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Just look at these faces. Don’t they look excited and happy to be right where they are?<\/p>\n Proctor Elementary School<\/a> classroom teachers have been hard at work on project-based learning units this year. When I mentioned that we had a set of virtual reality headsets, teachers jumped at the chance to test out how VR could work with PBL.<\/p>\n And\u00a0that’s how I found myself becoming the Virtual Reality fairy.<\/p>\n I spent the morning watching a classroom full of fourth and fifth graders come alive to the material in their headsets. They took turns, they worked in groups and engaged not just with the shiny shiny content but with each other, sharing the wonder.<\/p>\n While we were using the Expeditions, when recess time came not one student wanted to leave. When it turned out to be an indoor recess, the class actually cheered. And that is what we mean by ubiquitous learning — happening all the time — during recess, at home, after school, all around. When students are engaged and excited, they don’t notice time passing.<\/p>\n Watching the students scramble to take advantage of the extra time with their devices,\u00a0I realized there are four big ways VR can make project-based learning come alive.<\/p>\n Many units of study are hard to visualize for students and can seem disconnected. It can be challenging for students to connect to topics they can’t imagine.<\/p>\n Entry events in project-based learning motivate and excite students. Teachers can use virtual reality and Google Expeditions to drop students into particular environments and ask those students to make observations and ask questions. This can be the springboard for a project-based learning unit driven by student interest, excitement and motivation.<\/p>\n Students usually do a good amount of research in PBL. Virtual reality can give students an immersive experience in which to observe and take notes from. When coupled with focusing, inquiry based questions, students can deepen their research. Questions like:<\/p>\n Students at Flood Brook School, in Londonderry VT, were studying immigration and the refugee crisis. With virtual reality, they deepened their understanding of the living environments of children just like them<\/a>, across the globe, who have to leave their home countries due to violence or natural disasters.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_8612-2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWelcome back to Proctor VT<\/h4>\n
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1. Use virtual reality as an entry event<\/h4>\n
2. Use virtual realty to deepen research in PBL<\/h4>\n
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<\/a>3. Use virtual reality to guide\u00a0driving questions<\/h4>\n