And to Africa, and to Staten Island, and to the bottom of the ocean, thanks to Google’s Expeditions Pioneer Program, a virtual reality (VR) experience that allows teachers to guide students through tours of landmarks and other interesting locations. Expeditions teams visit selected schools around the world bringing a complete Expeditions kit with everything the teachers need to take their students on journeys anywhere. The team shows teachers how Expeditions works and help set it up before class.
Using a tablet, the teacher guides the students on a tour and can point out highlights while referring to prepared notes. An inexpensive cardboard headset with lenses and an Android phone within, enables students to experience 360-degree views of places like Machu Picchu, outer space, and museums in Paris. According to Megan Carroll, Google Program Lead, who introduced Expeditions to IPA, “Students have the freedom to explore the environments independently, but the teacher still has control and can guide the learning experience.”
“I felt like I was flying,” reported Gaby, a grade 4 student, of her experience “visiting” the seven wonders of the world. “I liked it because you feel like you are really there,” she continued. Kiana, another grade 4 student, can already see how Google Expeditions could be used to enhance her education. “It would be good for language arts because we could explore the places that we are reading about,” she remarked.
“The application of Google Expeditions in education is limitless. The places kids could explore and the topics they could study are limitless!” explains Terry Fuller, Elementary STEM teacher, enthusiastically. Currently, Google is only Beta testing the program in certain areas around the world, but hopefully, it will be available to all schools worldwide, soon.
Megan Carroll, Google’s Program Lead for the Expeditions Pioneer Program, guides Mr. Fuller’s STEM class on a tour of Mars.
Mrs. Yoshino’s technology students explore the African tundra.