Camden Students Take Virtual Trips With Help From Google, Cell Phones
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Technology-based learning took over the classroom Monday as a teacher played second fiddle to a cell phone.
A trip back in time to see dinosaurs, or a bird's-eye view of the solar system are experiences students can have right inside the classroom, thanks to Google Expeditions Augmented Reality.
"They're able to see things with their own eyes," said Ana Conway, vice principal of Katz-Dalsey Academy in Camden. "They're able to move around the classroom and able to experience what a hurricane is and what it's like to be inside a volcano."
Conway and her students are taking part in Google's Augmented Reality pioneer program, where they point cell phones at coded objects, then get an upclose look at a person, place or thing.
"Opening a book is something very stagnant, and it's never-changing," she said. "When they are using the Augmented Reality they are able to see something different, they are able to experience something that they have not experienced before."
And the students are raving about this new experience.
"I had a lot of fun with my partner doing the selfie sticks," said one student.
"I would rather do this," said another, "because I get to explore more than we do in class."
Conway says the object of this pilot program is to work with Google so they can permanently implement this technology into their curriculum.
