Butner-Stem Elementary School Participates in Google EXPEDITIONS Pioneer Program
Students at Butner-Stem Elementary School are taking part in a pioneer program from Google, called Expeditions. Butner-Stem Elementary teachers, Carolyn Vickers, a 4th grade teacher and Teacher Technology Leader and Shannon Norton, a 5th grade teacher, signed up for this program. The program allows students to take virtual “Expeditions” around the world, using Google Cardboard and a mobile device. On Monday, March 21st, a Google expedition team member, Brendan Dermody, came to show the teachers and classes how Google Cardboard can take them to places they could not otherwise visit. The Google representative indicated that high interest is what brought the program to Butner-Stem Elementary.
The fifth grade classes visited monuments around the United States just before they take a field trip to Washington, D.C. Fourth grade classes visited the moon and some went to the Galapagos Islands and explored under the sea. Third grade classes explored exciting places around the world like Thailand, Antarctica, and Egypt.
The teachers guided the tours with an iPad as helpful facts are presented on their screen, meanwhile the students see the location through the cardboard viewers in a 3D virtual world. Students learn about the world while seeing it virtually. It is the next best thing to being there. Students were engaged and excited to be going on these virtual tours from their classrooms. The excitement was contagious. Besides the constant “Oohhs” and “Aahhs”, we overheard one student shout, “I can’t believe my eyes!”.
Expeditions, a virtual reality platform built for the classroom, are guided tours of places school buses can’t go. They are comprised of virtual reality panoramas, which are led by a guide or teacher. Using a tablet, teachers can guide up to 50 students wearing virtual reality viewers. Teachers can guide their class and point out highlights while referring to editable notes.
Google worked with teachers and content partners from around the world to create more than 100 engaging journeys – making it easy to immerse students in entirely new experiences.
Expeditions teams visit selected schools around the world, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, Denmark and Mexico. Each team brings a complete Expeditions kit with everything the teachers need to take their students on journeys anywhere. The team or representative shows teachers how Expeditions works and helps set it up before class.
(Information received in a press release from Stan Winborne, Ed.S., Director of High Schools, Director of Career & Technical Education Program, Public Information Officer with Granville County Schools.)