Have you ever been to the Great Barrier Reef? Have you seen a Loko I’a, a Native Hawaiian Fishpond? I went to the Great Barrier Reef yesterday for my Sunday afternoon, thanks to my Virtual Reality (VR) Goggles. I bought my goggles off of Amazon from the company, Merge. In James Paul Gee's (2013) book, The Anti-Education Era: Creating Smarter Students Through Digital Learning, he said: “Humans are good at learning from experience and using it to engage in simulations that prepare them for action” (p.12). Over the last few weeks, I have been exploring VR Goggles and have discovered that these goggles make you feel as if you are in the place it has taken you. It is completely immersive. I went on a lion safari, I swam in the Great Barrier Reef and was standing at the 9/11 memorial in New York City.
This week, for my graduate course, I had a blast creating a lesson plan for my US History class incorporating VR Goggles, an Innovative Learning Experience. Within this lesson, I ask my students to explore the Civil Rights Movement. They will be evaluating the effectiveness of civil rights organizations and actions in overcoming racial segregation. They will explore the Lowndes Interpretative Center and a few important landmarks such as the Supreme Court, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
I am still figuring out what applications work with my VR Goggles because some of the applications I have wanted to try, require another piece of technology that I would need to buy. This has made it difficult, but I am excited to try out some of the educational expeditions that the VR Goggles offer in my classroom. I know my students will absolutely love using this.
Resources:
Gee, J. P. (2004). Situated language and learning: A critique of traditional schooling. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/lib/michstate-ebooks/reader.action?docID=200413&query=
Hurst, S. (2019, March 31). Innovative Learning Experience. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaEj2xGnPpokckmcebFPE6mvsSJoHhZeRqrQQ9uneNI/edit?usp=sharing
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