A new app will allow classes to virtually visit Buckingham Palace without leaving their classrooms. Beam me up, Scottie!
School trips are wonderful learning experiences, especially for language learning. But all sorts of issues with time, finance and security mean that it is not possible for every child to go on a trip. So this new app could provide a partial alternative.
The free Google Expeditions Pioneer app proposes 150 possible Virtual Reality trips to classes that sign up. Pupils need to use a smartphone and cardboard stereoscopic goggles to experience immersion in seven of the public rooms of the Queen's London residence.
Buckingham Palace was chosen as a destination after pupils at a London school voted it the place they would most like to visit... even though it is only a few miles away! International surveys confirmed it as one of the most popular potential visits, along with the White House and outer space. (The International Space Station is one of the latest locations available.)
For a full experience, schools need to programme a visit from the Google Expeditions team, who arrive with equipment including tablets and 3D viewers. In the meantime, you can get a taste with this video.
Pupils from A2+ can appreciate at least parts of the video (using the subtitles in English if necessary). Or it can be used without sound at A1+ level in conjunction with our Ready-to-Use Resource on Buckingham Palace. For lycée pupils, it will give plenty of food for thought for a theme on Lieux et formes du pouvoir.
Copyright(s) :
Images courtesy of Google
Tag(s) : "apps" "Buckingham Palace" "culture" "lieux et formes du pouvoir" "London" "royalty" "school trips" "Thumbs Up 6e" "virtual reality"