Google bringing Expeditions road show to school board

January 15, 2016 · 0 Comments

Tech giant Google is bringing its virtual reality road show to schools in the Upper Grand District School Board.
The road show is part of the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program – a program that brings immersive virtual journeys into the classroom, bringing lessons to life.
Google’s Expeditions teams visit select schools around the world, each team bringing a complete kit with everything teachers need to run the journeys. Teachers use a tablet to guide students wearing virtual reality viewers.
Starting the week of January 25, 2016, Google teams will be in 14 Upper Grand schools across the district.
Classes will be taken through engaging journeys, touring places around the world where school buses can’t go. Teachers can choose Expeditions that fit seamlessly into their curriculum, lead the students on a journey and then use the Expedition as a jumping off point for further lessons and exercises.
Google worked with teachers to create more than 100 journeys, including tours of the Amazon, observing environmental change in Borneo National Park, and visiting the world’s tallest artificial structure – Dubai’s mega-tall skyscraper Burj Khalifa. Journeys can also take the form of a career expedition, with students getting to experience a day in the life of a veterinarian, Central Park Ranger or airplane pilot, for example.
Upper Grand is one of just four school boards in the country participating in the Canadian road show. Google approached the board with the opportunity as the board has had a very engaging relationship with Google over the past three years. The board has been involved in a number of tester and pilot projects, including Google Play for Education and assisting in the development of Google Cardboard.