Google Expeditions – bringing the world to the classroom #coetail

As a child do you remember having a view-master?

This analogue augmented-reality device enabled two generations of kids to view in three dimensions scenes from around the world from the comfort of their own home.

Fast forward a few decades and we have a new, more awesome version.

Google Expeditions.

I see space

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.jsA few weeks ago I got an email from Suan Yeo, an education manager from Google, asking if my school wanted to be part of the of the Google Expeditions Pioneer Programme.

Despite a busy schedule, the only answer to being one of the first to try out a new bit of technology especially with a bunch of elementary kids is always yes.

Instead of a usual day at school, my class explored the Great Barrier reef, Antarctica and zoomed into space all while keeping their feet firmly planted on the ground in Singapore. Expeditions uses google cardboard with a smartphone already slotted in for the kids to use. There’s a tablet loaded with an App for the teacher to control which expedition the class will view (each class can only view one expedition at a time). You can see ‘where’ the children are looking by the smiley face icons. The teacher is then able to guide the children through each scene.

Unlike the static 3D images we grew up using view-finder Google expeditions offer a full 360 degree experience that responds to users movements. The experience was so real it took a number of children some time to realise what they were seeing wasn’t actually in front of them – they kept trying to touch and stamp on the scene unfolding beneath their eyes.

Lying back under the sea

What I love about this programme as it enables children to really experience and explore places that would normally be off-limits. I can paint picture using videos and images, but there’s something about movement that offers children to more fully experience the ruins of Angkor or the North Pole.

In the spirit of technology putting you in the scene, there are no words nor pictures that could adequately convey the energy and excitement that was in the room.