Dive Brief:

• The National Council for the Social Studies has found technology is becoming increasingly popular among teachers looking for new ways to offer hands-on learning opportunities that make their lessons come to life for students.
• District Administration reports Ed Finney, a social studies teacher for New York's Schodack Central School District, asks his students to make animated videos using PowToon to study the Erie Canal, encourages educational smartphone use in class for things like research, and collaborates with a class in Kansas for projects and presentations.
• Jennifer Burgin, a second grade teacher in Virginia's Arlington Public Schools, lets students research subjects in the National Portrait Gallery and then essentially curate their own exhibit with their chosen subject at its heart.

Dive Insight:

History is a subject some students are quick to disdain because they don’t recognize its relevance in their lives today. Virtual reality is one way teachers have sparked engagement. Students can take virtual field trips to locations that were integral to national or even world history. Google is adding new Expeditions all the time and national resources exist as well, including through the Smithsonian. Extreme Networks data shows 29% of history teachers have already tried virtual reality in their classrooms, more than the portion of teachers overall.

Districts considering supporting the growing use of virtual reality in classrooms should help teachers figure out how to integrate these opportunities into the curriculum. It is easy to let virtual field trips become fun extras, but their greatest power lies in being embedded into instruction.