A school in Watertown, MA is the latest to report positive experiences after testing out Google Expeditions, a virtual reality kit that uses cardboard viewing finders to transport students to distant lands.

“With the help of the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program, students were able to virtually tour several areas around the world,” said The Watertown Tab and Press.

The program was scheduled so as many students as possible got to experience the new tool.

"In 30-minute sessions scheduled throughout the entire day, students and teachers were able to participate in virtual reality “field trips,” in what was for most their first experience with the application. A cardboard viewing device and an adjoined smartphone were available for each student to explore scenes their teacher had chosen,” the article said.

The school’s trial run was introduced through the school’s librarian, Leah Moroni-Wagner.

Reading background information beforehand, Moroni-Wagner led students through destinations like Pearl Harbor, the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum, and countries like Iceland and Greece.

"From their master device, teachers could add a circle in the area in which they wanted students to look, and could also see on their device how many students were following directions and looking the right way,” the article said.

Read the full story.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

3/17/2016