Participation in the Virtual Reality-based Google Expeditions project |
Google Expeditions (GEs) (https://www.google.co.uk/edu/expeditions/) is a Virtual Reality approach that is being promoted by Google in schools globally. GEs are guided tours (field trips) of places that students experience on a smartphone through a virtual reality (VR) viewer called Google cardboard (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlYJdZeA9w4). Also, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ_whw6oSv4
A GE comprises of 360 degrees scenes or panoramas of a location (e.g. a museum, or a city like Rio de Janeiro) along with the description of that location. GEs also enable visualisation of locations which may not be feasible or easy to visit in real life (e.g. underwater excursions, or The Great Barrier Reef, or Galapagos islands). Further, GE-like VR-based simulations can help to envision concepts and systems such as the human heart, circulatory system, or a plant cell. Using a Tablet and via the GEs App (available from Google Play Store), a teacher can guide students to look at places/concepts. The students experience the GE/VR through the smartphones embedded within the VR viewers.
A GE comprises of 360 degrees scenes or panoramas of a location (e.g. a museum, or a city like Rio de Janeiro) along with the description of that location. GEs also enable visualisation of locations which may not be feasible or easy to visit in real life (e.g. underwater excursions, or The Great Barrier Reef, or Galapagos islands). Further, GE-like VR-based simulations can help to envision concepts and systems such as the human heart, circulatory system, or a plant cell. Using a Tablet and via the GEs App (available from Google Play Store), a teacher can guide students to look at places/concepts. The students experience the GE/VR through the smartphones embedded within the VR viewers.
The Open University, UK is working with leading UK education organisations including the Field Studies Council, Geographical Association and the Association for Science Education on a school-based research project (funded by Google) on the potential use of VR via GEs in secondary science and geography. (project website: http://www.shaileyminocha.info/google-expeditions/).
A news item related to our project on Open University’s (OU) research website is here: http://bit.ly/29uLdel
In this short survey, if you are Geography or Science teacher currently working in schools in the UK, please inform us how you would like to participate in our project.
If you have any queries about this survey or the project, please contact Professor Shailey Minocha of the OU (shailey.minocha@open.ac.uk)