Google is making its Expeditions virtual field trip app a lot more accessible by adding a solo mode to Expeditions for Android. Now anyone can visit the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, the Seven Modern Wonders of the World, or the Great Barrier Reef in virtual reality, whenever they like.Google is adding a solo mode to Expeditions for Android, so anyone can visit the Taj Mahal or Machu Picchu in virtual reality, whenever they like.
Google launched Expeditions in June 2016; the app works with Google Cardboard, letting teachers take their classes on "immersive virtual journeys" to national monuments, coral reefs, even the surface of Mars without ever leaving their desks. But Google Software Engineer Jiabei Lei said in a Wednesday blog post that students, teachers, and others have been requesting Expeditions for outside of the classroom. Now it's possible, and users can choose from more than 600 different tours.
"Self-Guided Expeditions let anyone explore anywhere," Lei wrote. "Students can go on tours at home and share the experience with their family. Teachers can assign tours as homework to complement in-class work. And of course, anybody who loves to learn and explore can experience all the tours for themselves."
The app also works with Google's Daydream View VR headset, as long as you have a Daydream-ready phone. When you fire up the app, you can now take tours as an Explorer or Guide.
"As an Explorer, you experience the tour on your own, and you'll see points of interest highlighted with more information about the incredible sights you're seeing," Lei explained. "Guide mode is especially handy if you're a teacher and you want to preview a tour before leading your students on it."
Meanwhile, Google is also adding an annotations tool that lets Guides draw within a scene using their finger. This way, teachers can highlight specific things they want their students to pay attention to.
Post a Comment