Google Expeditions takes students around the world through virtual reality

​Story by Jenna Hohne
 
Google Goggles are boggling the minds of young students and teachers everywhere. Google recently released Google Expeditions, which are goggles that a person holds up to their eyes and can see the world with. The moment human eyes are in front of the lenses on the goggle, they are in a virtual reality. Select a place, and everywhere you turn it surrounds you.
 
The new Google Cardboard was unveiled at Google 1/0 2015. This cardboard supports larger cellphones with a screen up to six inches long, and has a new button that works with any type of phone.
 
According to Google, Expeditions are collections of virtual reality panoramas and are accessed through an app. This app allows teachers to have total control. They can choose a trip on a tablet provided with the Expeditions kit, and lead their students through a virtual Expedition. By using the tablet, teachers are able to point out specific details on the trip, play ambient sounds, and let their students explore freely on their own.
         
Students loved using Expeditions to learn and explore.
 
Julia Bricker and Danny Rhoad, two seventh grade students, experienced the Google Expeditions adventure.
 
“It was very interesting, and it felt like I was actually there,” Rhoad said when talking about the experience.
 
“I think it is good for visual learners to get more into the topic,” Bricker said.
 
While Bricker and Rhoad both agreed that it was a very realistic experience, they also said that it made people dizzy.
 
Google is still tweaking some things on Expeditions before releasing it to the public.