Bromsgrove School – Google Expeditions Pioneer Programme
04 Feb 2017
On Thursday 19th January, Google treated pupils at Bromsgrove School to an excited day of virtual reality supported learning.
Pupils from Yr 1 -11 went on expeditions to Antarctica & Iceland, biomes & volcanoes. They learned about eye anatomy, climate change, the solar system, wind, Martin Luther King, Golden Hills Energy, the Digestive System & Astronomy.
Google Expeditions is a new product that allows teachers to take their classes on virtual field trips, immersing students in experiences that bring abstract concepts to life and giving students a deeper understanding of the world beyond the classroom.
A box arrives with everything needed to travel: a tablet for the teacher, Cardboard viewers
and phones for every student. Next, the teacher selects a destination and the entire classroom jumps there automatically.
The Wildlife Conservation Society, PBS, the American Museum of Natural History, the Planetary Society and the Palace of Versailles contributed to developing the curriculum for students.
These trips are collections of virtual reality panoramas – 360° photo spheres, 3D images and video, ambient sounds – annotated with details, points of interest, and questions that make them easy to integrate into curriculum already used in schools.
Whilst nothing replaces hopping on the bus for a field trip, Expeditions provide an unparalleled opportunity for supplemental learning. Seeing the brilliant ways teachers integrate VR in their classes has taught us so much already.
About Google Cardboard viewer: Google Cardboard is a virtual reality viewer made almost entirely of actual cardboard.
Cardboard allows anyone with a modern smartphone to experience virtual reality. There have been more than 5 million Cardboard viewers shipped since we announced them in 2014.
Miss Emma Johnston, Digital Guide Coordinator and Teacher of Mathematics said “we were delighted to welcome Google to Bromsgrove School. The Expeditions Pioneer programme was outstanding. Our students were excited and engaged – whilst taking virtual reality learning to a whole new level”.
The Bromsgrove Prep Year 3 pupils enjoyed exploring Antarctica and getting up close to penguins and leopard seals whilst also learning about what Antarctica of the future will look like.
Photo: Mrs Sarah Grove, Harry Dakin, Rumer Evans and Sophia Moberley and Mr Chet Ladwa from Google.