Taking Virtual Field Trips with Google Expeditions

Students come to school to learn about the world, but the world they long to experience is outside the school. While we may be able to create amazing learning experiences through field trips, these are often cumbersome to plan, expensive, and intrusive to student’s learning in other classes. On the other hand, the new technology offered through the use of virtual reality (VR) glasses, Google Expeditions, and a host of other apps allow an opportunity to explore beyond the walls without the burdens of a field trip. While a field trip will always be the more complete experience, these virtual opportunities offer the chance to learn beyond the walls of the classroom more frequently, on demand, and to places far further than can be tackled in your standard field trip.

The first thing you will need are some VR glasses. Fortunately, you can pick these up for a reasonable cost if you shop Amazon rather than going through educational vendors. You can get a set of glasses that will do everything you need for as little as $7.99. This picture is just one example of a set you can pick up. Many people purchase the Google cardboard glasses, but those are more expensive and far less durable than a plastic set like these.

At Brookfield East, the social studies department was able to obtain a class set to be shared between the entire history department, for just over $200. The supplier actually knocked down the price a little since we were buying in bulk.

But, now you have your glasses. What’s next? 

First and foremost, contact your friendly tech department. They will bring you a spare router that you will need to host all of your students on an expedition. Please don’t think you can skip this step. It’s quick, easy, and will get you in business so much faster. Once you have this, you just need to remind your students that they must specifically connect their phones to this alternative wi-fi in order for them to be able to join your expedition.

Next, you need to get the Google Expeditions app. This is free and easy to download from both Google Play and the App Store. Once you have this app, log-in and choose to be a guide.

From there, it’s time to explore and the tours seem endless. You can scroll through and check out what’s there, but there is also a search bar if you just want to cut to the chase.

Once you’ve chosen and downloaded an expedition, just click launch and wait for your students to follow. The great part is, once they’re in, you can see where they are looking . . . and they’re pretty funny to watch. In addition, the app provides you with a tour guide's script so you can give the kids all the information about what they are looking at. 

It may sound a bit confusing at the start, but once you get going, it’s really a breeze. Sure, some kids won’t have a phone, and some kid’s phone will decide not to connect that day, but they know how to share. It’s worth the experience even if everything doesn’t go exactly as planned every time.

To wrap things up, please realize that there are numerous other options that may be used with these VR headsets if you’re feeling adventurous. YouTube 360 offers numerous VR experiences that are actual videos with sound that students can access via headphones, and Google Earth offers the opportunity to visit just about any place on Earth. Once you get used to the set-up, there are a continuously growing number of VR opportunities to check-out or create your own with Google's Tour Creator.  

If you have questions, or need any assistance getting everything up and running, please feel free to shoot me an email at saylesl@elmbrookschools.org.  Best wishes for your adventures!

Submitted by Lindsay Sayles, Social Studies teacher at Brookfield East High School