It's Time for a (Virtual) Reality Check

This afternoon was one of those afternoons that make me SO happy I'm in education.  I got to introduce the entire 6th grade to Google Tour Creator.

To start, all the kids traveled to the Kotel in Israel.  Once there, they learned how to add points of interest, titles, descriptions, and set the starting view.  They learned how to move the little peg man to find different views of the wall.

Once they were comfortable with the basics of Google Tour Creator, it was time to explore.  Students added scenes and traveled across the globe without leaving the building.

To add a little more excitement to the experience... we pulled out the VR goggles and each student got to spend a few minutes immersed in an exotic location - from the jungles of Tanzania to London, England.  Some brave students even dove with sharks!  I love watching kids (and any people, really) experience VR goggles for the first time.  It's quite an experience!

One student was diving with sharks and got so startled she threw the goggles!  (They're working fine thanks to the sturdily constructed goggles by ClassVR!)

Why the goggles?  Because ultimately the kids will be creating their own 360 experiences on Google Tour Creator that we'll then upload to the goggles.  International field trips without leaving the building!  Plus, they're just plain fun.  And sometimes fun needs to be front and center!

Talk about bringing learning to life!