Google Tours is a great tool to create a virtual space for your students. There is an option to choose from a template or to start from scratch. Then, there is an option to search Google maps for different 360 view photographs from all over the world. If you have 360 or 180 photos from other websites or have taken your own photos, you can upload those as well. #60 photos are a great way for kids to be more interactive in learning. They can use their phone as Virtual Reality Goggles and look around the room or use their finger to spin the picture around. Once you find a picture, you can add in a title, description, and credit. There is also an option to add in points of interest to your picture. This allows students to click on different points around the picture and find out more information on specific things in the scene. This is helpful so that students are getting both an engaging picture and important information. Finally, there is also an option to add in audio for you space. This is extremely helpful for low readers or kids that just need that additional auditory help.
I will definitely use Google Tours in my classroom. It is a great way to get students to be an active participant. I love that you can create your own virtual space and tailor it to your needs or save time and use templates. In my own classroom, I can use virtual reality to go on virtual field trips. For example, if my students are learning about different cultures, we could explore China, Mexico, and Egypt! I can also use it to help students have a close up look at different phenomenon. For example, I can have students look closely at the life cycle of a caterpillar during a unit on butterflies. In general, virtual reality is a great way to enforce concepts and help students explore different place and objects that you may not be able to physically bring into the classroom. This is especially useful for students who are more visual learners. I used Google Tours to create a virtual tour of the Grand Canyon for my Co-op!
Google Tours meets several standards of the Danielson Framework for teaching. First, by using Google Tours or similar tools, you can demonstrate a knowledge of resources (1D). It is important to use a variety of different tools and instructional methods because each student learns differently. Virtual reality is a great was to give kids a deeper understanding of something learned in class, or go on a virtual field trip to learn about things/ places you may not actually be able to bring into your physical classroom. It is also a great way to encourage students to be engaged in learning (3C). By creating a realistic yet online world, students can explore different models and areas that mimic real life. Students are more likely to remember information and enjoy learning when they can connect to the material and have fun. While, of course, worksheets are important and necessary, it is important to integrate some fun instructional activities into lessons as well. It may also help students who struggle with visualizing the material by giving them 3D models and pictures that they can manipulate and are to-scale.
Google Tours also ties in to the ISTE standards for students. Teachers can encourage students to become knowledge constructors by presenting them with real-life situations and allowing students to explore the feasibility of certain solutions. For example, students might learn about a cell and then use virtual reality to look at a cell close up and develop hypotheses on why a cell wall is constructed the way it is. Students might even want to create their own virtual reality with Google Tours in which case the student would become the creative communicator. They can use virtual reality to express what they have learned in a unique way or use pre-existing spaces as inspiration but then tailor the online space to their own needs or preferences. This also aligns with the "creative" part of the 4 C's of teaching. Students can creatively communicate with other students by using virtual reality as a visual presentation to other students. It also helps students communicate to the teacher how much they have learned. Virtual reality may also be a fun tool to help students collaborate and work together on critical thinking. Students can work together to explore a space, forcing students to communicate to each other about where to go and what information is the most important. Then, worksheets or formal assessment may accompany the virtual reality experience so that students can write about what they have learned and explored.
Check out some pictures of my work or click the button to be immersed into a virtual tour of the Grand Canyon!
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