Students See the Big Picture through Virtual Reality

Just how big is the sun?

Sixth-graders at Spring Oaks Middle School have an idea now, thanks to a popular and emerging technology and a couple of innovative teachers.

Science teachers Christine Jackson and Mandy Gajeski wanted to help their students understand space – in particular our solar system, with its eight orbiting planets (sorry, Pluto) including the one we call home.

Using Virtual Reality (VR) goggles and the Google Expeditions app, Gajeski and Jackson were able to lead students through a tour of the solar system, including the size and scale of the sun compared to the planets.

Students could look through the goggles at the sun, tilting their heads up and down to gauge its enormity while a peak to either side would show a lineup of the planets and their size relative to the sun.

“The kids’ reactions weren’t planned but they were so cool,” said Gajeski. “Some would spin in their chairs. They would try to reach out and grab things. We had to make (students standing) sit down after a while.”

The student goggles come equipped with a handheld device so students don’t have to use their own devices. And the devices all talk to a single tablet controlled by the teacher, allowing that teacher to guide the expedition.

“We can talk (students) through it,” said Jackson. “We can tell them which objects to look at.”

The googles and devices were obtained for Spring Oaks through a private gift.

The Expeditions kit includes VR goggles, handheld devices, a tablet, a router that allows Expeditions to run over its own WiFi network, chargers and a storage case.

The teachers look forward to using the goggles in other science units, including geology and biology – just about anywhere that can be explored. An eighth-grade class has used the goggles and app to explore Mount Everest.

“We can do a tour of the Great Wall of China,” said Gajeski. “We can visit cities, like Rome or Pompeii. We can study geology – we can study rocks, or plate tectonics.”

Or space.

“The (goggles) enrich the learning experience for students,” said Jackson. “Some of our students couldn’t really conceive the vastness of space. This made space real for them.”