VR Goggles
HAYDEN ROBICHAUX
WHAT ARE VR Goggles?
VIRTUAL REALITY GOGGLES ARE HEADPIECES THAT FIT OVER YOUR PHONE TO PRODUCE INTERESTING VIDEOS, IMAGES, AND INTERACTIVE PLATFORMS FOR THE WEARER. THEY ARE INTEGRATED INTO EVERYTHING FROM GAMES, TO EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES, TO EXPERIENCING GLOBAL LOCATIONS, AND MORE.
HOW TO USE THESE THINGS?
To the right are two videos that explain the procedures needed to buy, mantle, and interact with VR Goggles for the first time, beginning user.
Why VR Goggles?
VR GOGGLES BRING A DIFFERENT DIMENSION TO THE VIEWERS EXPERIENCE. IN THE REALM OF EDUCATION, THERE ARE A LOT OF EXPERIENCES THAT CAN BE CONNECTED TO LESSONS. IN OUR CLASSROOMS, WE COULD TEACH ABOUT A PARTICULAR WAR, AND ALLOW OUR STUDENTS TO TRAVEL TO THE SITE IT PHYSICALLY HAPPENED. WE COULD TEACH THEM ABOUT A COURT CASE AND ALLOW THEM TO PHYSICALLY SEE THE COURTROOM. WE COULD EVEN ALLOW THEM TO CREATE THEIR OWN 360 DEGREE IMAGE (THAT OTHER STUDENTS COULD VIEW), TO EXPRESS A PARTICULAR EMOTION, LESSON, OR OBJECTIVE WE ARE FOCUSED ON. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS IF WE AS EDUCATORS ARE WILLING TO PUSH OUR BOUNDARIES AND INCORPORATE SOME INNOVATIVE TECH.
PROS OF V.R. IN EDUC.
- Simulating Real-World Environments
- Increased Active Learner Engagement Levels
- Alternative Medium to Teach Visual Learners
- Allows Students to "Feel" the Experiences
- Brings Learning to Life
INCORPORATING VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES in EDUCATION
GOOGLE CARDBOARD
THIS GOOGLE APPLICATION IS STREAMLINED ACROSS IOS AND ANDROID PLATFORMS. IT TEACHES THE USER HOW TO USE VR GOGGLES AND SUGGEST APPS THAT THE USER MIGHT LIKE. IT INCLUDES GAME APPS, NEWS APPS, VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP APPS, OTHER ENGAGING APPS.
GOOGLE EARTH VR
GOOGLE EARTH VR ALLOWS THE USER TO EXPND THE CAPABILITIES AND INTERACTIVENESS OF GOOGLE MAPS AND CREATE SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW. THE PROGRAM ALLOWS USERS TO SEE BOTH POPULAR AND NOT-SO-POPULAR LOCATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE. THEY ARE ABLE TO LOOK AT ALL 360 DEGREES OF THE UNIQUE LOCATION.
NYTVR
UNDER THE POWER AND RESOURCES OF THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS PAPER, WRITERS HAVE EXPANDED AND GROWN THE WAY THEY SHARE NEWS WITH THE WORLD. WITH PROGRAMMERS CONNECTING WITH WRITERS, VIEWERS ARE ABLE TO GAIN A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON HOT TOPICS IN THE NEWS. VIEWERS CAN SEE INTERESTING IMAGES (REPRESENTED TO THE LEFT), SUCH AS WAR SCENES, VIGILS AND RIOTS, NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, AND INTERESTING STREET ART.
YOUTUBE
THERE ARE COUNTLESS YOUTUBE CHANNELS THAT PRESENT EDUCATIONAL VR VIDEOS THAT CAN BE UTILIZED IN THE CLASSROOM. EXAMPLES SUCH AS THE VIDEO SHOWN ON THE RIGHT CAN BE USED TO UNDERSTAND/ DEMONSTRATE DIFFERENT CULTURES THAT ARE HARDER TO DESCRIBE WITHOUT VISUAL EXAMPLES.
lesson integration of vr goggles
Introduction:
The students will begin class with a video of a young man from Great Britain explaining his bucket list. The students, after watching the video, will reflect on several questions in the bellringer pertaining to his bucket list.
LSS: WS.9-10.3d "Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. -- Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters."
The discussion after the bellringer will be used to lead into the teaching and modeling portion of the classroom. We will discuss themes of cultural awareness in relation to bucket lists, mortality, and how situations are affected when they are done virtually verses in person.
Objective: After viewing the poem, videos, and using the VR goggles, TSWBAT write a creative, short narrative that uses imagery/ sensory language to describe an experience with a setting, a mood, and a shift in character development.
Teaching/ Modeling: The students will build off of the themes talked about during the bellringer to dissect a poem about skydiving.
The teacher will break down the emotional connections to the poem and the experience the character in the poem had with skydiving. The class will talk about how imagery was used in the poem to create a setting, sequence of events, and represent themes of mortality.
This will be used to lead into the students breaking into groups of 3. As groups, the will all take terms experiencing skydiving through the VR goggles. As a class, the teacher and students will discuss if the students opinion on skydiving has changed. They will indicate if after using the goggles if they still wish to go skydiving, if they no longer want to go skydiving, or if the goggles just reassured that they never wanted to go skydiving.
The class's reflections on this will be mirrored onto the independent practice. As a group, the students will decide on a physical location that would be on their "bucket list." This location will be plugged into the google maps apps on their goggles, and each of the group members will virtually visit this location.
After visiting the location, the students will collectively work on a creative short story/ response to the location they visited. The story must include a character that does an action in the location they visited, the group must use imagery language to describe a setting/ atmosphere, and the story must represent the theme of mortality.
After the groups write their short story, the class will come back together as a whole for each of the groups to vocally share what they wrote. Students will not be expected to read their whole story, but rather just explain their connection to the theme, which location they chose, and whether or not they still want to physically visit the place in person.
Homework to be used as an assessment on how the activity went:
Google Forum -- Writing Prompt: How does seeing a place you've always wanted to visit, even though you weren't there in person, change the way you perceive the item on your "bucket list?" Is this still a place you'd like to visit? What has changed for you? Explain.
REFLECTION
Reflection: I honestly feel that the use of technology throughout this lesson elevates the lesson as a whole. the use of the "foreign" video throughout makes the conversation on a bucket list far less serious. It also does great at connecting many of the things that these students would have put on their list with other students around the world. The forum post poses simply as an easy medium to keep track of bellringers every day. It allows the teacher to easily review the "results" section on the form to grade fast for participation (or more than that). The VR goggles themselves serve a great function for allowing the students to really "experience" the act of skydiving instead of simply reading about it. The goggles make it easier for the students to relate to the rush the character feels in her poem. They are great for bringing the imagery to life. Further, the second use of the goggles becomes far more personal for students. They are able to connect with the imagery of the location to better write their own short stories about the themes and ideals expressed in class. Without this continual involvement of technology throughout the class, the lesson would have still been effective, but it would have been far more difficult fo students to relate to the concepts. As a whole, this incorporation of technology would be successful and engaging in a classroom.