Virtual reality in the classroom may sound complicated to master, expensive to implement, and generally more trouble than it is worth. But those are misconceptions, said two teachers who regularly use the technology in their classrooms.
Here鈥檚 how the duo鈥攚ho used to work in the same Texas school district and now present together, along with another colleague, as the 鈥攗se VR to teach social studies, science, and more at different grade levels. Most of the resources they highlighted are free for educators, and don鈥檛 require pricey goggles.
Students can travel to a park across the country or trek through South Asia
Megan Puckett鈥檚 high school social studies students use to create their own travel itineraries for Southeast Asia. They must create a packing list, write an overview of their trip, and pick some historical and cultural sites to visit.
When teaching about the Chicano movement鈥攁 civil rights movement by people of Mexican descent that took place in the 1960鈥檚 and 70鈥檚鈥擯uckett will 鈥渂ring鈥� her students to San Diego鈥檚 Chicano Park through , and ask students to identify three big themes they see in the graffiti artwork there. The park is in California and Puckett teaches at Bridgeland High School in Cypress, Texas, near Houston. The technology allows her students to witness the lasting impact of a historical campaign and understand that 鈥渁rt is an expressive movement that can be found anywhere,鈥� Puckett said.
During a unit on the early British settlement at Jamestown, Va., Puckett will use to take her students to the modern-day city. They鈥檒l have to figure out what the weather is like and what the colonists might have worn. When Puckett did this activity during October, the students were surprised to see that the leaves had changed to fall colors. 鈥淚 thought that only happened in the movies,鈥� one said, Puckett recalled.
These tools aren鈥檛 just for social studies, Puckett explained. For instance, a math teacher could use 鈥攚hich features street views and other panoramic images鈥攖o pinpoint, for instance, how many people on a New York City block are wearing short sleeves versus long. An elementary school teacher could have kids identify what they would see from the vantage point of a particular lamppost in the city and then write a story about what鈥檚 happening on the street from the lamppost鈥檚 perspective.
Connect with a scientist or play a guessing game with a class in another time zone
Kendre Perry鈥檚 students have visited national parks without leaving their desk chairs through the , which offers students the chance to tour the Great Barrier Reef, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Gateway National Park in St. Louis, and much more, for free.
Perry, who will start in the Winchendon school district in Baldwinville, Mass. this fall, is also a fan of which allows classrooms to connect virtually with an expert specializing in climate change, genetics, vaccines, and topics. Teachers can specify what they are looking for or browse a list of scientists. Educators can even search for scientists with particular demographic characteristics鈥攊ncluding race and sexual orientation鈥攐r find scientists who are first-generation college graduates. That way, if many students in a class are from a particular background, they can 鈥渟ee themselves in a scientist,鈥� Perry said.
Another good, free tool: Students connect on Zoom with another class in a far-off geographic area and each class must ask yes or no questions to figure out where the other kids are. For instance, when Perry was teaching in Texas, her students connected with a class in North Dakota and noticed they were pretty bundled up, even in early spring. That was a clue that they weren鈥檛 in a warm climate. Teachers can find other educators to Mystery Skype with on Twitter. Other tools where students can connect with kids elsewhere: Whereby, Zoom, and Skype.
If these tools are so inexpensive and easy to use, then why aren鈥檛 more teachers taking advantage of them?
They鈥檙e overwhelmed, Puckett said.
鈥淚 feel like a lot of teachers will look at something, and they鈥檒l be like, I don鈥檛 need another tool.. This is stressful,鈥� Puckett said. Teachers are more receptive when they鈥檙e given 鈥渁 quick, tangible thing that can be an element of a lesson鈥� or a prompt, rather than, 鈥渉aving to build a whole, 45-minute lesson around it.鈥�
