Oak Ridge School chosen to pioneer new “Google Expeditions”

by Paula Chambers, PK-6 Science Coordinator

On March 21^st, Oak Ridge students will be in for some amazing adventures!  18 Classes at the school will be experiencing a variety of virtual reality field trips. A visit with the Aztecs, a walk on the Moon, a dive in to the Great Barrier Reef- to name just a few….

This virtual reality experience is being provided by Google.  Representatives from Google are bringing the new “Expeditions” to a small select group of schools across the nation at no cost.  We are honored to have been selected as part of their pioneer program and hope we can expand our virtual field trip opportunities in the coming years.

“Expeditions” is a new product that allows teachers to take their classes on virtual field trips, immersing students in experiences that bring abstract concepts to life.  These trips are collections of virtual reality panoramas- 360 photo spheres, 3D images and video, ambient sound- Annotated with details, points of interest, and questions that make them easy to integrate into curriculum already used in schools.  The Wildlife Conservation Society, PBS, the American Museum of Natural History, the Planetary Society, and the Palace of Versailles contributed to developing the curriculum for students.

We are quite excited about this opportunity and look forward to the visit!  Stay tuned for photos and takeaways after our expeditions have occurred.

Watch a video about Google Expeditions here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlYJdZeA9w4