Before their time was up, the class went on three quick expeditions.
“My favorite was the underwater expedition because of the shark,” said Charlie M. “It’s scary!”
In another room, a different fourth grade class was using the plastic virtual reality viewers, which are more durable but also more expensive. They started their tour at the rain forest.
“Ooh, it’s so beautiful.” “That’s so weird!” “I see it!” and “What is that?” were some of the comments flying around the room as the students moved their heads up and down and twisted from side to side.
Schools around the country could apply for Google Expeditions to come to their classrooms for the day, and Clearview was one of the schools chosen. Currently it’s is only in beta form, but Google hopes to have it available to all schools in the near future.
Benefits of the program are many. It engages students, immersing them completely within environments to help them understand lessons and concepts in ways they wouldn’t otherwise.
It’s easy for teachers to set up and use, and it’s customizable. Teachers can tailor materials that fit into their particular curriculum, and they can also create their own field trips.
Google Expeditions creates a group adventure that classes engage in together. Everyone sees the same things, questions can be asked and answered, and they can talk to their teacher and each other about what they’re experiencing. All of this helps students gain a better understanding of their lessons, making connections to the things they’re learning about in the classroom.
