Today, Google announced that its Expeditions Pioneer Program is expanding around the world. This is the program that allows children to explore the world without ever leaving the classroom. Google's Expedition teams travel to schools with kits to get teachers prepped on taking their students on virtual trips.
The new cities in the United States joining the Expeditions Pioneer Program are Alexandria, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianappolis, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake city, and the nation's capital. Canada, Denmark, and Singapore are the new countries participating in the program.
Michelle Guzman, a special education teacher at San Jose's Dartmouth Middle School, said this about using virtual reality in the classroom:
“Teachers were amazed at the things they could do and the places they could see with their students. Sever are continuing lessons that developed from the field trip they experienced. I know that it will change the way I help my students.”
Google has partnered with Subaru to ensure that each location gets an Expeditions kit that includes a tablet for the teacher, ASUS phones and Cardboard viewers for students, and a router. While the model of the Cardboard viewer is not the same for all locations, select kits will include Mattel's View-Master. Teachers are then able to take students on virtual trips to more than 120 places, like Antartica or the Borneo Rainforest.
Source: Google
