Give your students the experience of a lifetime right from your classroom using Google Cardboards VR and Google Expeditions. Want to show your students what festivals worldwide look like or take them on a virtual field trip to Paris? You can do all of this from the comfort of your classroom using your smartphone, google cardboard VR and the google expeditions app. 

            Google Cardboard is a VR headset built from cardboard or plastic that you slide your smartphone in, which immerses a viewer in a 360-degree view of a video or image in 3-D. Google Cardboard brings mesmerizing experiences to everyone in a simple and affordable way. 

            Google Expeditions is an app you can download on your smartphone and use your Google Cardboard VR headset. Google Expeditions is an immersive education app that allows teachers and students to explore the world through over 1,000 virtual reality and 100 augmented reality tours. You can swim with sharks, visit outer space, and more without actually leaving the classroom. 

            Using VR in the classroom allows students to learn about other parts of the world and experience different cultures. VR in the classroom is a great tool and gives the students the ability to be creative and explore. It also provides the students opportunities to see the things they learn in textbooks. Being able to explore and see the things they’re learning will help the information stick with them.

            For example, if you would like to do a lesson on the different types of festivals worldwide, you can open up the Google Expedition app and search “Festivals Around the World.” The app will give you a sneak peek of what you will see and then a brief description of the tour. When you click on it, each image will have facts and questions you can ask your students. The tour takes you through five different festivals and allows the students to learn about other cultures. One of the festivals is the festival of lights; once the tour is over, you can have your students make their own lanterns with a message to the world on them. This would be a fun lesson to share with your students.

Below are some screenshots I took of the Festival around the World tour in Google Expeditions:

Virtual Reality is something every teacher should try and incorporate into their classroom. It promotes global collaboration and allows us to put a smile on our student’s faces. 

For more information on Google Cardboard click here.

For more information on Google Expedition click here.

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