Virtual Reality

 I had yet to hear of virtual reality entering the classroom. I was surprised to read that Google engineers created Google cardboard and released a kit including a tablet for teachers, a device for students, and a class set of viewers. “This focus on children and the classroom experience from the initial development forward has created an experience very different from immersive technologies created for gaming (Craddock, I.M., 2018. p.7). This way of teaching would benefit EL students because it’s a visual experience that could have audio narration in their language that shows a visual experience they might be able to see on their own. I could see how this would bring a “WOW” factor to my classroom, and if I were a student, I would be so excited to be so engaged and would probably never forget this lesson. Craddock (2018) mentions that for our ELLs, it helps them concentrate on the content of the visual scene without the stress of decoding written language, and that resonated with me because I sometimes really struggle with language barriers (p.8), and this would be an excellent way for them to experience their learning. This virtual reality is beneficial because it enhances real-life experiences and makes learning more exciting for students. Unfortunately, I do not expect to see it in my district anytime soon, but if we could get it, I know I would need lots of training! I found this interesting video on teacher training:

Craddock, I. M. (2018). Immersive Virtual Reality, Google Expeditions, and English Language Learning. Library Technology Reports, 54(4), 7-9. https://journals.ala.org/index.php/ltr/article/viewFile/6669/8958

Ribeiro, R. (2020). Virtual reality in remote language teaching. Cambridge. https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/10/27/virtual-reality-in-remote-language-teaching/