At its heart, Global Collaboration is the act of exploring complex ideas or problems from multiple viewpoints. This is exactly what Google Expeditions, a new virtual reality platform developed by Google, allows students to do. By using a smartphone or computer, as well as Google Cardboard, students can take virtual fieldtrips to a wide range of destinations.

The virtual fieldtrips can take students to explore natural landscapes or on a tour of historical sites such as museums, and ancient buildings. To go even further, teachers can purchase a class kit containing cardboard frames for phones and tablets. These kits allow students to wear a device over their eyes in order to be fully immersed in their exploration. A brief video of how Google Cardboard works and how it can be utilized in class can be viewed below:

As you can see from the video, this technology can be used in incredible ways. For a student like Lance living in the middle of Iowa, the opportunities to visit the big city are very slim. However, with Google Expeditions, along side the use of Google Cardboard, his entire class was able to visit one of the largest cities in the word, Dubai. Being from a small town in Iowa, Lance might have never gotten the opportunity to explore buildings like the Burj Khalifa without this technology. For a student hoping to one day become an architect, this type of experience can be life changing.

In terms of Global Collaboration, I think the opportunities from virtual fieldtrips are extremely obvious. These trips are exceptionally detailed and allow students to explore people and places that they would never have the opportunity to otherwise. Students can now explore anywhere they please. From the architectural masterpieces in Dubai to the depths of the oceans the chances to discover are endless.