Mrs. Foret’s Tech Mission #1

Choosing a way to incorporate my Google Cardboard into my classroom for my first mission proved to be more difficult than I thought it would be. First, I started by letting my students each come to my desk. I put a demo on the cardboard and let each of the watch just to see how they reacted to it. They LOVED IT! Each of them begs me daily to watch something. For my actual mission, I knew it would be difficult to have each child use the cardboard and do something with it. After all, first graders are not the most patient little souls. I chose two students who I could trust to take my iPhone, Cardboard and iPad. Jaxson and Olivia were perfect for the job. I wanted them to experience something really neat so I decided I would send them on virtual field trip. I ended  up using the Cardboard “Demo” App. I demonstrated how to use the Cardboard, and showed them how to use the magnet on the side to switch between famous cities.

There were several places to choose from including Tokyo, Venice, New York, Rome, and Paris. Olivia and Jaxson chose to tour Paris. The tour started at the Eiffel Tower. From there they were able to use the magnet on the side and Google’s Street View to navigate their way around the streets and area surrounding the Eiffel Tower. Once they both experienced the “tour”, I wanted them to create a way to show our class what they saw and learned. Together, we watched a video about the Eiffel Tower, how it was formed, and some neat characteristics of it. After learning a little and making connections from prior knowledge, we decided that they would create a book. We have used the app “Book Creator” in my room a few times this year so they were moderately familiar with it. I helped them get started and they completed the rest of the book. Once they were done, they were able to pull a photo of the Eiffel Tower up on the Smartboard and present their book to their classmates.

I absolutely loved doing this with my class. I have had several children approach me and ask if they could make a team and create their own book and go on a virtual field trip. I can honestly say that every child in my classroom was engaged and excited to learn. Jaxson said, “Using Google Cardboard made it feel like I was really there.” He also told me he felt like he was walking with the people on the street. Olivia said, “ It was awesome,” and she felt like she was really there. I am looking forward to incorporating my Google Cardboard into the classroom in the future.