As Evans pointed out in Kim’s Atlantic article, The Good and the Bad of Escaping to Virtual Reality, virtual reality (vr) is, “both functional and escapist, and potentially offers a wondrous parallel universe of unlimited possibilities.” With the increase of free vr content available, a tremendous opportunity to transform students conceptual knowledge around certain topics now exists. VRs immersive properties can be intense, and having students escape and dive in to this intensity can bring obscure concepts to life. I have curated a few of my favorite 360 videos and vr apps (all free) to help get you started, so check them out as well as the helpful tips for using vr in the classroom.

Helpful tips:

Equipment needed-

1. Viewer (*we have some Google Cardboard in the IT Office, but quite a few students have their own viewers)
2. A buddy: as stated above vr experiences can be intense, so making sure that a students is paired with a trusted other student not immersed helps ensure the physical (tripping, getting dizzy etc.), and emotional (getting choked up) safety of this type of learning experience.
3. Content suggestions part one (each week I will add a different content area:)Science: Science channel below, Discover Channel VR, Random42 (Inside the human body), InMind (explore the human brain and psychological disorders), Save Cells from Destruction, Molecule VR, Chemistry VR, Proton Pulse