Google Expeditions Pioneer Program enlivened education at Cain Middle School by bringing virtual reality field trips to the campus. Rockwall ISD is part of a pilot project for a new Google virtual field trip system for schools.
Seventh grade students at Cain attended a 30-minute expedition focused on their science curriculum learning about plant and animal adaptations.
The students were led into different places around the globe through a pair of glasses. These experiences are a great way to bring kids into the worlds they learn about in the classroom in a more accessible way than field trips.
Expeditions is a new product that immerses students in experiences that bring abstract concepts to life and helps students develop a deeper understanding of the world beyond the classroom.
The teachers received tablets and every student got a cardboard viewer and phone. The teachers randomly selected a destination and the entire classroom jumped to the destination automatically.
The trips are collections of virtual reality panoramas including, 360 photo spheres and 3D images and video annotated with details, points of interest and questions to integrate into curriculum already being taught in school. 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.
Expeditions provide an outstanding opportunity for supplemental learning that normally wouldn’t be accessible through hopping on a bus for a field trip.
We look forward to participation from Dobbs Elementary School in this virtual reality field trip experience on Monday, May 23rd.