Students nowadays don’t have to rely on photographs in textbooks for experiences. Virtual reality can lend a hand to show children the Egyptian pyramids or simulate a classroom experience for online courses.
Josh Murdock, an education technology professor at Valencia College, says more teachers are using social media , and school systems, like Orange County, are even advocating Twitter use by teachers.
“You’re seeing them use it more and throughout the schools, and different pieces and parts to share information and get things out there. They’re really encouraging teachers to utilize it too and figure out how they can use it,” Murdock says.
Part of a course Murdock teaches at Valencia shows teachers how to use social media by “getting them to experience it and try something out.”
“We just have them delve into it a little bit. Let’s practice using a hashtag that you might use in a course or trying to find some people to follow and things like that so as you get into it, it helps them learn a little more about it. They might love it and keep using it or some just say it’s not for me,” Murdock says.
Murdock says augmented reality and virtual reality help provide students with experiences that were previously unattainable.
“You’re diving in to doing virtual field trips using Google Expeditions or something like that. You’re also looking at virtual classroom spaces,” Murdock says.
“You don’t have to be in a certain place to experience something as much. Who knows, it could be a concert you’re experiencing live. It might be hard to take your 1000 students to a concert, but imagine if they could experience that concert right there or that play or something like that.”
Education reporting on 90.7 News is supported by Helios Education Foundation