At
the end of January, Google for Education unveiled a beta program that will
allow instructors and students to craft their own immersive virtual-reality (VR)
experiences using a Google app and a 360-degree camera.
Many
classrooms already employ the Google Expeditions teaching tool to explore the
world and outer space virtually via mobile devices and VR viewers. However, a “create
your own” experience was the feature most requested by students and educators.
The beta will allow participants to upload 360-degree images to the Google app
and then annotate them with videos, two-dimensional images, and descriptive
text to enhance the experience.
Ease
of use is designed into the program. “If you know how to type, you’re good to
go,” Jennifer Holland, lead program manager for Google Expeditions and G Suite
for Education, told Education Week.
For
schools that don’t have their own 360-degree cameras, Google will loan them
devices for the duration of the beta.