Guiding Virtual Reality Expeditions

If you could take your students anywhere in the world—where would you take them? From Mount Everest to the Louvre, there are over 900 VR Expeditions in the Expeditions app for you and your class to explore. Google Expeditions allows a teacher to guide students through collections of 360° scenes while pointing out interesting sites and artifacts along the way.

Resources:

This spreadsheet from Google is a list of all the current Virtual Reality Expeditions. They are constantly adding more!
This is a lesson database with lesson plans and activities to integrate Google Expeditions into your curriculum.
Google Expeditions by Category (not updated)

Finding and Downloading a VR Expedition:

Step 1: Find an expedition

On your mobile device, tap Expeditions.
Choose an option (when in Discover mode):
- Scroll vertically to browse expeditions and view featured tours.
- Tap Search and enter the name of the expedition or a subject. Or, select a category from the options at the top of the screen.
- Alternately, in a web browser, view the list of available expeditions. Then, return to the Expeditions app and search for that title.

Step 2: Download the expedition

On the expedition, tap the image.
The check mark in the bottom right corner indicates that the expedition downloaded.
Tap Saved to see all your downloaded tours.

Virtual Reality Expeditions

You'll see a Google Cardboard icon

Augmented Reality Expeditions

You'll see a 3D cube icon

Guiding a Group Expedition:

Only a Guide can lead a group expedition. Explorers/Class can’t join a group expedition without a Guide. When you open the Expeditions app, there are 2 roles:

Guide—Usually a teacher leads an expedition from their mobile device. In this role, you choose the expedition, pick the scenes or objects, and highlight points of interest. In the updated version, guides can lead expeditions from Discover or Library.
Explorer/Class—Usually a student follows an expedition on a phone. In this role, you look at what the Guide highlights as a point of interest, a scene, or an object.

Step 1: Pick the Guide role

After downloading an expedition, tap Guide on the bottom of the screen. Select the expedition you want to use in by scrolling through the list on the bottom,

Old view (also iPad view since update has not been released for Apple devices).

Updated version released for Android devices.

2. OR, when a downloaded expedition is open on the screen, click the guide icon in the top right corner.

Playing the Group Expedition

VR expeditions are made up of 360-degree images called scenes. Scenes contain integrated images, descriptions, talking points, and questions. You can see the number of scenes when you open the expedition.

Play a scene

On the first scene, tap Start . Or, scroll horizontally to pick another scene and tap Play .
Note: You can scroll through the names of other scenes without changing the scene you're watching.
Swipe up from the scene title to review descriptions, questions, and points of interest.
(Optional) To view the scene in full screen, tap anywhere on the scene.
To exit, tap anywhere on the scene again.
(Optional) To move around the scene, drag your finger on the scene.

Pause a scene to get students’ attention

Anytime you pause a scene to ask a question or discuss it, Explorers’ screens freeze and display Paused.

On the scene, tap Pause .
Tap Play to continue.

Points of interest are suggested hot spots in a scene that you can discuss with Explorers. For example, in an expedition about outer space, you can point your students to the sun, Jupiter, or a spacecraft.

Select a point of interest

Swipe up from the scene title to see descriptions and points of interest.
Tap point of interest . Explorers see an arrow to guide them to the object.

Create your own point of interest

Touch and hold a spot you want Explorers to view.

Remove a point of interest

Touch the point of interest circle once. The point of interest disappears and explorers no longer see arrows on their screens.

Draw on a scene

You have to play a scene to draw on it. You can draw on a scene to highlight any feature you want your explorers to focus on.

Find the area you want to highlight and, at the top right of the screen, tap Draw .
With your finger, draw on the screen. Your drawing is immediately visible to your Explorers.

Note: While you're in drawing mode, you can't change your view of the scene.

Erase your drawing from a scene

To delete a drawing, tap Reset and exit the scene.

End drawing mode

To exit drawing mode and continue to explore the scene, tap Draw . If you didn't clear your drawing, it remains in place until you leave the scene.

Move to another scene

At the bottom of the screen, swipe to the left to go to the next scene.
Swipe to the right to go back to a previous scene.

End an expedition

Tap the "x" in the top left corner of the screen to end an expedition.