Virtual & Augmented Reality in Education

YouTube 360

By Mackenzie Regan

With technology ever expanding and growing, we must learn to utilize these tools to the best of our ability. They can be helpful when we know how to use them the right way, and hurtful when not. As a future educator, I want to do my best to use technology is an appropriate and relevant way, because I know that it is not going anywhere.

One tool that I have recently learned about is called YouTube 360. This tool allows for creators to film in all 360 degrees of an area. It can be a great tools for virtual field trips, say to a zoo or history museum. I found this great link here that gives some insight on how one may use this tool with their students, 360 Video in Class.

This interactive and immersive tool can be used through virtual reality or even just a mobile device. One thing that it definitely contributes to is Global Collaboration. It gives us a whole new way to explore and learn about places globally that are not easy to access from where we live. Understanding other people, cultures, ideas, and places can help us become better Global Collaborators. 

Overall, this is a great immersive tool that could not only improve the classroom, but help us collaborate globally in ways we could have never thought possible!

Changemakers

I will be speaking about Service-Learning Student Toolkit and listing details and how it will reflect on something exciting and valuable in my future classroom! 

What is service learning you may ask? Service-learning goes beyond volunteering or doing community service. It allows you to apply what you are learning in your classroom in a real world setting to help solve problems in your community and the world around you. Service-learning gives you the opportunity to develop a stronger understanding of local and global issues, while taking meaningful action that make a difference. 

There are so many advantages for students who participate in service learning they have improved social skills and well-being, improved university and workplace readiness, increased academic engagement, increased leadership skills and civic responsibility. 

Through service-learning, you’ll be exposed to equity and human rights issues, increasing your social awareness and building respect and understanding for others. Working as a volunteer in different and unfamiliar environments will improve communication skills and increase your ability to nurture positive, healthy relationships with others. In a volunteer setting, you’ll be called upon to work as a group and build skills like conflict resolution. Showing up for others isn’t always easy. Through service-learning you’ll gain practice in goal-setting, self-motivation and resilience. Through experience, you’ll build an arsenal of tools that will help you identify problems and come up with creative solutions.

Hyperdocs

HyperDocs are a smart way to make learning more engaging and organized. Imagine a single document, like a Google Doc, that has everything a student needs for a lesson – videos, articles, quizzes, and activities. That's a HyperDoc! What I like is how they guide students step-by-step, helping them learn at their own pace and explore topics deeply. There are different kinds of HyperDocs for different purposes. "Exploration" HyperDocs let students discover new topics on their own. "Inquiry" HyperDocs help them ask questions and find answers, building critical thinking skills. "Creation" HyperDocs allow them to show what they've learned by making presentations or videos, boosting creativity. And "Review" HyperDocs help them practice and remember important information. In my view, HyperDocs are great because they put students in charge of their learning, encourage teamwork, and let them show what they know in different ways. Plus, teachers can easily adjust them to fit each student's needs. Overall, HyperDocs make learning more fun, effective, and personalized.

Click here to learn more!!

Virtual and Augmented Reality

Imagine bringing the whole world into your classroom! That's what virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) can do. VR puts you in a completely different place, like walking on Mars or exploring the Amazon rainforest, all without leaving your seat. AR, on the other hand, adds digital things to the real world, like seeing a dinosaur appear in your classroom. These tools are super cool for learning because they make it more fun and interesting. But the best part is how VR and AR can help students work together with kids from other countries. Imagine students in America teaming up with students in Japan to build a virtual city, or kids in Africa exploring ancient Rome with students in Europe. VR and AR let them share the same space and work on projects together, even if they're thousands of miles apart. Tools like Veative and Nearpod have VR lessons that teachers can use, and YouTube 360 videos let you explore different cultures and places. By using these tools, students can learn about different cultures, practice teamwork, and solve problems together, all while having a blast. It's like they're building bridges across the world, one virtual experience at a time! This helps them become better global citizens, ready to work with anyone, anywhere.

A useful tool I have discovered and found helpful that is in relationship with global collaboration is called 'AI Innovation with Delightex - #31DaysofARVRinEDU Quick Tips' by Jamie Donally. I find Delightex to be an exciting tool that really transforms the way students learn through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). It uses artificial intelligence (AI) in a fantastic way, especially with its feature called Skybox AI. This allows students to create their own 360-degree backgrounds for projects just by typing in what they want. For example, if a student is studying marine life, they can simply enter "underwater scene," and the AI will generate a beautiful virtual ocean environment for them to explore. What I love most about this technology is how it encourages global collaboration among students. Imagine classrooms around the world using Delightex to work together on projects! Students in one country could design a virtual representation of their local culture while collaborating with peers from another country who are creating something entirely different. They can share ideas, learn from each other, and build connections across borders. The ease of creating these immersive environments means they can focus more on teamwork and creativity rather than getting stuck on technical details. In my view, tools like Delightex not only make learning fun but also help foster understanding and friendship between young people from diverse cultures, making our world feel a little smaller and more connected.

Here is the website: https://www.arvrinedu.com/post/ai-innovation-with-delightex-31daysofarvrinedu-quick-tips

Accessibility Tools

Over the past few years I have been using some of these tools that also can help someone that are in need for accessibility tools. There are 7 tools that I find most helpful and I will be sharing about them today!

Gmail is amazing when sending emails, and speaking with others. Gmail is Google's free email service, letting you send, receive, organize, and store emails online. It's helpful for accessibility because it works well with screen readers (reading text aloud), offers keyboard shortcuts (no mouse needed), lets you adjust text size and colors, supports voice input (speaking instead of typing), and works with Braille displays. These features make Gmail easier to use for people with visual impairments, motor difficulties, or other disabilities.

Google Meet is like a virtual meeting room where you can video chat with others. It's helpful for accessibility because it offers live captions (words appear on screen), keyboard shortcuts (no mouse needed), screen reader compatibility (reads the screen aloud), and adjustable layouts. These features make it easier for people with hearing impairments, visual impairments, or motor difficulties to participate in online meetings.

Google Sheets is a free online program, like a digital spreadsheet. Imagine a grid where you can organize information, do calculations, and make charts. For accessibility, it's helpful because it works with screen readers (reading the spreadsheet aloud), offers keyboard shortcuts (for easier navigation without a mouse), and lets you adjust the font size and colors for better visibility. These features help people with visual or motor impairments use spreadsheets more easily.

Google Slides is a free program from Google that lets you make presentations you can show on a screen. It's like a digital version of a slideshow, where you can add words, pictures, and even videos. To help people with disabilities, Google Slides has features like: it can be used with screen readers (which read the text out loud), you can use only your keyboard to control it (no mouse needed!), and you can add subtitles to videos. This makes it easier for everyone, including people who are blind, have trouble using a mouse, or are hard of hearing, to create and understand presentations.

Chromebooks are like simple, fast laptops that mainly use the internet. They run on Google's Chrome OS. For people needing accessibility tools, Chromebooks are great because they have built-in features like screen readers (to read text aloud), screen magnification (to make things bigger), voice typing (to write with your voice), and on-screen keyboards. These tools help people with visual, motor, or learning disabilities use a computer more easily and affordably.

Google Calendar is a free online planner that helps you keep track of appointments, events, and reminders. It's helpful for accessibility because it works with screen readers (reading events aloud), allows keyboard-only navigation (no mouse needed), and lets you customize colors and reminders. This makes it easier for people with visual impairments, motor difficulties, or cognitive challenges to manage their schedules effectively.

Google Docs is a free online word processor, like a digital version of Microsoft Word. You can use it to write letters, reports, or anything else you need to type. It's helpful for accessibility because it works well with screen readers (which read the text aloud), lets you use voice typing (so you can speak instead of type), and has keyboard shortcuts (so you don't need a mouse). These features make it easier for people with visual impairments, motor difficulties, or learning disabilities to write and edit documents.

Virtual Field Trip: The Secret Annex

I went on an online virtual field trip to The Secret Annex where Anne Frank hid for more than 2 years during WWII and where she wrote in her diary. I would like to write and blog about my experience. Stay tuned for pictures!!

During the daytime this was the living room for Annes family and at night this is where her sister Margot, her mother Edith and her father Otto slept in. The room was very pretty.

Over here is Annes room where she slept in and also wrote in her diary. She wrote about her day and her everyday life. 

This is the kitchen where they ate and made dinner at 4:00 pm. At 5:30 pm is when the people outside were done with work and Annes family were able to eat comfortably with no cautions. 

The Attic was where Anne was able to have some peace and quiet time with herself. She also loved to watch out the window. Sadly the family weren't able to be around the windows and had to stay away but luckily the attic window was allowed and it gave Anne a chance to see outside. 

This was where the family used the bathroom and had to stop using it before 8:00 am. While in hiding in the Secret Annex, they couldn't use the toilet or washbasin freely during the day becausethe pipes ran through the warehouse, and the warehouse workers started their day earlier than the office staff. This was a crucial precaution to avoid detection and maintain their secrecy. The noise of flushing the toilet or using the washbasin during the warehouse staff's working hours could have been heard and potentially raised suspicion. 

That is all I have discovered during my virtual field trip from The Secret Annex. I must say I really enjoyed it and also loved Annes diary. During 4th grade I made a project about Anne Frank and I specifically chose her as my field trip since she was my favorite story when I was younger. Reading her and discovering her in a virtual 360 field trip has made it even more awesome. I hope you all enjoyed the experience as much as I did!! 

Here is the link to The Secret Annex: https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/who-was-anne-frank/

Accessibility Tools

Accessibility tools are tools used to help people with disabilities navigate the world of technology. These tools are designed to help with things such as speech, comprehension skills, and other forms of disabilities. The following will look at different accessibility tools and what they're designed for.   

One accessibility tool is ZoomText which is a screen magnifier for Microsoft Windows tailored for low vision users. This means that people with vision problems can enlarge the words on the screen. Text-to-speech is another accessibility tool that is software that converts text into spoken words, allowing users to read aloud or access information in an audio format. Braille is designed for blind individuals. Devices that display text in Braille help individuals with visual impairments to read and interact with computers and other devices. Notability assists with note-taking, marking up PDF's, lecture slides and other forms. Closed captioning is text displayed on screen that provides a transcription of the audio content, making it accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.You will usually find this on apps like YouTube to help with seeing what the people are saying in the videos.Classroom is common in classrooms where you can create and join classes, manage assignments, and provide feedback on student work. You can navigate and work in Classroom using a screen reader and keyboard shortcuts. Lastly, the bookmarking feature allows users to save and quickly access frequently visited websites, making web browsing more efficient and user-friendly.  

These are all examples of accessibility tools you can find in a classroom setting or at home. These tools change the way people with disabilities use technology for the better.  

AR and VR in Education

With technology evolving rapidly, adapting to the changes can make a classroom environment better. Virtual Reality (VR) technology is better than ever before, and using it for educational purposes can make the learning experience more engaging and real. The Nearpod VR is a VR tool that is changing the K-12 world of education with its immersive and realistic resources that help students learn in a different way.

What is Nearpod?

Nearpod VR is an educational platform that offers interactive VR lessons with virtual field trips, allowing students to immerse in different cultures, historical sites, and scientific phenomena without leaving their classroom. With a library of 300,000 VR lessons, Nearpod VR is changing how educators use technology to better educate students. 

Nearpod VR let students go on virtual field trips to anywhere in the world. The Eiffel Tower, The Pyramids on Egypt, The Great China Wall, etc. This can give students a more real experience when talking about this topics.

Teachers can also coordinate with classrooms in any other parts of the world to have collaborative projects with students from anywhere. They can collaborate from anywhere in the world towards the same goal or project, communicate with each other, interact and learn things from each other. This will help build student's social skills, communication skills and teamwork.

Nearpod VR is also a great tool for language learning. It can set you up with people around the world and give you an idea of how native people from that place communicate. 

Educational Technology

TakingITGlobal

TakingITGlobal is an organization that focuses on helping young people learn, lead and launch real change. Their tools promote and help students bring their dreams to life. They have tools that help you find resources for their future and open the door for more possibilities.

Commit2Act. This tool encourages young people to make a change. Users commit to small daily actions, reducing plastic use, using clean energy etc., and track their progress. It is a simple yet encouraging way to promote the next generation to make a change.

Create2Learn. This help students bring their ideas to life. With tools like video editing, storytelling and design projects. Create2Learn gives you the resources to plan and bring any project you have to life.

FuturePath. This career exploration tool that helps youth identify their interest, strengths and goals. FuturePath provides quizzes and self reflection activities to help you find the ideal path for your future.

All this tools can be found here: https://welcome.tigweb.org/en

WE Learning Center - AG

 

Today's blog post is going to be about a tool for my future classroom! I was able to explore the WE Virtual Learning Center, and peruse a few teacher modules offered on the site. I came across a well-being calendar that I thought might be useful. The calendar has an area for the well being topic, and then the actual lesson and summary of the lesson. I would use this often, as I want to teach younger kids and I think well-being is an important and multifaceted topic.

I thought the resources toward the bottom of the page were important as well. Here is one I looked into, The Science and Power of Gratitude. This resource introduced me to the Say Now Movement. I recommend utilizing the WE Learning Center if you ae an educator! There are many neat tools on the page that may work for your classroom. Thank you for visiting my blog!

VR and AR for Education Use

 

Good afternoon everyone! 

I wanted to share an educational tool that may be useful to all of the educators or friends of educators. This week, I explored Veative. It is an application that helps users to create content for virtual reality lessons/experiences. The activities offered on Veative are more hands on and STEM focused. The learning approach is more interactive, especially when used along with AR/VR. I thought I would share this tool with my blog because I do not often come across VR tools for the classroom. I appreciate the opportunities that virtual reality can bring to a classroom, and I am curious to how you guys would use Veative in your classroom. I could even see this tool labeled as an accessibility tool for its virtual activities. For example, the virtual field trips or the virtual labs. Children who can not physically move around would be able to interact in an immersive environment through VR. I think this application could be useful to describe global warming to children learning about global goals. I could see it being used as an introduction to SDG 13.

If any of you can find use out of this application, I would love to hear how it added to your classroom or lesson. You can reply to my blog post teaser on twitter! Link -> 

https://x.com/RissGonzalezz/status/1914885440944951567

My Virtual Fieldtrip: Exploring the World through a webcam

 Virtual Fieldtrip are a fun and new tool that allows for students to explore the world straight from the comfort and convince of their laptops. Teachers can use this as a fun introduction or expansion of a lesson. Websites such as The Garden State Distance Learning Consortium is perfect for students who want to explore and learn new things without the struggle of not being able to afford or have the time to travel. This is also an amazing tool for projects and allows you to virtually travel anywhere and everywhere in the world. 

For my example I traveled to the Galapagos. From this one website page I could read a brief summary , tour the islands, get information about the climate and oceanography, and learn about the history. 

It is so cool to learn about the history of these islands that contributed to so much of our known information of the Theory of Evolution and how these group of islands came to be! 

What I found the most interesting is the climate and oceanography. A major misconception I learned is that the climate of these islands, despite their closeness to the equator is that they're not that stereotypical hot tropical climate. In actuality, it is cloudy and cool due to the colder water temperature that travels.  The water is actually often described as "tool cool for comfortable swimming". 

It is so cool to have the ability to travel and learn about different places online and I know that this will 100% come in handy in my future lessons that can teach my students history, geography and biology in a fun interactive way!

Hyperdocs: A Fun New Teaching Tool!

Hyperdocs are interactive digital learning tool that allows the view to be taken to other sites from the powerpoint. Unlike typical worksheets or documents it allows for student led engagement and learning. In the digital age, students are integrating technology in their lessons ar younger and younger ages, this is a great safe way for them to explore and research along with staying on task. 

My example for a hyperdoc is "My Happy Place" by  Lisa Highfill, this is a perfect and fun way to introduce younger students to hyperdocs and integrating a fun interactive lesson. This lesson is a short lesson on teaching students about what a "Happy Place" is. The doc starts with a short video explaining what a happy place is to get an overall idea of what the lesson will teach, following that you were instructed to search on google maps for a place that makes you happy, examples could be Storybook Land, Hershey Park, the beach, etc. The students were also told to write about a happy memory from that place. Then on a collaborative map you are supposed to mark down your location and include a title, brief summary and a picture. This is cool, something I didn't even know this was a thing, because you get to see the places your friends and classmates put down and how expansive the geological locations are. Lastly, explore and reflect on others' picked location with guided questions. 

This is such a fun way to get students involved and engaged in learning and collaboration. 

the header image for the hyperdoc example

WE: The Service Learning Student Toolkit

 Service learning is hands on approach to learning. It allows you to get real life experience to go along with your lecture. It is so important for students to do hands on learning and the WE Schools Service Learning Toolkit is perfect for that. "Service-learning goes beyond volunteering or doing community service. It allows you to apply what you are learning in your classroom in a real world setting to help solve problems in your community and the world around you" (pg. 3). This essential explains how putting your students in a real world setting for the lesson you are teaching is just as valuable as giving a lecture. There are 4 essential steps of a service learning project. 

Step one:  Research and Integration. This is where you as the teacher research different real world activities that are related to your lesson that would be engaging to your students. 

Step two: Action Plan. Create an achievable goal to execute for your service learning project. 

Step three: Execute your service learning idea: Implement your action plan with hands on service such as a beach clean up, volunteering, fundraising or spreading awareness. 

        My example for step three would be when our class for Women Gender and Sexuality last fall spread awareness by advocating for a women's shelter in Atlantic City. We set up booths and brought attention to students and staff by having "games" and a wheel and posters with information. This was a fun and helpful way we came together in order to spread awareness for a much needed establishment.  

I think service learning is so so so important when it comes to truly learning because hands on learning is an extension of lecture based learning. It is a great way to get the younger kids to be engaged in a lesson.

Virtual reality in the classroom

 Virtual reality allows students to engage in learning like never before. Instead of reading about a topic, they can experience it firsthand. A history lesson becomes a virtual time machine. These experiences help students retain information better because they are actively involved, not just passive observers. One of the biggest advantages of VR in education is that it can make learning more inclusive. It gives students who struggle with traditional learning methods a new way to understand and connect with content. For example, visual learners can benefit greatly from VR's 3D visuals, and students with special needs may find VR lessons more engaging and manageable than typical classroom settings. virtual reality is more than just a cool gadget it’s a gateway to deeper, more meaningful learning. It transforms the classroom into an interactive world where students are free to explore, make mistakes, and learn by doing—skills that are essential for the future workforce. Teachers, too, benefit from this technology as they can tailor experiences to match different learning styles and keep students engaged. As we continue to prepare students for an increasingly digital world, VR might just be the next big step in transforming how we teach and learn.

Veative - Virtual Reality

 Education is constantly expanding due to the incredible benefits of technology. Virtual reality use in classrooms is becoming more popular due to its ability to create interactive and immersive learning experiences. Virtual reality enhances student learning, understanding, and retention. VR can be used in classrooms to simulate real-world scenarios, like science experiments, field trips, or just exploring the world. This provides students with opportunities to learn in ways that are not possible to do in traditional classrooms. 

One virtual reality company I had researched was Veative. Veative provides immersive learning solutions using virtual reality technology for schools and educational programs. Their VR programs come with easy-to-use online classroom and content management systems. With the systems, teachers can view module content for lesson planning, provide VR content modules at the same time and on all students headsets. Teachers can pause or stop the module at any time and monitor in real time what students are seeing. 

Veative’s virtual reality learning experience comprises t
he world’s largest library of curriculum-aligned AR/VR modules for STEM, ELL, and virtual tours. The immersive knowledge resources offered include, K-12 STEM, history and culture, language learning, and higher education. 

Virtual reality programs like the ones provided by Veative, fully immerses students by completely focusing and learning topics. When experiencing lessons in this way, students are able to create clear and detailed mental visions, helping to improve knowledge retention. 

 Augmented and Virtual Reality: Their Role in a Classroom

As technology advances it opens up door for all no matter what profession or way of life a person lives, technology fits into almost everyone's day to day life. As educators we get to work hand in hand with technology as it helps us instruct our students and make our teaching practices more engaging and inclusive to all learners. A great tool to be utilized in the classroom today is VR and augmented reality. 

Augmented reality, provides students with interactive and meaningful learning experiences  while staying in their learning environment. While VR, creates an entire digital environment, a 360-degree, immersive user experience that feels real. Both of these tools can give students access to different content areas and help support their learning in a more hands on immersive type way. For augmented reality, students can complete different labs like dissecting frogs or starfish or even have them mix different chemicals and make different elements. Not only can it be useful for science but social studies as well! It can be used for global collaborations, such as allowing for students to experience different cultures all over the world! Students can use VR to make it feel like they are in a different parts of the world, interacting and connecting with people who reside across the world! VR can give students the opportunity to learn from and with all different types of students, not only their cultures but their own learning discoveries and topics that are discussed where they live. 

Augmented reality and Virtual Reality open up a lens to interact with all different types of things and people in a unique close-to-authentic way. It can allow for a space (especially VR) where people all over can come to a space to interact and work with one another like they were in the same room. It can bring the brightest minds together to work on projects and help further society in unity with those all over! As time progresses and this technology becomes easily available it is important to utilize it in a way to teach students and allow for student to connect and collaborate globally. 

Source: https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/benefits-of-virtual-reality-in-education/

Nearpod And Global Collaboration

Nearpod is an interactive tool that is used in the classroom that allows teachers to create and share presentations, quizzes, polls and even videos. 

    Nearpod is aimed at making the classroom a more interactive place for students and allowing lessons to be teacher-led, student-paced, or even in front of the class. 

    Not only is Nearpod a great use for teacher use, it also allows the students to interact with students virtually all over different parts of the country and other countries. 

    Global collaboration is being introduced more and more in classrooms everyday with the help of programs like Nearpod. Nearpod also has the ability to let students tour different areas around the world without having to physically visit the locations. Students are able to create relationships and learn about different parts of the country virtually. 

    Creating interactive lessons in the classroom is such a game changer. I have always enjoyed hands on lessons more than just reading or listening to someone speak about a topic. I have also witnessed first hand how much more engaged other students have been when partaking in an activity and being able to navigate things on their own. Nearpod seems like such a cool and inclusive tool that I would definitely use in my classroom! 

Augmented and Virtual Reality: In The Classroom

     AR and VR, both are technology experiences which can be incorporated into the classroom, but what are they? AR or augmented reality is a computer generated image that presents itself in real time through a device. VR stands for virtual reality, a piece of technology that transforms your space into a completely new reality. Both of these things can be useful in the classroom, such as incorporating lessons on global goals. We can take for example, AR being used, and design a computer generated image to show off what it would look like if the students’ spaces are polluted, falling into the lesson of global goal 13, climate action.

    Students are able to experience these by using applications that allow them to engage, such as Youtube 360, which focuses on virtual reality elements. By allowing students to see the world around them, it might give them better insight on their lessons. There are even videos such as virtual museums and tours! These lessons are very important to show off as they can help with teaching, and student understanding when they aren’t able to visualize different lifestyles/environments.

Nearpod VR

 Global collaboration is an important part of learning in today's ever changing world. For teachers there are some amazing tools out there to bring global collaboration into the classroom and make learning more interactive. Nearpod is great example of an educational tool that can enhance the classroom. Nearpod is a platform that aims to help teachers make lessons more interactive and one of the features included is Nearpod VR or virtual reality. With this tool students can take 360 degree virtual tours or field trips to places all over the world. 

Not only is Nearpod VR a great way to enhance a regular lesson by touring historical landmarks during a history lesson, it can also be used to facilitate global collaboration. Students can go on a virtual field trip along with students from another class from a different part of the world. students can then share their ideas and what they learned or liked about the experience together online, either through video call if time zones allow, or asynchronously in a chat or blogging platform set up for their classes. Another great strategy for global collaboration is for students from different parts of the world to tour landmarks in the others country, while the other class teaches them about it. Virtual reality can even be used for students around the world to tour each others classroom or school to see how classrooms differ. There are so many amazing ways that tools like Nearpod VR can be used to enhance lessons and incorporate global learning in our classrooms.

Nearpod: Global Collaboration opportunities

Nearpod is a digital lesson library. There are countless lessons and available activities on this site. You may ask yourself, why does that matter even in the slightest? Well.. By having such a large selection of resources, Nearpod has boundless opportunities via countless means. Many of those opportunities can contribute to global collaboration, as there are lessons from across the world available on Nearpod by which classrooms can gain a global consciousness. There are also many lessons with VR or AR capabilities where students can utilize modern technologies. 

As a global tool, Nearpod is used all over the world. Because of this, the opportunities are vast for, say, classrooms in America to be granted exposure to classrooms all over the world. Not just the students, but educators as well can benefit from the global presence that Nearpod has access to. Educators in 160+ countries use Nearpod. For educators, exposure to educators from all over the globe can lead to inspiration and the ability to craft new lessons for their classrooms!

Returning to the ideas of global collaboration...

Through Nearpod, classrooms in non-affected areas can learn about issues in affected areas. That probably sounds vague and makes no sense, so here is an example: The conflict in Kashmir is not happening in the United States, and thus, may go relatively unknown to students. Nearpod has lessons on this conflict however, and from this, students can gain an understanding of global events. Through their understanding, students, working on goals projects or any project in general, can address the issues, working alongside their peers and potentially governments to try and make a powerful statement on topics all over the world. 

Students can work together, with their classmates on projects, but that isn't all that much GLOBAL collaboration is it? Nearpod has collaboration activities, where students can collaborate, similar to a padlet or a jamboard. This next part is solely on the educators to make possible. Collaboration is possible across borders, continents, and oceans. The only prerequisite is that educators from across the world will have to connect first. Should they connect, they can bring their classrooms together and have their students work alongside each other, despite any distance between them! Through this collaboration, issues such as the Kashmir conflict can be discussed by students of many nations(if their teachers connect first that is!). Should there be a connection between classrooms, those global goals projects I mentioned earlier can be worked on by students who simultaneously on opposite sides of the planet! Those projects would be so interesting, as the collaboration between different nations students could yield great results. 

Nearpod VR

     Nearpod VR is a game-changer for global learning. It allows students to explore the world without leaving their classroom. From touring the Great Wall of China to diving into the coral reefs of Australia, Nearpod brings immersive 360° experiences directly to students—and that makes it perfect for global collaborations in K–12 education.

    Here’s how Nearpod VR enhances global learning and collaboration:

• Shared Experiences: Partner classrooms across continents can explore the same virtual destination, sparking meaningful discussions and comparisons.

• Co-Creation Projects: Students can co-create presentations, compare cultural experiences, or engage in virtual pen-pal exchanges around VR experiences.

• Cultural Empathy: Walking virtually in another community builds empathy and global awareness.

• Real-Time Discussion: Use Nearpod's interactive features (polls, open-ended questions, collaboration boards) while exploring a virtual location to foster live global dialogue.

Nearpod VR empowers students to step into each other’s worlds—literally. It’s not just about geography or science, but about connection, curiosity, and building a better, more empathetic generation. When used for global collaboration, VR becomes more than tech—it becomes a bridge.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

In today’s interconnected world, preparing students to engage globally is more important than ever. One innovative way educators are making this possible is through the use of Nearpod VR, a virtual reality tool that allows students to experience immersive field trips without leaving the classroom. This technology provides more than just virtual sightseeing; it creates opportunities for global collaboration among K–12 students. For example, students in different parts of the world can explore the same historical site or natural wonder simultaneously and then participate in virtual discussions or joint projects based on what they’ve learned. A class in the United States could take a Nearpod VR tour of the Great Wall of China, and then connect via video conferencing with students in China to compare cultural perspectives, share reflections, and ask questions. These shared experiences foster empathy, cultural awareness, and teamwork skills that are essential in our global society. Nearpod VR also aligns well with the work of educators like Jamie Donally, a leader in integrating AR and VR tools into education. Donally emphasizes how immersive technology can bridge geographic and cultural divides, making global learning more personal and impactful. Nearpod's ready-made lessons and VR experiences are accessible and adaptable, making it easy for teachers to integrate them into collaborative, cross-cultural projects. A great example of this is a middle school lesson where students explore ancient Egyptian sites using Nearpod, then collaborate with a class abroad to create a shared Padlet of their findings and questions. These types of lessons not only enhance understanding of world history and geography but also encourage meaningful interactions between students from different backgrounds. With tools like Nearpod VR, the classroom is no longer confined to four walls it becomes a gateway to global understanding.

Using Nearpod in Classrooms for Global Collaboration

In today's society, global collaboration is no longer optional, but necessary. Students are growing up in a globally connected society, and equipping them with tools to collaborate, and problem solve with others around the world is essential. One of the tools that help make this possible is virtual reality, and Nearpod stands out as an accessible way to bring immersive, international experiences into classrooms.

What is Nearpod?

Nearpod is an learning platform that allows educators to deliver engaging interactive lessons using assessments, multimedia content, and collaborative tools. Its virtual reality feature lets students take 360 degree virtual field trips to global landmarks, cultural heritage sites, and natural wonders of the world, all from the comfort of the classroom.

One of the benefits of Nearpod is that unlike other virtual reality tools it is not necessary to use expensive equipment. Nearpod is compatible with inexpensive viewers like Google Cardboard and can also be used on regular tablets and Chromebooks which makes it highly accessible for classrooms around the world regardless of budget constraints.

Supporting Global Collaboration

Nearpod goes beyond just sightseeing, it lays down the groundwork for meaningful cross cultural communication and project based collaboration. Students on opposite sides of the world can take a virtual tour of the same historic place together. After exploring, they can collaborate and ask questions that would be unique to their culture which can help build a greater global understanding. Students can also visit important environmental places that are in danger like the Amazon Rainforest or the melting glaciers in the arctic, then partner with peers in other countries to brainstorm climate action plans. This fosters empathy, critical thinking, and problem solving in the real world. Nearpod can also enable students to explore everyday life in other countries, visiting towns, homes, and schools in different regions. These experiences can become conversation starters in global writing programs or cultural exchanges. 

Nearpod Lesson Plans 

Educators can incorporate Nearpod into their classrooms through lesson plans such as this one. In this lesson students can explore the grand canyon and learn about it through a virtual tour and in an interactive environment. After the virtual tour students can make a poster sharing what they learned from the experience.

Nearpod can be used in many creative ways to help build a deeper understanding of global connections and can create a dialogue between different cultures through its use in the classroom.

Virtual and Augmented Reality in the Classroom

Augmented and Virtual Reality in the Classroom

Exploring with Nearpod VR

Technology is expanding and transforming education every day, and two tools leading the charge are Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. These amazing technologies bring education to life by allowing students to interact with content in a way that is hands-on, engaging, and highly visible.

-       Virtual Reality: transports students into different virtual environments without even having to leave the classroom.

-        Augmented Reality: gives digital content onto the real world just through a simple screen.

 

Why use this tool in the classroom? Virtual Reality makes learning fun and active instead of boring and passive. It emphasizes on student engagement, support diverse learning styles, and brings content to life. The biggest reason to use this tool is how VR can spark global collaboration. When students from all over the world explore the same virtual reality content and share ideas, student begin to see the world and each other much differently. 

 

https://nearpod.com/t/nearpod-vr-F146040 offers hands-on, 360-degree field trips paired with interactive learning lessons. An example from this site is the virtual field trip to “the Great Barrier Reef.” Students get to explore something from Australia without leaving the classroom. They learn all about the coral reef ecosystems and biodiversity through 360-degree visuals. Teachers can pair this fun activity with collaborative assignments through google slides and more to push the learning process.

 

The idea of children being in New Jersey and students in Australia working together to create conversations on one of the biggest marine life areas is quite amazing.