District 54 students take field trips around the world - and beyond - with virtual reality

Kellie Franke's sixth-grade class at Einstein Elementary School has been studying the Great Wall of China in social studies, and they are reviewing what they know in preparation for a tour.

"Three horsemen could ride right next to each other on the Wall," one student said.

"More than a third of it has crumbled and disappeared," a classmate added.

The students were eager to share what they had learned about the Great Wall and to see it in reality -- virtual reality, that is. Every District 54 elementary and junior high school now has virtual reality goggles available for classes to travel around the world through Google Expeditions that connect with the district curriculum.

"When I press play, you're going to see the Great Wall in 3D," said Digital Learning Coach Brittany Ciszewski, who facilitated the Google Expedition for Franke's class earlier this month. "I'm not going to be your tour guide right away. You're going to look around first - then I'll talk you through the various sites we're going to explore."

Students gasped excitedly as their goggles transported them to the Great Wall of China.

"I didn't know there were this many mountains in China!" one student exclaimed.

"Did anyone ever walk the whole Great Wall?" a classmate asked.

Students looked up, down and around to take it all in as Ciszewski brought the students to key points along the Wall, sharing information from the Google Expedition as they went. After the lesson the students reflected on what they had seen.

"The tour gave a good sense of their efforts to build the Wall, and the scale of the Wall," Maddie said.

"We already knew the Wall wasn't able to keep out invaders at all times, and we were able to see how tall it was and make the connection as to why invaders could get over it," her classmate Sherry added.

Associate Superintendent Nick Myers said as the district prioritizes innovation in instructional design, one of the focus points is using technology to accelerate student engagement and learning.

"Providing our students with virtual learning experiences has accomplished both of these goals - and brought a genuine sense of fun and wonder to our classrooms in the process," he said.

More than 800 Google Expeditions are available in a variety of subject areas. A dual language class at Keller Junior High School recently viewed the Aztec and Mayan ruins in Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu and Tenochtitlan. First-grade students in Courtney Raschk's class at Campanelli Elementary School traveled to each of the planets in the solar system in preparation for writing about the planets and creating a brochure.

"This expedition is my favorite, because you get to go somewhere you can't go in real life," Digital Learning Coach Liz Maltz told the first-grade students.

"Lift your goggles - we're blasting off!" Raschk exclaimed.

Students cheered as they arrived at each planet, beginning with Mercury and ending with Neptune. The also saw several other solar system bodies including dwarf planet Ceres. They saw the red skies of Mars and learned what made them red. They saw the rings of Saturn and learned that they are made of ice and rock.

"I know something about Jupiter," a student volunteered. "You can see the orange dot on Jupiter, and it's a tornado!"

"That looks like the coldest place ever," one student observed as they arrived at Uranus.

"How did they even get pictures of Uranus and Neptune?" another student asked.

Maltz said students are incredibly engaged in the lessons when they are using the goggles.

"The goggles allow the students to travel to places they might not get to go, and experience the things they are learning about and writing about," she said. "They are so excited to learn more."

Chloe Nissen's first-grade class at Blackwell Elementary School has been talking about plant adaptations. So Digital Learning Coach Maggie Horvath Gibbel took them on a journey to the tropical rainforest in Borneo to see some examples of these up close.

"Pay attention to how the size and shape help the plant survive," Horvath Gibbel encouraged the students.

The students talked eagerly about plant characteristics and adaptations as they looked at roots, vines, giant palms, pitcher plants, mangroves and more.

"I saw big leaves that have lines in them, and they go down into the stem for the plant to grow and get bigger," first-grader Aly said.

"You have all seen the rainforest now, so you can all apply what you saw in your goggles to your books and your learning about plant adaptations," Horvath Gibbel told them.

Myers said the introduction of virtual and augmented reality devices in District 54 schools has been extremely successful and well-received.

"Our teachers have been very thoughtful about ways to utilize these devices to support and augment their lessons and our curriculum as a whole," he said.

And the students agree.

"It was much more exciting than just looking at pictures of the planets," first-grade student Isabelle said. "If we were just looking at pictures I would have said, 'boring'!"