Discover Britain’s Heritage with Google Expeditions VR

Have you ever wanted to take your students on a field trip to some of the most fascinating cultural heritage sites in Britain, but you could not afford it?

With the advance of VR technology, and the introduction of Google Expeditions, this has virtually become an educational option impossible to deny.

In his article Using Google Expeditions in the Classroom, Matthew Lynch says: Google Expeditions is a free app that is a teaching tool in virtual reality. Think of it as allowing students to take a virtual field trip to any place in the world, at any time in history. It is designed for classroom use, and it permits teachers to act as “guides” to their students in the virtual world.

Using Google Expeditions VR with Your Students

There are a few provisions necessary for your school to implement virtual filed trips with Google Expeditions VR, such as VR headsets per each student, and smart devices with gyroscopes to get the full experience. In our case, we used students’ devices (BYOD approach). All participants in the expedition need to be connected to the same WiFi. There is a script for the teacher to use as a guide, while students join tours as explorers. This implies that teachers can provide guided virtual tours, instead of letting the students wander randomly. This makes it easier to correlate the Expedition with instructional objectives.

Exploring Britain’s Heritage with Google Expeditions VR

For the purpose of our PBL Simulation, as part of the Digital Meets Heritage program, we decided to select the expeditions that would enable students to have a diverse experience of Britain’s cultural heritage, through the available tours on Google Expeditions VR App, such as:

1. Pilgrimage to Westminster Abbey

2. Parliament Hill

3. The Settings of Shakespeare’s Plays

4. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, UK

5. Christmas Lights of London

6. A Dickens Christmas

7. Charles Dickens’s Home – 48 Doughty Street, London

8. Stonehenge

9. Historic Places a Brief History of the UK

10. Lock Ness Monster, Scotland

11. Isle of Lewis, Scotland

12. Life in the Black House: Arnold, Isle of Lewis, Scotland

13. Robert Burns – Early Life

14. Industry in the Victorian Era: Letterpress Printing

15. Bridges of Great Britain

Students are given a Britain’s Heritage Quiz on Edmodo, after they explore the English Heritage project with Google Arts & Culture. Students are encouraged to do a Web Quest activity, and search for the correct answers to the quiz questions online. Students who have completed this task successfully, are invited to conduct a virtual guided tour to Britain’s cultural heritage sites.

After the expedition, students discuss their impressions, and are given an assignment on Edmodo to answer a set of questions about their experience during the expedition, and then write a summary about their experience, which they will publish as their blog posts.

The questions:

1. Which famous British landmarks did you visit during your VR Google Expedition? Name a few.

2. What did you learn about these sites? Mention some facts. Use the information from the quiz. 

3. What was your favourite landmark or site that you visited? Name and describe it. 

4. How did you feel during the expedition? Describe some details that captured your attention. 

5. Would you like to visit these places? Why?

The summary: 

My Expedition to Britain’s Cultural Heritage Diary 

(Students should start with the following introduction)

I was amazed when my teacher told me that we were going to do a VR Expedition to Britain’s Cultural Heritage sites. I had to do a serious research and a take a quiz about…

(Students use the information from the questions above and continue on their own)

Students’ Reactions to Google Expeditions VR

“I was so amazed by this VR expedition. I learned much more about Britain’s Cultural Heritage.” (Marija)

“I felt great, I visited a lot of amazing landmarks, it was like I was really there like I was really in England, in Scotland in a few amazing cities, villages, towns that really were one of the most beautiful landmarks ever.” (Lina)

“I felt amazing about the expedition, it felt like I was there actually. There are some details that captured my attention. Those details were about the Loch Ness monster, Stonehenge, and Robert Burns’ house. I would love to visit these places. Because they are amazing and they have a great history. And they look amazing.” (Nena)

“I loved the expedition a lot. I was very happy and excited. A lot of details captured my attention because wherever I turned my head there was something fascinating to see. I would love to visit these places in real life someday because they were all pretty mind blowing” (Dita)

Tips for Teachers

• Teachers need to be present during the activities. Adult supervision is important since this is an immersive experience.

• Make sure students are arranged in a manner that they will not be crashing into each other, because they are so focused on what they are doing in the virtual world.

• Sometimes some students may get dizzy and even fall over, so it is recommended that students sit while using the Expedition, and twist their upper bodies to move around.

• It is also possible to enjoy a Google Expedition on a phone without Cardboard.

And as Matthew Lynch says, the list of available Expeditions is growing by the day. Teachers of any age student and of any subject matter will be able to find something relevant to their classroom. Students can tour the Amazon as they learn about geography, they can visit a national park in South Africa as they study large mammals, or they can visit Rome’s masterworks. Expeditions is a boon to foreign language teachers, who can use the immersive world as a novel opportunity to practice a variety of language skills.

Grab those VR headsets, check students smart devices for compatibility with the app (gyroscopes), and get down to planning amazing virtual field trips to any place you would like to visit with your students.

If you have any questions regarding the procedure of this specific activity, I would be more than happy to share my experience with you.

Be a leader in promoting educational innovation with Google Expeditions VR!

Enjoy it!