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Getting Started with Google Expeditions and Virtual Reality

October 18, 2016 by Kasey Bell

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getting started with virtual reality and google expeditionsBring Google Expeditions and Virtual Reality into Your Classroom – Part 1

*This post is sponsored by Samsung. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

You’ve heard the hype, but are you ready to bring virtual reality or VR to your classroom? Getting started with Google Expeditions and virtual reality can sound complicated, so I’ve decided to break it down for you in this article. Let’s cover the basics so that you can prepare to bring virtual reality into your classroom. This post is part one is a new series to help you learn more about virtual reality and how to bring Google Expeditions into your classroom.

Looking for Part 2? How to Use Virtual Reality and Google Expeditions in the Classroom

Don’t Miss Part 3: How to Choose a Virtual Reality Device for Your Classroom

The Ultimate Google Cardboard and Expeditions Resource Guide
[Tweet “Getting Started with Virtual Reality and #GoogleExpeditions @SamsungEdu”]

What is Virtual Reality?

Just in case you are still trying to figure out what VR is, let’s define it. Merriam-Webster defines virtual reality as “an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one’s actions partially determine what happens in the environment”…eh? So what does that mean? Basically, virtual reality uses a computing device to simulate and immerse you in a virtual environment. Virtual reality is NOT the same as augmented reality, but we can talk about that one later. Watch the video below get a better understanding of virtual reality, or what is often referred to now as VR.

 

Is Virtual Reality Ready for the Classroom?

In a post on the Samsung Insights blog, you will find the infographic below: Is Virtual Reality Ready for the Classroom? This infographic displays the results of a survey commissioned by Samsung to see if teachers were ready and receptive to virtual reality in the classroom.

[Tweet “Is Virtual Reality Ready for the Classroom? [infographic] @SamsungEdu”]

Is virtual reality ready for the classroom?

credit: Samsung Insights Blog

What do you think? Do you agree with the survey results? Are you ready to embrace virtual reality? Please feel free to leave your comments below this post.


What is Google Expeditions?

Google Expeditions is a unique initiative from Google designed to bring educational virtual reality experiences into the K12 classrooms. “Google Expeditions enable teachers to bring students on virtual trips to places like museums, underwater, and outer space. Expeditions are collections of linked virtual reality (VR) content and supporting materials that can be used alongside existing curriculum. These trips are collections of virtual reality panoramas — 360° panoramas and 3D images — annotated with details, points of interest, and questions that make them easy to integrate into curriculum already used in schools. Google is working with a number of partners, including: WNET, PBS, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the American Museum of Natural History, the Planetary Society, David Attenborough with production company Alchemy VR and many of the Google Cultural Institute museum partners to create custom educational content that spans the universe.”
[Tweet “What is Google Expeditions? #googleedu”]

 

To learn more about getting started with Google Expeditions, visit the Google Support Center and this step-by-step guide: https://support.google.com/edu/expeditions/answer/6335093?hl=en.

Get the Google Expeditions App

  • Google Expeditions for Android
  • Google Expeditions for iOS

What is Google Cardboard?

Google Cardboard is a virtual reality viewer, made of cardboard to make it affordable and accessible. To get a taste of Google Cardboard and virtual reality, try the Google Cardboard app.
  • Google Cardboard for Android
  • Google Cardboard for iOS

 

Google Cardboard is just one option when it comes to virtual reality viewers. I will go more in-depth on viewers in another post, but below are a few options to get you started:

Get Google Cardboard

Image Description  Price
i am cardboard I am Cardboard V2 $14.99
Samsung Gear VR Samsung Gear VR (latest edition)  $89.99
Viewmaster VR Viewmaster Deluxe VR Viewer $39.63

This post is part one is a new series to help you learn more about virtual reality and how to bring Google Expeditions into your classroom.
  • Looking for Part 2? How to Use Virtual Reality and Google Expeditions in the Classroom
  • Part 3: How to Choose a Virtual Reality Device for Your Classroom
  • The Ultimate Google Cardboard and Expeditions Resource Guide

ISTE 2015

Want to Shake Things Up in Your School or District? Bring Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning to You!

Ready to shake things up in your school or at your event? Email me at Kasey[at]ShakeUpLearning.com, or submit this PD request form to bring Shake Up Learning to your 2016 event.

Below are just a few of the keynote presentations and workshops that I deliver across the globe:
  • Change is the New Black: Embrace the Digital Learning Revolution (keynote)
  • Geeking Out Over Google Classroom
  • How to Get Google Certified!
  • Transform the Learning with Google Expeditions and Virtual Reality
  • Interactive Learning with Google Drawings
  • G Suite for Administrators
  • Digital Differentiation with G Suite
  • and many more!

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Here is what others have said about Kasey Bell’s presentations:

“Thank YOU for an outstanding presentation this morning. I received so many wonderful comments about your keynote at our conference. These attendees didn’t just say they “liked” it; they each offered a specific point from your presentation to share with me that impacted their thinking about “change” or the integration of technology & instruction. Now that’s an effective presentation!” – Jane McKinney


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You will learn so much and have a great time doing it!” – Stacy Menifee

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See more testimonials by clicking here.


© Shake Up Learning 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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Filed Under: Android, Free Resources for teachers, Google, Google Cardboard, Google Expeditions, Virtual Reality Tagged With: google expeditions, virtual reality

Comments

  1. Rachel Pierson says

    October 18, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    I’m interested in the fact that it says VR with kids under 13 may harm visual development. Is there data on that? I was thinking about having my middle/upper elementary kids build their own Cardboard viewers, but now I’m hesitant.

  2. Michael Fricano II says

    October 18, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    Google Expeditions recommends not using the VR headset with students under the age of 7. For older students, its probably a good idea to give them frequent breaks while exploring in VR. And even then, some people (including students) are more susceptible to dizziness, strained eye sight, and headaches during and after using VR. In those cases, and with students that have had concussions, prone to sea sickness, etc., I let them explore in 2D mode while holding the device further out in front of them, rather than using a VR headset.

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