2015 is a great time for virtual reality, but terrible time for education. Due to the capitalism behind the insurance system, our schools nor our students can afford to take the trips we grew up goofing off during. /endsoapbox As someone who went to a dozen schools in the Kentuckiana area, this was my first time visiting the Smithsonian. It was as good as the, 'Night at the Museum,' trilogy has depicted it to be. Except I attended this trip through the web virtual tour. The following is my review. This trip is perfect for a touch screen tablet or pc, visit the site, tap f11 and tap tap tap your way through the Smithsonian. It's a surprisingly immersive experience albeit I lack the Oculus developers goggles that content like this is best experienced on. On the down side there isn't much media to the experience besides the tour. Also, I did get lost somewhere in the deep ocean and I never seemed to find my way out after that. All in all it seems like a fair trade that a generation of young adults who would rather instagram than go outside, have to attend digital field trips. Is this the right direction for education? How will this affect the kids who have to break things and throw tantrums in public to learn? Let me know what you think in the comments. | "This trip is perfect for a touch screen tablet or pc, visit the site, tap f11 and tap tap tap your way through the Smithsonian. " |
The second location I visited while on the virtual road was Mount Rushmore. Now Mt. Rushmore and I have a long history of me wanting to visit it. Also when I was just a child it was my dream to grow up and professionally pick all of their buggers, but that's a story for another day. Unfortunately I had to hop a virtual fence to proceed past the presidential trail, but once I did it was an interactive and relaxing attraction. This trip is full of content, and obviously I'm biased in my opinion of preferring this location but there was so much interaction that it was more of an adventure than a passive tour. For my specific learning types being in control not just of traversing my trips, but also controlling the kind of entertainment provided really helps me to learn and retain the experience.
TL;DR
In Conclusion:
While fear for education is warranted the persistence and excellence of educators and developers is a mighty beast. As the world evolves outside of the classroom, once again the internet proves to be a proponent of self studies and typical students a like. While there are many virtual locations to visit, Mt. Rushmore is one you can't miss, it's the skyrim of virtual tours. Learning about the history behind the presidents on Mt. Rushmore, as well as the history of the creation is an experience worth a share on facebook, and I give it two Virtual left clicks up to my bookmark toolbar.