KAUFMAN, Texas (Kaufman Independent School District, Stephanie Frosch) — If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, just ask Nash Intermediate and J. W. Monday Primary students how many words a Google Expeditions virtual reality field trip is worth.
KAUFMAN, Texas (Kaufman Independent School District, Stephanie Frosch) — If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, just ask Nash Intermediate and J. W. Monday Primary students how many words a Google Expeditions virtual reality field trip is worth.
Students and staff at both schools recently participated in Google’s 2015 - 2016 Expeditions Pioneer Program, where Google Expedition Leaders brought the world to KISD students through the use of a teacher operated app, virtual reality (VR) viewers, and software created for teachers by teachers. Teachers lead and immersed with their students in select Expeditions. According to Google, “Expeditions are collections of virtual reality panoramas, 360 degree photo spheres, 3D images and video, and ambient sounds--annotated with details, points of interest, and questions that make them easy to integrate into curriculum already used in schools.”
Google has partnered with organizations like the American Museum of Natural History and the Planetary Society to help create custom Expeditions for teachers across the world. According to the onsite Expeditions Leader, Nash Intermediate and Monday Primary students were “Beta Testers” for the day, given both the opportunity to explore the Expeditions app and offer real time feedback to Google. She went on to say, “It’s like a field trip on The Magic School Bus without actually getting on the bus.” The app responsible for the Expeditions is in beta (still developing), as the Expeditions Pioneer Program sweeps through select schools across the globe. While engaged in the Expeditions, students were reminded to remain in one spot, looking up/down/left/right. In addition, students were told “Try not to grab out at things, even though you may feel like something is right there.” Final rule, “Hold it like you’re eating a juicy cheeseburger.” Cheeseburgers? Don’t grab out at things? Look in all directions? Student engagement was 100%.
Does it get any better than 100% student engagement? Yes, it does. According to Google, “Our Expeditions kit is a collection of all the hardware needed to go on Expeditions in full virtual reality--a tablet for the guide, VR viewers for each student, a speaker to provide ambient sounds and a durable box to transport, charge, and store it all in. We know many schools don’t have a great Internet service (or any at all) so we built Expeditions to work without it. The kit includes a router that allows Expeditions to run over its own local Wi-Fi network so there’s no buffering, dropped connections or lengthy loading times.”
What did Nash students have to say? During their Expeditions I heard statements like “What on Earth am I standing on?” According to the teacher, the student was standing on brain coral in the ocean. Another student echoed the sentiment that buzzed across the room, “This-is-AWESOME!” As each class rotated through the Expeditions experience, they were gathered at the end to offer constructive feedback to Google. A few of the student suggestions were “Put straps on the viewers so we can freely use our hands to touch and interact with the animals” and “I want to be able to use my hands to build things like you do in Minecraft.”
The Expeditions Pioneer Program created an undeniably unforgettable experience for Nash and Monday Primary students and teachers. More importantly, students were empowered to engage with the world at their fingertips and given the opportunity to have their voices heard.
