Telford primary school pupils on a virtual reality field trip
From the Great Wall of China to the Amazon rainforest, then up to the International Space Station in a matter of minutes – pupils experienced the future of education during a demonstration of virtual reality headsets.
Children at Wrekin View Primary School, Wellington, took a trip around the world without having to leave their desks when representatives of Google visited to showcase their Expeditions application.
The app features dozens of 360 degree images allowing the youngsters to look around in real time using the cardboard headsets. ICT co-ordinator Vicki Jones said: "The headsets can take us to so many places around the globe and beyond – it's a virtual field trip.
"We can't just take the children to the Great Wall of China or the Coliseum, but with virtual reality they can have a first hand experience of what it might be like.
"The children have been totally immersed in it. They're pointing to things and shouting to their friends about the things that they've found," she said.
While the headsets aren't a replacement for real life field trips, they offer an exciting alternative to journeys that just wouldn't be possible for the school to run.
"Taking children on real field trips is fantastic and the VR headsets won't ever replace that," said Mrs Jones.
"But for some of our topics, it can enhance the curriculum. Our year two class is studying India and there's no way that we would ever really be able to take them to the Taj Mahal.
"With the headsets, we can show them what it's like."
The technology is so exciting, the teachers rushed to try it out before their pupils arrived.
