In Concordia grade 4 science classes, students have been studying a unit on the conversion and transfer of energy. For this particular unit, the class has been focusing on three guiding questions: What is energy and how does is it related to motion? How is energy transferred? How can energy be used to solve a problem? To help them more deeply understand the topic of energy, ES STEM coaches accompanied students on a “virtual field trip” which introduced them to some of the useful ways energy is converted from its original form to another.
Concordia students learning with the help of virtual reality
Using Google GRAB VR viewers, students visited a hydroelectric dam, a solar farm and a wind turbine farm. Through the interactive tour, coaches and teachers walked students through the process in which one source of energy is gathered and converted. Prompt arrows and circles were used to direct students through the entire process.
“Realistically there is no way we could have taken the students to all three places in one class period,” says grade 4 teacher April Reyes. “And, if we had been at an actual solar or wind farm, making sure all kids were looking at the same thing would not have been as easy.”
The benefit of the VR experience is that every student has the opportunity to interact with the scene; and with a 360-view of their environment, students have a far more realistic experience than with a video or picture.
"Virtual Reality is fantastic for giving students a sense of space,” says elementary school STEM coach Dennis Grice. “It immerses them in the scene and lets them explore and learn about what is all around them."
