Imagine swimming amongst coral reefs, staring into the eye of a miniature Category 5 hurricane and visiting outer space.
Thanks to some really cool technology, Westmoreland students can now do that and more!
The Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES’ School Library System recently purchased a Google Expeditions kit for its component school districts, like Westmoreland, to use. The kit contains a tablet and mobile phones pre-installed with the Google Expeditions app, virtual-reality viewers, a router that allows Expeditions to run over its own local Wi-Fi network, chargers and a storage case. Google Expeditions is an immersive education app that allows students and their teachers to explore the world through over 800 virtual-reality and 100 augmented-reality tours - - or take a virtual-reality field trip to just about anywhere in the world.
“There are almost 1,000 explorations for K-12 students that cover topics including science, history, arts and culture and career exploration,” Mrs. Davis, ZI3 coordinator at the Westmoreland Central School District, said. “Using Google Expeditions, a teacher can enhance and enrich just about any lesson in their curriculum.”
On September 11, with instruction from Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Sorensen’s fifth grade WIN (What I Need) class used the Google Expeditions kit. They participated in “Climb a First Ascent with Mike Libecki.”
The WIN class is designed to give enrolled students additional reinforcement of topics covered in the fifth grade curriculum. Lessons and activities are driven by student needs and interests.
“Google Expeditions and the virtual-reality viewers allowed my students to experience an incredible journey to the top of a mountain, and to really feel like they were a part of the entire climb, from beginning to end,” Mrs. Sorensen said. “It’s a perfect example of life’s journey, and the challenges that must be overcome. I’m excited to take part in other virtual-reality experiences in the future. This is a real asset to student learning.”
According to Mrs. Davis, the virtual-reality viewers, or “goggles,” work by placing an iPod or smart phone with the virtual-reality tour of choice into a holder that sits inside the goggles. Once placed over your eyes, the goggles project a 3-D image. As a user walks or moves his or her head, the image moves as well, creating the illusion that you are really in a particular environment, like climbing a mountain.
Mrs. Davis says the Google Expeditions kit is available to any classroom in the district. She is specifically working on plans to incorporate some of the available virtual-reality tours into the second grade for its study of urban, suburban and rural communities, the third grade for its study of habitats and the high school business class for its careers unit.
“I am sure we will have many opportunities to have classes benefit from this extraordinary tool,” Mrs. Davis said.
And take an amazing, educational field trip thousands of miles away without ever leaving the classroom.