Exploring using AR and VR- Round 2

Welcome back for round 2 of my explorations with AR and VR! For this week's work, I have identified 2 of the tools I wrote about in my previous blog. With these 2 specific tools, I have spent more time trying them out, exploring them, and thinking of specific ways that they can be used in school settings and in my content area.

The first tool I would like to identify is Google Earth VR. I particularly enjoyed playing around with this tool because the possibilities seemed endless. You can literally virtually visit ant place in the whole entire world. I believe this could be useful in school settings in a number of different areas. Specifically, in social studies and geography. Although this is not my content area, I just think this is such a great tool that could help build students' knowledge. In social studies when students are learning about, for example, the ancient Egyptian empire, the teacher can incorporate Google Earth VR to show them the Giza Pyramids and how they are still standing today. Another example could be when students are learning about the Hoover Dam. Since it is not always possible to spontaneously have a field trip across America to see the Hoover Dam in real life, teachers can use Google Earth VR to give the students a visual of what they are learning about. I believe this could really impact and enhance students' knowledge.

The second tool I wanted to explore further was the Xennial Digital Portal, which is a lab-style learning opportunity. I chose this tool because as a future science teacher, this tool would be very helpful and beneficial for my students. I would envision myself using this tool as a supplement to learning. After teaching a, for example, lesson about DNA, I could use the Xennial Digital Portal to help my students visualize the complex concept of DNA where they could perform interactions and help them improve their engagement. Since this XR platform has a STEM-based library many different educational experiences, I am sure I could find resources for whatever lesson I am doing in class. Although this tool may initially be a bit costly, I presume that it could save money in the long run if I am having my students conduct less lab experiments and therefore using less expensive equipment. It could also reduce the risk of common physical accidents that are associated with lab work. Overall, I think this would be a great tool to implement into the science curriculum.