I'm familiar with the idea of Google Cardboard - I actually have a Cardboard viewer around my house somewhere - but somehow, until recently, I'd managed to not hear about Google Expeditions.
Google Expeditions are, essentially, a futuristic and lower-budget field trip. I say lower rather than just low because the materials per-student are still not cheap...sort of. Let me explain.
Google Expeditions are VR trips created by Google, various organizations and museums around the world. They are viewed by the use of Google Cardboard - that is, an app on your smartphone which you place into a cardboard "viewer" (a little box with lenses in it) that you hold up to your face like a boxy set of binoculars. They allow students to see sights they may never have a chance to see in person, and provide information on the various landmarks as well.
Google Expeditions would be an extremely valuable instructional tool - I can't take my students to Costa Rica, but there's a Google Expedition that goes there! These could work flawlessly as a supplement to lessons about other cultures or history, or simply as something fun we use to inspire us.
However, there is one drawback to Google Expeditions - each student requires an approved smartphone which will fit into the Cardboard holder and can run the app well. While the Google Expeditions intro video shows a class full of students each with their own Cardboard to take a journey through, odds are this is not financially feasible for most schools. As a result, it would be more difficult to take an entire class on an Expedition, because they could not all experience the sights at the same time.
If I were fortunate enough to be at a school which could afford that many smartphones (most likely to be signed out by one class at a time rather than confined to a single room) I would absolutely love to take my students on Expeditions - tour them around places they may never go and open up more conversations about our world, technology, culture and so much more.
In fact, I should probably go see if I can find that Cardboard viewer I packed away...
Until next time,
😊 Morgan
Google Expeditions are VR trips created by Google, various organizations and museums around the world. They are viewed by the use of Google Cardboard - that is, an app on your smartphone which you place into a cardboard "viewer" (a little box with lenses in it) that you hold up to your face like a boxy set of binoculars. They allow students to see sights they may never have a chance to see in person, and provide information on the various landmarks as well.
Google Expeditions would be an extremely valuable instructional tool - I can't take my students to Costa Rica, but there's a Google Expedition that goes there! These could work flawlessly as a supplement to lessons about other cultures or history, or simply as something fun we use to inspire us.
However, there is one drawback to Google Expeditions - each student requires an approved smartphone which will fit into the Cardboard holder and can run the app well. While the Google Expeditions intro video shows a class full of students each with their own Cardboard to take a journey through, odds are this is not financially feasible for most schools. As a result, it would be more difficult to take an entire class on an Expedition, because they could not all experience the sights at the same time.
If I were fortunate enough to be at a school which could afford that many smartphones (most likely to be signed out by one class at a time rather than confined to a single room) I would absolutely love to take my students on Expeditions - tour them around places they may never go and open up more conversations about our world, technology, culture and so much more.
In fact, I should probably go see if I can find that Cardboard viewer I packed away...
Until next time,
😊 Morgan
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