Google spends a significant amount on research: as an example, at the end of 2016 it had 27,169 full-time employees working in research and development and spent nearly $14 billion on research

(Alphabet Inc., 2017).

One key area for Google is education and it has created Google Expeditions, a virtual reality field trip app. This allows teachers to take students on field trips – but from the classroom!

• It may be a geography class exploring South America, and students can take a field trip to Chile and visit Santiago and Valparaíso.

• It could be a computer science class covering the history of computing and visiting Bletchley Park in England to investigate (1) Second World War codebreaking; (2) Colossus – the world’s first electronic computer; (3) The WITCH – the world’s oldest original working computer; (4) 1960s and 1970s large system computers; and (5) personal computing, 1980s to the present.

• Or it might be an overseas visit to France that can start preparation with a VR field trip to Paris to visit key sites such as: the Arc de Triomphe, the Sacré-Coeur Basilica and The Louvre museum, before the real trip takes place.

The expeditions require two roles:

• Guide – this is usually a teacher or a parent. They manage the expedition and point out areas of interest and lead the field trip.

• Explorer – this is usually a student and could include parents who follow the expedition on their mobile device, watching the points of interest highlighted by the guide.

Expeditions require some kit to function (a tablet, virtual reality viewers, phones and a router to connect them all) and the free app can be downloaded for the expedition to start.

Google has also created an AR version that allows students to use their phones in the classroom.

See more at edu.google.com/expeditions Questions

• What do you think about the idea of virtual field trips?

• Have you participated in real-world field trips? If yes, what were the best and worst moments and why?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of real-world field trips, compared to those in the virtual world?